first word Merton D. Simpson Gallery Tribal and Modern A rts

Building a of Scholarly Resources from the Developing World An Introduction to Aluka by Rahim S. Rajan and Heinz Rüther

In the mid-1990s, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation launched JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to create and maintain a trusted online archive of impor- tant scholarly journals and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. Today, JSTOR includes the digitized back issues of more than 640 journals (over 21 million pages of scholarly literature) and is used by faculty, researchers, and students at more than 3,000 educational and research institutions around the world.1 With astonishing celerity, e-jour- nals, search engines, online databases and image archives, 3D visualization techniques, and more recently, blogs have each become rich tools for teaching, learning, and the shar- ing of ideas. If the past decade is a portent for the future, one can anticipate this trend to continue as new tools are developed to help scholars and students acquire, interact with, analyze, and share knowledge.2 As JSTOR began to provide access to its archive to institutions in the developing world, it became increasingly clear that there was a profound need to assist museums, librar- ies, and archives there to build capacities and expertise in the use and application of infor- mation technologies, so that they too could become active participants and voices in the Luba Hemba Male Figure Zaire “digital revolution.” Many librarians and schol- Wood and fiber, 23¾ inches ars saw the need to develop cost-effective Provenance: Ex. Philippe Ratton mechanisms that could level the playing field Collection, France and make it easier for repositories, authors, and research institutes in the developing world to contribute to these web-based scholarly resources, especially as global access to the steadily improved. At the end of 2002, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Stav- ros S. Niarchos Foundation, and working in partnership with JSTOR, a new not-for-profit organization—Ithaka—was formed. Ithaka’s 38 West 28th Street, Fifth Floor • New York, New York 10001 mission is “to accelerate the productive uses 212/686-6735 • fax 212 /686-7573 of information technologies for the benefit of e-mail: [email protected] • www.mertonsimpsongallery.com (continued on page 4)

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CMYK p 09293 • 20702419 african arts (continued from page 1) UCLA

editors higher education around the world” (www. opening up new opportunities for research, Marla C. Berns ithaka.org). In 2004, as one of its first proj- teaching, and broader public discussion. One Allen F. Roberts Mary Nooter Roberts ects, Ithaka launched Aluka, an international, of Aluka’s primary objectives is to provide Doran H. Ross collaborative initiative aimed at building an African scholars and students with access to book review editor online digital library of scholarly resources scholarly materials originally from , but Victoria L. Rovine from and about the developing world (ibid.). now out of their reach. In Africa, most edu- dialogue editor Sidney Littlefield Kasfir The name “Aluka” is derived from the Zulu cational, cultural, and research organizations verb ukuluka, which means ‘to weave’, reflect- will be able to license Aluka at no cost.3 exhibition review editor, north america Christa Clarke ing Aluka’s mission to connect resources and Aluka also works closely with partner orga- exhibition review editor, overseas scholars from around the world. Aluka is ini- nizations in Africa to build capacity in digi- Constantine Petridis tially concentrating its efforts in Africa. tization and the use of online materials for film/video editor Aluka seeks to attract high-quality scholarly teaching and research. In some cases this Robert Cancel content, from all academic disciplines, about includes setting up digital labs and providing photo essay editor Christraud M. Geary the developing world from institutions and technical training in scanning and creating consulting editors individuals across the globe. By contributing metadata records; in others, Aluka convenes Rowland Abiodun their content to the Aluka platform, content training workshops for librarians, archivists, Mary Jo Arnoldi Judith Bettelheim owners will have a means of offering access faculty, and heritage professionals on topics Suzanne Preston Blier to their collections to an international audi- related to digital imaging, preservation, geo- Elisabeth L. Cameron Robert Cancel ence—without having to develop and support graphic information systems (GIS) develop- Christa Clarke their own technology platforms. Aluka’s web- ment and application, and the use of online Henry John Drewal based platform provides powerful tools for tools in the classroom.4 Christraud M. Geary Michael D. Harris research, teaching, collaboration, and knowl- At present, three Africa-related content William Hart edge exchange. areas are under development at Aluka (due to Salah M. Hassan Manuel A. Jordán Pérez Aluka is partnering with educational and space limitations, the first two areas are only Bennetta Jules-Rosette cultural institutions to select and digitize a briefly touched upon here—for more details, Sidney Littlefield Kasfir wide range of high-quality scholarly materi- please visit www.aluka.org). New materials Sandra Klopper Christine Mullen Kreamer als, ranging from archival documents, peri- will be added to the collections on an ongoing Alisa LaGamma odicals, books, reports, manuscripts, and basis and institutions and scholars are encour- Frederick Lamp Kristyne Loughran reference works, to three-dimensional models, aged to contribute to these online resources. Joseph Nevadomsky maps, oral histories, plant specimens, photo- Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie graphs, and slides. By aggregating these mate- African Plants Constantine Petridis John Picton rials online, the Aluka collections link content Consisting of scientific data contributed to Victoria Rovine that is widely dispersed and difficult to access, Aluka by the African Plants Initiative (API), Raymond A. Silverman Robert Farris Thompson Kenji Yoshida 1 A 3D model of the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu (Mali). executive editor and art director Image courtesy of Heinz Rüther, University of Cape Town. Leslie Ellen Jones operations manager Eva P. Howard

