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Colonial Politics and Precolonial History: Everyday Knowledge, Genre, and Truth in a Yoruba Town

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2013

Insa Nolte
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Abstract

This article suggests that colonial African historiography was shaped both by the textual forms and conventions associated with local historical knowledge and by the complex political interests which emerged under colonial rule. Based on a case study of two linked debates in the small Yoruba town of Ode Remo, the article argues that beyond narratives, local historical knowledge was also contained, sometimes opaquely, in a variety of other genres and practices. During the colonial period, traditionally segmented and distributed forms of knowledge were brought together in civic debates to constitute a more general history. But while historical accounts could be inflected under political pressure or even to reflect widespread local ambitions, the enduring presence of historical knowledge in textual forms used in everyday life meant that there nonetheless remained an overall sense of what was true within the community.

Résumé

Cet article suggère que l’historiographie de la colonisation en Afrique a été influencée à la fois par les textes et conventions associés avec la connaissance de l’histoire locale et les intérêts politiques complexes qui ont émergé sous la dominance coloniale. En se basant sur deux débats liés dans la petite ville Yoruba de Ode Remo, cet article soutient qu’au-delà des récits, la connaissance de l’histoire locale est également contenue, parfois de manière opaque, dans une variété d’autres genres et pratiques. Pendant la période coloniale, des formes de connaissance traditionnellement segmentées et dispersées ont été regroupées dans des débats civiques pour constituer une histoire commune plus globale. Cependant, alors que les comptes-rendus historiques auraient pu subir des pressions politiques ou même refléter des ambitions locales étendues, la présence durable de connaissance historique sous forme de textes utilisés dans la vie de tous les jours indique qu’il persistait néanmoins un sens commun de ce qui était tenu pour vrai au sein de la communauté.

Type
Critical Historiography
Information
History in Africa , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , October 2013 , pp. 125 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2013 

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