HMML Global Operations: Mali
Mali
-
Region
Africa -
Country
Mali -
Cities
Timbuktu, Bamako, Djenné, Niafunke, Rharous, Tonka, Dibla, Djindikati -
Repositories
More than 30 libraries from Timbuktu, Djenné, and other locations -
Languages
Arabic, Bambara, Fulfulde, and other local languages -
Project Dates
2013–present -
Partners
SAVAMA-DCI (Sauvegarde et Valorisation des Manuscrits pour la Défense de la Culture Islamique) Bamako, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at the University of Hamburg (CSMC), Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) of the British Library
HMML’s largest project to date focuses on the West African Islamic traditions found in the manuscripts of Timbuktu and Djenné. HMML has worked with Malian partners at SAVAMA-DCI to digitize hundreds of thousands of manuscripts evacuated from Timbuktu to Bamako, Mali’s capital, before the rebel occupation of the desert city in 2012. HMML has also worked with the family libraries that remained in Timbuktu and with the Djenné Manuscript Library. The Mali library tradition centers on family library collections used, safeguarded, and kept within learned families for generations. The SAVAMA collection contains many small and large family libraries, including the family library of SAVAMA’s founder, Dr. Abdel Kader Haidara—the Mamma Haidara Library—and the libraries of Aboubacar Abass, Attaher Mouaz, Almoustapha Abdoulahi, and others. HMML and SAVAMA partner with the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures to build local capacity in conservation, description, and digitization of manuscripts. In Timbuktu, HMML partnered with the EAP for the Endangered Libraries of Timbuktu (ELIT) project based at the Imam Ben Essayouti Library, located next to the famous Dyingerey Ber Mosque; Al-Wangara Library at the Sidi Yahya Mosque; and the Al-Cady Al-Aqib Library at the Sankore Mosque. HMML is also currently working in Djenné at the Djenné Manuscript Library.
As of July 2022, HMML's Mali projects have resulted in 3.6 million unique image files, representing 249,000 manuscripts. Of these, 18,483 manuscripts are cataloged and viewable online at vhmml.org/readingRoom.