African Arts (ISSN 0001-9933; ISBN 978-0-9793578-0-0) is published quarterly by the University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1310, in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. For editorial information and advertising rates, write African Arts, The J.S. Coleman African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1310. Phone: 310-825-1218. Fax: 310-206-2250. Email: afriartsedit@international. ucla.edu (editorial); [email protected] (advertising). The opinions of contributors and advertisers are not necessarily those of African Arts. Subscription information: African Arts is distributed by The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 02142. Subscription and address changes should be addressed to MIT Press Journals, 238 Main Street, Cam- bridge, MA 02142-1407. Phone: 617-253-2889. Fax: 617-577-1545. Email: [email protected]. For fastest service and more informa- tion, subscribe online using our secure server at http://mitpressjour nals.org. Subscription rates: print and electronic, Individuals $78.00, Institutions $140.00; electronic only, Individuals $70.00, Institutions $126.00. Canadians add 7% GST. Outside the U.S. and Canada add $20.00 for postage and handling for print edition. Prices subject to change without notice.

Single issues: Current issues are $20.00. Back issue rates: Individuals $22.00; institutions $44.00. Canadians add 7% GST. Outside the U.S. and Canada add $5.00 per issue for postage and handling. Prices subject to change without notice. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to African Arts, MIT Press Journals, 238 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1407. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and at additional post offices. Permission to photocopy articles for internal or personal use is granted by the copyright owner for users registered with the Copyright Clear- ance Center (CCC), Transactional Reporting Service, provided that the per copy fee of $10 per article is paid directly to the CCC, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 02193 (fee code: ISSN 0001-9933). Address all other inquiries to the Subsidiary Rights Manager, MIT Press Journals, 238 Main Street, Cambridge MA 02142. Phone: 617-253- 2864. Fax: 617-259-5028. Email: [email protected]. © 2007 by the Regents of the University of California. Printed in Hong Kong.

