DEPENDENT - REPRESENTATIONS OF SLAVES IN ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN VISUAL ART - of Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
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THE MAGAZINE OF THE BONN CENTER FOR DEPENDENCY AND SLAVERY STUDIES
DEPENDENT
21 | 2
REPRESENTATIONS
OF SLAVES
IN ANCIENT
MEDITERRANEAN
VISUAL ART
PAGE 8
GROWING CONTEMPORARY WHAT MATTERS
EXHIBITION ASYMMETRICAL TO US
DEPENDENCIES
PAGE 4 PAGE 36 PAGE 56
2 | TABLE OF CONTE N T S EDITORIAL | 3
GERMANY
A “ G R O W I N G E X H I B I T I O N ” AB O UT
R E S O UR C E S AN D D E P E N D E N C I E S
P. 4
ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN AREA
T H E B E AUT I F UL , T H E UGLY AN D
T H E S T R AN GE R : R E P R E S E N TAT I O N S
O F S L AV E S I N AN C I E N T
M E D I T E R R AN E AN V I S UAL ART
P. 8
04 | O PINION
08 | S PECIAL FOCUS
13 | NEWS
NIGERIA
16 | I NTE RVIE W I O N S AV I O UR S , M OT H E R S AN D
W I V E S : I M AG E S O F W O M E N ,
L AT I N A M E R I C A
2 0 | FIE LD R E SE AR CH M E M O R I E S AN D D E P E N D E N C I E S
I NTE R NATI O N AL W O R K S H O P
AM O N G T H E YO R UB A O F N I G E R I A
O N D E P E N D E N C Y AN D
P. 2 2
2 8 | I NTE RVIE W II L A B O R I N L AT I N AM E R I C A
P. 5 2
36 | CAD
PE R U
31 | P UBLICATIONS
A H A A R D P R OJEC T:
A R C H A EO LO G I C A L
50 | CONF E R E NCE R E P ORT S R E S E A R C H , S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
A ND D E P E N D E N C Y
54 | EV E NTS & PR E VIE W P. 5 7
56 | WHAT MATTE R S TO U S
Dear Readers,
We welcome you to the fourth issue of our Cluster Traveling is not an everyday occurrence for most of Anas Ansar, another group member, reports about the archeologists Kevin Lane and Christian Mader give an
Magazine DEPENDENT. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic us anymore, but we hope that we can give you at least international e-Symposium “Beyond the Pandemic: exciting example of how archeology can be sustainable.
has been unable to stop research here at the BCDSS. We some inspiration for future travel destinations with Covid-19, Migration and Global Labour” organized by
have some exciting news and events to report about. our special focus and our field researchers’ reports. CAD in March. Two of our Master students, Marina And of course, as in every issue, we give you an overview
In the special focus section, classical archaeologists Zielke and Julia Winkel, provide insights into their stu- about past and upcoming events. Excitingly, the first of
We are excited to tell you about our new library on Martin Bentz and Patrick Zeidler take you on a journey dent lives in times of the global pandemic and the “new these is very close at hand: the “Growing exhibition”
ancient slavery, which the BCDSS has been lent by to ancient Mediterranean societies and describe differ- normal” of e-teaching. about resources and dependencies, which will open its
the former Mainz Academy project Forschungen zur ent representations of slaves in visual art. Malik Ade (actual, physical) doors just as this issue of DEPENDENT
antiken Sklaverei (Research on Ancient Slavery). Spe- shares with us experiences from his last field trip to Covid-19 not only restricts our daily lives, but also gives comes out. You can read all about it in the article penned
cialist librarian Johannes Deißler, who was in charge Nigeria and his research about Moremi, a popular figure us room for discussion about how we want to rebuild or by Karoline Noack and Nikolai Grube.
of the library for many years, kindly gave us a short in Yoruba folklore. change our post-crisis society. In our new section “What
interview about the history and the special treasures matters to us”, members of the BCDSS describe how We hope you enjoy our offerings.
of this collection. You can find the interview together Alexander Rothenberg takes you behind the scenes in sustainability can be realized in many different forms
with other recent events in the news section of this his introduction of our working group “Contemporary and spaces. From the BCDSS Events Office, Jan Hörber Stay safe and stay healthy
magazine. Asymmetrical Dependencies” (CAD). reports about sustainable event managing, while Klara Wigger
4 | O P INION OPINION | 5
process, which will continue for many years and
Embroidered border, twentieth century, Gujarat, Western India,
cotton fabric. Department of Asian and Islamic Art History,
reflect the work of the Cluster of Excellence as a
University of Bonn. whole. As this is a research exhibition, we decided
to develop a new and more open concept which
would bring together the processes of knowledge
production and exhibition design on a continuous and
transparent basis. As such, there is continual interac-
tion between content (the generated knowledge) and
formats, a process that will only come to an end when
the exhibition finally opens. Our exhibition will not
only literally showcase the research results, but also
open windows on to the processuality of knowledge
generation with all its attendant negotiations.
