Africa-Press – Senegal. The steering committee for the drafting of “the General History of Senegal (HGS) from our origins to the present day” presented to the public, on Tuesday, fourteen new volumes covering all the periods of the history of Senegal, noted the APS.
« These works cover the long trajectory of our history, from its origins to the present day. The 14 works were the work of specialists and today, we wanted to emphasize one of the key moments in our history, » explained the general coordinator of the project, Professor Mamadou Fall.
Speaking during the ceremony of presentation of the works, he insisted on the fact that the Senegalese know the contemporary period of their history which has been written, transmitted, reproduced and taught, but « ancient history in general, the Above all, archeology constitutes a completely ignored register, whereas this is where the crux of our history is, » said the general coordinator.
The answers to the many questions that Senegalese and historians ask themselves are not found in the elements that modern and contemporary history can provide. “The answer is what happened before the 15th century ,” says Professor Mamadou Fall. He believes that the 14 volumes are the fruit of synergy between researchers, academics and traditionalists.
‘’Il y a eu des moments où notre histoire s’est nouée, où nos populations se sont constituées et ont fait une nation, ces moment-là sont ignorés. On a adopté la formule de Raymond Mori en parlant de siècle obscure de notre histoire, en parlant de cette période obscure de notre histoire et cette obscurité n’a pas été véritablement l’objet d’études soutenues et l’HGS est venue combler ce vide’’, a dit Mamadou Fall.
The 14 works presented to the public cover for each volume an unknown period of our history, pointed out Professor Mamadou Fall not without ensuring that this work is the fruit of several months or even years of work. « It was hard work, difficult, but it is the fruit of a collegial approach, » he said.
He underlined that in the course of reading these works, « the public will finally be able to establish our history on a long-term continuity by linking it to Egypt, to Sudan, to the material culture that archeology has been able to raise up from the ground”.
Mamadou Fall noted that from there, the Senegalese will have comfort on their own soil. « Knowing that on the soil that is Senegal, there is a history that goes back more than ten thousand years, a history that links all the communities, the one that puts it at the center of world history, that gives the Senegalese a sense of pride and historical awareness,” he said.
« Some Senegalese interviewed believe that Senegal begins after independence », according to the coordinator of the steering committee who believes that they « have no idea of the anthropological basis on which this country was founded, nor of the historical links that the Senegalese have with the populations of the sub-region, in particular Malians, Mauritanians, Gambia and Guinea Bissau, do not talk about it”.
These works put in the public square provide information on what connects us to Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Mali, he said.
« In the meantime, the Colonial Library has divided us into separate ethnic groups. We are restoring the truth on these issues, we are putting this story right side up, » said Mamadou Fall, who believes that we should always expect criticism when writing history.
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