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CMYK p 09293 • 20702419 this content area is a collaboration among more than fifty institutions in Africa, Europe, and the United States. Each plant species in the African Plants digital library is represented by high-resolution digital images of type spec- imens provided by participating herbaria. The database includes images of approximately 230,000 specimens drawn from the estimated 60,000 plant species in Africa, Madagascar, and the other islands surrounding the Afri- can continent. A wide range of related images and data, including photographs, drawings, botanical art, field notes, and reference works, are included. Current collections include The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, La Flore du Cameroun, Flora Zambesiaca, Flowering Plants of , illustrations from Cur- tis’s Botanical Magazine, original paintings by Thomas Baines, individual botanists’ slide col- lections, and selected archival materials such as David Livingstone’s South Eastern Africa Expedition Papers. TheAfrican Plants content has been available to academic and research 2 A comparison between a digital photograph of a wall at the Djinguereber Mosque and a laser institutions worldwide since February 2007. scan of the same wall. Image courtesy of Heinz Rüther, University of Cape Town. Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa The liberation of Southern Africa was a African Cultural Heritage Sites and sor Rüther began the documentation of Kilwa major political event of the twentieth century. Landscapes Kisiwani in the autumn of 2004.6 At Kilwa The demise of colonial rule, the end of white- TheAfrican Cultural Heritage Sites and Kisiwani—a centuries-old trading center on settler domination, and the dismantling of Landscapes content area is an ambitious an off-shore island in Tanzania—the UCT the apartheid regime had far-reaching con- endeavor harnessing the latest 3D visualiza- team focused most of their efforts on docu- sequences, not only for the continent, but for tion and spatial documentation technologies menting the Gereza and Mosque. In 2005, the global community. Aluka’s Struggles for to place online exclusive and original spatial in addition to documenting two rock-hewn Freedom in Southern Africa collection docu- data, research, and contextual materials about churches at Lalibela in Ethiopia—Beta Giyor- ments the liberation struggles in six southern Africa’s tangible and intangible heritage. In gis and Maryum—the team managed to gather Africa countries, with a particular emphasis 2004, after an initial proposal by Heinz Rüt- spatial and visual data for an Asante temple on the global dimensions of these struggles. her, chair of the University of Cape Town’s at Besease, near Kumasi, Ghana; Elmina—the From interviews and hearings to posters and (UCT) Geomatics Division, a partnership was first European trading post in sub-Saharan pamphlets, this collection presents the inter- formed between UCT and Aluka, with fund- Africa (also in Ghana); and two adobe-styled national perceptions, reactions, and realities of ing from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, mosques in Mali—the Grand Mosque of one of the most tumultuous eras in the conti- to use state-of-the-art technologies in laser Djenné and the Djinguereber Mosque in Tim- nent’s history. scanning, photogrammetry, surveying, and buktu. In 2006, the team secured permissions The content selection process for this content spatial documentation to build a digital library from the relevant authorities in Kenya, Zim- area is focussed on presenting multiple, con- about African cultural heritage sites and land- babwe, and Sudan to undertake future docu- testing perspectives rather than simply retelling scapes. The objective of the database is to mentation projects in these countries. This conventional narratives or only representing advance research, learning, and conservation past year, Professor Rüther and his team also the perspective of groups that assumed power. efforts, as well as to help create a permanent documented five rock art shelters and caves With national advisory committees composed record of Africa’s diverse heritage and patri- in South Africa’s Cederberg Mountains; six of leading scholars, archivists, public intellectu- mony. In the database, spatial data is linked to additional churches in Lalibela; the stelae field als, and activists in each participating country, a wide range of contextual materials, such as at Axum (Ethiopia); and the Swahili town of as well as an international committee of senior excavation reports, manuscripts, travelogues, Lamu, situated on Kenya’s northern coast.7 scholars, the collection ensures both detailed maps, site plans, and scholarly research.5 The While the database is still under develop- documentation within a particular country, as database will be of interest to undergradu- ment and not yet publicly available (like the well as content covering key events, organiza- ates, graduate students, and faculty members two other content areas, it will go live in 2007) tions, and movements that takes into consid- in the disciplines of African languages and it already includes thousands of digital objects eration a broader regional and international literature, African studies, African-American about heritage sites and cultural landscapes in perspective. Aluka is initially documenting studies, anthropology, art, archaeology, archi- Africa, including photogrammetric images, the liberation struggles in , , tecture, geography, geomatics, history, historic ground plans and façade views created from , , South Africa, and Zim- preservation and conservation, religion, and laser scanning, 3D models of sites and struc- babwe (Isaacman et al 2005). TheStruggles for urban planning. tures, digital terrain and 3D landscape models, Freedom in Southern Africa content area will be Working with a team of researchers and digital photographs of the sites and landscapes, available to academic and research institutions staff at UCT, and with guidance and coun- panorama views, as well as dozens of aerial worldwide in 2007. sel from Aluka’s academic advisors, Profes- and satellite photographs. The spatial data

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CMYK p 09293 • 20702419 3 A point cloud of the main gate at the Gereza, 4 A digital terrain model of Kilwa Kisiwani and the Kilwa Kisiwani (Tanzania). surrounding landscape. Image courtesy of Heinz Rüther, University of Cape Image courtesy of Heinz Rüther, University of Cape Town. Town.

