Architecture, Political Landscape and Urbanism on West Africa's Slave Coast - Research Paper Example

Task: Architecture, Political Landscape and Urbanism on West Africa's Slave Coast Even though numerous landscape features revealed by archeologists have been interpreted as a manifestation of European militarism in the West Africa region, the landscape presented the political and social organization of the people. This article identifies some landscape features at Savi and Elmina and postulates accompanying social and political significance of the same. According to Norman & Kelly, many landscape features in Africa have been wrongly interpreted as manifestations European military exploits. However, these landscape features represent the politics of those regions, and have nothing to do with military exploits of the west. The Savi region is the capital of the coastal Hueda Kingdom, in Benin. The state and the capital formed an important part of the Atlantic slave trade. Hueda Archaeological Project under the leadership of Kenneth Kelly, has, since 1991, discovered and mapped the form of a ditch-complex. Later on, the project has concentrated on the palace complex (Kelly, Brunache,& Norman 1999, p. 2). The archeological activities sought to elucidate the political order of the time. The town became desolate in 1772 after the conquest of the Dahomeans. Excavations in the Savi area have yielded locally made potteries and smoking pipes. The local pipes discovered were more than the imported. However, it is the ditch complex is the most interesting Savi’s archeology. The ditches are as deep as 8 meters and as wide as 30 meters. Archeologists believe that these ditches separated the residencies of the elites and the rest of the town. This has been proven by the discovery of ramp that provided access to the elite residence. There is also the evidence of a gate structure restricting entry to the area. Additionally, the presence of an elevated watchtower made strong the case of social interpretation of the functions of the ditches. Within the elitist areas, there is evidence of more barriers indicating restrictions to some areas within the elite residence itself. In the palace unearthing, there is evidence of divisions separating different sections of the palace. Furthermore, there is evidence to indicate the presence of storied structures prior to the Dahomean conquest. Ceramics can be used as active objects domain for cultural configuration and transformation at numerous scales of quotidian lives. They can be used to explain some aspects of the cultural conversions that took place because of the engagement of West Africa in the Atlantic trade. Ceramics for the bulk of artifacts revealed at any excavation site. This is because of their resilience and pervasiveness, making them effective tools of deciphering identity. One useful category are the utilitarian ceramics, which archeologists use identify functional categories and internal group relations by observing the stylistic characteristics. Furthermore, landscape features were built by the interrelationship between political, social and religious institutions. The ditch systems in west African created physical barriers and societal boundaries. They created areas of safety and inclusion (Norman & Kelly 100). The ditch system served several purposes among them, to offer protection to the majority of the settlements, and differentiate between the royal residence and other non-elite dwellings. The massive work required in the making of such complex ditch system also indicates the level of social organization present in those areas. It shows that the king had the power to summon hordes of people to attend to the duties of the kingdom. This also could have been because of the religious organization of the time. Furthermore, apart from being a show of power, it also alludes to the duties of the king in ordering defensive work. To marshal such an amount of work force, the king must have been entrusted with the duty to defend the kingdom. Another insight that results from the observation of the ditch complex is the regional political climate of the time. The kingdom at Savi was being threatened by the expansion of the Dahomean kingdom. The Dahomean kingdom offered the most immediate threat to the kingdom at Savi. The Dahomean kingdom was expanding, using martial might to conquer other kingdoms, for the control of trade routes and to increase their revenue base via taxes. Ben-Amos (1980, 78-72) opines that the ditch system should not be interpreted as barriers only, but also to include dimensions of symbolism. The ditches were symbolic structures to separate the sacred from the profane. This was arrived by the comparison of historical accounts and contemporary interviews. The results suggest a correlation between the gates and the ditches. The gates served as an intersection of the spiritual and natural worlds. Sites that presented the extremely powerful intersections were constructed near the palaces. This increased the prestige of the elites living in the palaces, and provided and a physical and symbolic boundary that protected them from political rebels within the kingdom (Norman & Kelly 101). During this time, the economy of the kingdom was supported by the then extensive human-trade. The power of the Hueda king depended on the ability to control this trade effectively. Historical accounts indicate that the king did not conduct exclusive business with any one European group, instead, he encourage competition between the European groups to increase profitability. This was further enhanced by restraining the movement of the Europeans inside the kingdom. The King ordered the building of trading quarters within the ditch system. This limited the residential opportunities of the Europeans, while at the same time, enable