How African narrated “African history” : “African historiographies” from local histories in Africa

Keywords

African history　,　Historiography　, literacy and orality

Objectives

This research project aims to analyze African narratives on African history, focusing on the interplay between local and external knowledge. It seeks to illuminate the historiographies of African history, which are themselves the parts of local histories in Africa. Traditionally, the academic historiography of African history has mainly been predominantly shaped by scholars in Western academic traditions. However, this knowledge has often been derived from the oral tradition and historical writings in Africa. Accordingly, the central research question is: How has local historical knowledge been accumulated and disseminated beyond local communities to contribute to the construction of academic African history? By comparing the historiographical traditions in West Africa, East Africa, and South Africa across the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods, the study focuses on how the historiographical traditions vary among the different written languages such as English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Zulu. This examination delves into complex theoretical issues, including the conceptualization of the “subject” and the proper names of places, particularly the notion of “Africa,” within historical narratives—central themes in historical anthropology.