A “GROWING EXHIBITION”
ABOUT RESOURCES AND DEPENDENCIES
Nikolai Grube and Karoline Noack
“
Museum exhibitions are the result of a long preparatory process. Months and years of conceptualising and
planning finally culminate in the moment where the doors are opened and exhibition and public meet at last. Asymmetrical dependencies between
Only very rarely does this process take centre stage as the subject of an exhibition itself. institutions and between social actors
impact the very design of an exhibition
Curating an exhibition is, like writing ethnography, a and the decisions about what kind of
productive process that involves complex negotiations knowledge is to be showcased. How then
on a variety of levels and between numerous actors do social actors behave in planning an
with different interests. This includes power relations exhibition that negotiates asymmetrical
”
and the contexts in which an exhibition is conceptu- dependencies on resources themselves?
alised, as well as, of course, discussions about the
content of the exhibition itself. In fact, asymmetrical
dependencies between institutions and between
social actors impact the very design of an exhibition This exhibition is being developed as part of the
and the decisions about what kind of knowledge is to current thematic year of Research Area B “Embodied
be showcased. How then do social actors behave in Dependencies”. When we began work on the concept
Statue of the Aztec maize goddess Chicomecoatl (reproduction of
planning an exhibition that negotiates asymmetrical two years ago, it swiftly became clear that the exhi- a fourteenth- or fifteenth-century figure). BASA Museum (Bonn
dependencies on resources themselves? bition could only show a snapshot of the discussion Collection of the Americas), University of Bonn
6 | O P INION OPINION | 7
BASA Museum (Bonn
Collection of the Americas) ke
d ybrüc
Kenne
.
dstr Egyptian
for
Ox Markt Museum
RHEI
N
Münster-
platz Uni
Hofgarten Department of Asian
and Islamic Art History
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.
HBF ULB Nikolai Grube
is Professor for the
Ade Anthropology of the
nau
era Americas at the University
of Bonn. He is director of
Ka
llee
Bonn Center for Dependency the Maya Hieroglyphic
ise
and Slavery Studies Dictionary Project and co editor of several
rst
r.
Wine jug with inscription, Egyptian, 1480–1397 BCE. Provenance academic journals. His research focuses on
not known. Marl, clay. Egyptian Museum of the University of Bonn. the structure of Mesoamerican societies,
particularly pre-Columbian Maya societies.
He is a Principal Investigator in the
The University of Bonn’s research collections and Cluster of Excellence “Beyond Slavery and
r.
be rst museums will contribute objects to the initial exhibi- Freedom” and Speaker of the Research
We Area B (“Embodied Dependencies”).
tion. Its decentralized spatial distribution will reflect
the fact that these museums and collections are
scattered across the city. The selection of objects
went hand in hand with ongoing discussions about
the global interconnections of dependencies shaped
This approach reflects current thinking on exhibi- the interrelations between material resources and by the access to and the processing and exchange Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack
is Professor for the
tions and knowledge production and complements dependencies in a small, decentralized initial exhi- of resources. As such, the cooperation between the
Anthropology of the
ongoing discussions in museum studies in the fields bition. Over the following years this experimental university museums and collections retraces the
Americas at the University
of anthropology, archaeology, art history, and others. exhibition will continue to grow and expand. The end dependencies shaped by the control of raw materials, of Bonn, Director of the
It does this by engaging with the central question: the result will be a large event that concludes the first goods, and commodities, as well as the people who BASA Museum (Bonn
interconnectedness and interdependency of mate- phase of the Cluster. It will provide windows on our produce and process them, over a period of time that Collection of the Americas).
rialities in social and political relations – especially ongoing discussions about dependencies, and make stretches from Ancient Egypt to the present day. Her research within the BCDSS focuses
those shaped by strong asymmetrical dependencies visitors part of the process. on the categories of social dependency
“
of the Inca Empire with the aim of
in a global context.
“
developing methods for an interlinkage
The cooperation between the university
of archaeological, ethno-historical and
The questions we ask in the growing exhibition Over the next few years this experimental museums and collections retraces the ethnological sources and approaches.
are, How do materialities shape and form these exhibition will continue to grow and dependencies shaped by the control of She is one of the Deputy Speakers of the
dependencies?, and, How are dependencies in turn expand. The end result will be a large raw materials, goods, and commodities, BCDSS and affiliated to Research Area B
shaped and transformed by materialities? How do event that concludes the first phase of as well as the people who produce and (“Embodied Dependencies”) and E (“Gender
materialities and their relations influence the gen- the Cluster. It will provide windows on our process them, over a period of time that (and Intersectionality)”), and one of the
Speakers of the TRA “Present Pasts” at the
dered representation and construction of knowledge ongoing discussions about dependencies, stretches from Ancient Egypt to the
” ”
University of Bonn.
in an exhibition? We want to implement the concept and make visitors part of the process. present day.
of the growing exhibition in a first step by exploring
8 | S P EC IA L FOC US S PECIAL FOCUS | 9
Slavery and other forms of
institutionally legitimized social
dependencies played a crucial
role in the daily life of societies in
”
the ancient Mediterranean.