the king to observe them closely during their stay within the kingdom (Norman & Kelly 101). According to Kelly (1997, 2001), European bricks were imported for the building of this lodges. However, on their arrival, they were used in the construction of the palace. Apart from showing the power of the Huedan King in trade negotiations, this also indicates the use of architecture to create a differentiation between the elites and the commoners. The location of the trading quarters within the ditch system, and within close proximity within the palace, meant that the palace complex became the centre of all trade. The ditch system, therefore, provided physical and symbolic differentiation between the elite areas which were economic hubs, and non-elite areas and their activities. Therefore, the ditch system identified the palace as a major economic command and rite center within the region. Occasional points of elevation were constructed besides the ditches. In excavations, these are seen as mounds of up to 3 meters. Furthermore, there is a perceived relation linking the ditch system and the religion of the Huedan people. The Huedan people worshipped the python deity Dangbe. Earthly manifestations of Dangbe are described as a brown yellow-and-white-streaked python of moderate size. Dangbe was invoked in all spheres of life including trade, politics, climate and agriculture. The serpentine form of the ditches could have symbolized the form of Dangbe. The ditches surrounded the palace at Savi and followed the path that was used by processions conducting the invocation of Dangbe. Norman and Kelly recount one such procession conducted by the king in order to re-establish the relationship between Hueda and the Huedan pantheon. The procession focused on the movement in and out of the palace (Norman & Kelly 102). Therefore, as a physical manifestation of Dangbe, the ditch system may have shaped the procession into a shape in line with physical principles associated with Dangbe. The built landscape and structural designs was utilized to signify the relationships between elites and the deities, and to convince the common people that this relationship was natural. It was used to concretize their position at the top of the community. The buildings and other structures were an expression of sociopolitical structure, and relayed these differences between groups. The Huedan kingdom had a population of about 100,000 people, with 30, 000 living in Savi. The houses were prepared from mud and grass roofed. The streets were always swarmed with people, making movement difficult. The markets were operational every day. The capital was also embellished with a whole host of large and minute villages. These villages were enclosed with walls, either high or low. To these markets, more than 5000 people attended every day. Products were brought in from different locations, rural and imported. This caused regional settlement segregation in which urban centers were formed. The urban centers formed the economic and political nucleus for the surrounding. The slave trade increased the significance of urban centers. Norman revealed a three tier settlement arrangement. This included rural settlements, semi autonomous provincial towns and the capital at Savi (Monroe 2011, p. 404). At Elmina, the castle stands at the end of an elevation forming the protected bay. The trader’s ship could anchor, safe in the protection of the castle guns. Archeological artifacts indicate that Elmina traded more with the Europeans than Savi. While only 10 percent of the artifacts collected at Savi were of European origin, 50 percent of the artifacts were collected at Elmina were of European origin. At Elmina, many structures were built with stone foundations and walls. The preparation, trenching, shows significant changes due to the interaction with Europeans. These findings available from recent archeological activities in West Africa provide insight into the significance of landscapes in the political and social system of the people in those regions. Contrary to earlier reports, the landscapes are not manifestations of European military activities. Furthermore, such of these features, such as ditches, are more likely to be interpreted from a European point of view, which leads to distortions. When this is the case, the ditches are seen as only for defense and related military activities. However, many landscapes provide insights into the political organization of the people. Landscapes were used to show the power of the kings, and to demarcate his residence from those of the subjects. Landscapes also carried a religious import. Many rituals were associated with certain landscapes, they signified the form of certain deities such as Dangbe and the serpentine ditches at Savi. These interpretations help avoid the misinterpretations of the West Africa people as having had no original architectural structures of their own importance. They help understand better the social structure that permeated those kingdoms, and how this affects modern communities and related social organization. Works cited Monroe, Cameron, ‘‘Urbanism on West Africa’s Slave.” American Scientist the magazine of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.vol 99 (2011): pp. 400-409. Print. Monroe, Cameron, “Continuity, Revolution or Evolution on the Slave Coast Of West African Royal Architecture And Political Order In Precolonial Dahomey.” Journal of African History, volume 48 (2007): pp. 349–73. Kelly, Kenneth, Brunache, Peggy & Norman, Neill, “Archaeological Fieldwork at Savi Republic of Benin: The 1999 season.” Nyam€ Akuma vol. 52 December (1999): pp. 1-9. Norman, Kelly & Kelly, Kenneth, “Landscape Politics: The Serpent Ditch and the Rainbow in West Africa.” American Anthropologist vol. 106 (1), (2004), pp.98–110. Print , Read More