are associated with a GIS for each of the sites. describes this surface by means of a “point the late Neville Chittick, first director of the This GIS data will be available to the relevant cloud” (Fig. 3). Laser scanning makes it pos- British Institute in Eastern Africa’ (BIEA), antiquities departments for updating and site sible to determine accurately the shapes and as collected during his excavations at Kilwa management. The database also offers access dimensions of object surfaces, such as the in the 1950s and 1960s. Chittick amassed a to contextual materials, such as rare slides and walls of a structure or the inside and outside of sizeable visual and archaeological record photographs from archival collections, a vast a building. In post production, the combined consisting of thousands of photographs, slides, collection of images of African rock art, rare point cloud is converted into a single surface drawings, and a dozen handwritten notebooks and unpublished excavation reports, manu- by connecting individual point clouds into a detailing his findings. This collection is cur- scripts, rare nineteenth century travelogues, triangle mesh. Aluka’s database includes point rently housed in Nairobi, Kenya, at the BIEA. antiquarian maps, and to the extent possible, clouds of structures comprising between 60 In 2006, the BIEA and Aluka commenced a published scholarly research and monographs and 400 million points, generated from 60 to pilot project to digitize the Chittick archive. that relate to the sites and cultural landscapes.8 200 individual laser scans. These materials will appear in Aluka as part Most of the contextual materials have been Another key component in the database is of a wider corpus of spatial and visual data digitized in collaboration with partner archives, the use of photogrammetric images and GIS about Kilwa, new and old, including recent museums, non-governmental organizations, data. Photogrammetry itself is a well-estab- panorama views of the ruins, mangroves, and and library collections from Europe, North lished science and technology; two impor- coastal shore, GIS data, aerial and satellite America, and Africa (See www.aluka.org/page/ tant applications are aerial photogrammetry, images of the contiguous landscape, digital about/partners/list.jsp for a list of Aluka’s part- widely used in mapping the earth’s surface, terrain models, 3D models and ground plans ners around the globe). and close-range photogrammetry, com- of various structures on the island, as well as 3D models produced with a laser scanner monly used in heritage documentation and a selection of travelogues, historical writings, are digital versions of actual objects (Fig. 1). archaeology. In Aluka, photogrammetry is scholarly articles, and monographs detailing The models can be used for virtual reconstruc- used to provide detailed surface data for site Kilwa’s history and archaeology. tion of parts of objects or structures that have GISs—to complement the laser scan models of The digital documentation of heritage sites disappeared over time, such as a collapsed structures—and in the creation of digital ter- and landscapes using the latest visualiza- dome or arch, or even a site partially destroyed rain models (Fig. 4).10 High-resolution stereo tion technologies linked to digital versions of from a natural calamity like an earthquake or image pairs of important facades and features historical and scholarly contextual materials tsunami. In addition to providing students and of a structure provide users with an oppor- is ground-breaking and novel for Africa. By academics with a striking visual introduction tunity to view these objects in a realistic 3D demonstrating the potential of aggregating to a particular site or cultural landscape, 3D format. GIS data enables researchers and site these materials online, we wish to encourage models have a number of real-world applica- managers to utilize software applications to many other scholars, archives, and cultural tions in heritage conservation and site man- present and customize spatial and geographic institutions to include their materials on the agement. 3D models can provide metrically data for a particular site, providing them pow- Aluka platform. For many, digitization will correct dimensions of structures or architec- erful site management and reporting tools. enable access to materials and resources that tural features—useful for tracking cultural One dramatic and potent example of this are simply beyond their reach and not avail- trends, alterations in design over time, and type of online educational resource is the array able locally at their institution. Full text search the planning and management of restoration of spatial and contextual materials assembled and versatile browsing paths can also improve efforts (Fig. 2).9 3D models are created through about Kilwa Kisiwani. Aluka’s digital library exposure to objects in a database by providing the use of a laser scanner, an advanced tech- contains views and representations of Kilwa results that one may otherwise never discover. nology which determines the xyz coordinates from medieval times, in addition to an exten- The digital world offers students and educa- of millions of points on an object’s surface and sive and detailed oeuvre on Kilwa created by tors new possibilities in analyzing, presenting,

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CMYK p 09293 • 20702419 and grouping knowledge. There has never ment to African higher education by pledging $200 been a greater need for the creative and inno- million over five years. A project to supply cheaper and vative use of technologies like the Internet to more reliable Internet access to Partnership grantees through a bandwidth consortium was announced as promote knowledge of the world’s cultures, one of the major initiatives of the Partnership (see www. civilizations, and patrimonies. With support foundation-partnership.org). Read 2006 discusses some and contributions from an engaged global user of these initiatives, as well as the many daunting chal- community, it is our hope that Aluka initiates lenges that remain. new scholarly debates, sparks collaboration 5 The database is organized around the concepts and knowledge exchange across cultural and of both sites and cultural landscapes. We define them as follows: Sites are places where material remains linguistic borders, and becomes a ‘virtual’ testify to past human activity. A site is a place of interest bridge between South, North, East, and West. defined by contemporary perceptions of what is impor- tant in the archaeological record. Consequently, the Rahim S. Rajan is Aluka’s collection develop- definition of the extent of an archaeological site often ment manager, based in . Rahim changes as research questions change. An archaeologi- works with a diverse array of advisors, scholars, cal site can be anything from a small feature (a hearth libraries, governments, and research institutions surrounded by a cluster of artifacts, for instance) to a collaborating together to build Aluka’s online large city. A cultural landscape is a unit of space that holds sociocultural significance for a community. A holdings. He has degrees from the University of cultural landscape may be of any size (ranging from a Chicago, the University of Cambridge, and the valley to a nation state, for example) and often includes Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. Rahim. living sites, cultural alterations to the natural landscape, [email protected] the natural landscape as it shapes and is shaped by cul- ture, and intangible traditions and practices that serve Heinz Rüther is Senior Professor in the Geo- to situate communities in their environments. The com- matics Division at the University of Cape Town’s bination of data types differ from site to site and from School of Architecture, Planning, and Geomat- landscape to landscape depending on the condition and nature of the site, our ability to secure detailed permis- ics. He is also Principal Investigator for Aluka’s sions from the appropriate governments, our ability African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes to digitize materials held at repositories, the input and database. In addition to having published widely guidance received from scholars and academics in the in the fields of close range photogrammetry, field, and the extent to which we have permission from precise engineering surveying, Geomatics edu- authors to digitize their published research. cation, and heritage documentation, Professor 6 The three academic advisors to the African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes database are Dr. Rüther has conducted field work in Africa, Asia, George Abungu, chief executive of Okello Abungu Heri- Australia, Europe, and North America. tage Consultants and founding chairman of Africa 2009; Professor Martin Hall, deputy vice-chancellor, University of Cape Town; and Professor Susan McIntosh, professor Notes of anthropology at Rice University, Texas. 1 African Arts is a participating journal in the 7 Future sites and landscapes that may appear in JSTOR digital archive. See www..org. the digital library include the ruins of Great 2 The impact technology has had in research and the archaeological complex of Nyanga, located in or education is always perceived as more apparent in Zimbabwe’s rolling Eastern Highlands; and the Kushite the physical and biological sciences rather than in the temples at Naqa, and pyramids at Meroë, both in Sudan. humanities. Online publishing, image databases, wikis, 8 The African rock art collections being dissemi- and blogs are beginning to correct that impression. How- nated by Aluka are the combined efforts of three organi- ever, even a decade ago, emerging visualization technolo- zations in Africa: The Trust for African Rock Art, based gies were already exerting an influence in the disciplines in Nairobi; the Rock Art Research Institute, based at the of design and architecture. For example, the construction University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South of the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, designed by Africa; and the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis Frank Gehry and completed in 1997, was a direct result School of Fine Art and Faculties of Archaeology and of innovations in 3D modeling software applications, Geomatics. “allowing architects to imagine, develop, and explore 9 A high level of metric accuracy is crucial in the innovative concepts that would have proved impossibly design and production of effective shelters, supports, difficult in the past” (Mitchell 1999). and other interventions. 3 Outside of the developing world, in order to 10 In the latter application, aerial photographs, help offset Aluka’s operating costs and sustain the or if there are unavailable, satellite images, are draped digital library into the future, Aluka intends to license over the digital terrain models to create virtual 3D land- the digital library to educational, cultural, and other scapes. not-for-profit organizations, with fees scaled to the size of the organization. References cited 4 The challenge of infrastructure constraints Isaacman, Allen F., Pramesh Lalu, and Thomas I. in Africa is real. We are encouraged, however, by the Nygren. 2005. “Digitization, History, and the Making of focused philanthropic efforts underway to help the a Postcolonial Archive of Southern African Liberation African higher education community build the neces- Struggles: The Aluka Project.”Africa Today 52, 2:55-77. sary infrastructure to make use of web-based technolo- gies. Major development organizations such as the Mitchell, William J. 1999. “A Tale of Two Cities: World Bank, the African Development Bank, and IDRC Architecture and the Digital Revolution.” Science 285, are significantly increasing their efforts to strengthen 5429:839, 841. African universities. In the autumn of 2005, six major Read, Brock. 2006. “Can Technology Save the Develop- US based foundations participating in the Partnership ing World?” Chronicle of Higher Education 52, 46:A27. for Higher Education in Africa renewed their commit-

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