Before we start our socio-historical
analysis it is important to remember
that these artworks are no “pho-
to-realistic” images of real life. They
should not be seen as neutral, unbiased
sources of information. They are – con-
scious or unconscious – constructions
that reflect historical and social pro-
cesses in symbolic ways, and they are
always associated with particular ideo-
logical ways of looking at the world.
The meaning of these symbols has to
be deciphered with the tools of visual
science. The underlying “terminology”
is based on particular features in the (2) Etruscan terracotta drinking cup in the form of a black African
image that can be combined in different boy’s head. Bonn, Akademisches Kunstmuseum, inv. no. 945
THE BEAUTIFUL, THE UGLY ways. We will next discuss in some
(© Akademisches Kunstmuseum Bonn, photograph: Jutta Schubert)
AND THE STRANGER. more detail the various iconographic Occasionally, there are also idealized depictions from
conventions used in ancient art to char- the world of labor, of workshops or quarries – which
acterize slaves. in reality obviously would have been much harsher. An
Athenian black-figure vase from the late sixth century
BCE (fig. 3) depicts a scene in a pottery: one of the two
(1) Relief on Etruscan cinerary urn with banqueting scene and cupbearer, plaster cast: Bonn, Akademisches Kunstmuseum, inv. no. 1178, unclothed slaves carries fuel, the other stokes the
original: Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Antikensammlung, inv. no. E 24 (© Akademisches Kunstmuseum Bonn, photograph: Jutta Schubert)
BEAUTIFUL, IDEALIZING DEPICTIONS OF SLAVES kiln. Their muscular, toned bodies would look exactly
Numerous images in painting and sculpture depict the same as those of any citizen athletes without the
In ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman societies, slavery was an integral part of daily life. Numerous images aesthetically pleasing slaves at work. This is partic- context. These industrious, exemplary slaves under-
of dependent persons can be found in the material culture. In this article we will identify the multiple ularly true for domestic slaves, who may be shown line the status of the workshop owner, who is shown
strategies which were used to represent slaves, and investigate the ideological framework associated serving their master at meals or helping their mistress clothed in a robe and carrying a staff as he oversees
with the images. We will also discuss to what extent self-representations of slaves can give us a valuable get dressed. A typical example is this Etruscan relief their work. The harmonious tone is further strength-
perspective from the point of view of the enslaved. from the sixth century BCE (see fig. 1), which shows a ened by the fact that the workers wear wreaths, just
luxurious banquet with revelers reclining on couches as guests at a banquet would. This large, high-quality
REPRESENTATIONS THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGES
FOR RESEARCH INTO ANCIENT SLAVERY
while on the ground in front of them stand bronze
vessels with wine and water. The figure on the left
vessel was found in a richly furnished tomb. It was
probably commissioned by a workshop owner.
OF SLAVES IN ANCIENT Slavery and other forms of institutionally legitimized is marked as a servant by its smaller size. He is a cup
social dependencies played a crucial role in the bearer who holds a ladle for the wine in his right hand.
MEDITERRANEAN daily life of societies in the ancient Mediterranean He is unclothed, with a muscular, well-proportioned
area. So it is not surprising that dependent persons body, and well-groomed, long hair gathered together
VISUAL ART frequently occur in pictorial art. We have depictions at the nape of his neck. Without the context and his
of slaves not only in public representative art (such reduced size he would be indistinguishable from a
Martin Bentz as honorary monuments, statues or coins), but also free citizen. Such attractive and unclothed atten-
Patrick Zeidler in many other fields, such as the private or domestic dants – who were meant to be erotically attractive,
sphere (in gems, mirrors or vases) and on sepulchral too – should be read attributively: they are displayed
art (on tomb paintings, urns and sarcophagi). The very in order to highlight their master’s status, just like the
large number of depictions means that we will only be rich tableware in the foreground. Domestic slaves
able to discuss a small selection of the overall very of African ancestry were particularly extravagant
broad spectrum in this article. The Greek, Etruscan status symbols, as few could afford them. Pictures or
and Roman artworks we will look at originated in the vessels may have served as substitutes, such as the
period between the sixth century BCE to the second fourth-century BCE drinking cup shaped like the head (3) Greek vase painting depicting a workshop owner and two
slaves at work, Munich Antikensammlungen, inv. no. 1717
century CE. of a Black African boy wearing a wreath (fig. 2). (© Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek München)
10 | S PECIAL FOC US S PECIAL FOCUS | 1 1
“ “
ugly or disfigured in ancient pictorial art may include
Depictions of good-looking, hard-working baldness, a hunched back, dwarfism, or physical dis- Showing captive, chained “barbarians”
slaves served to underline the master’s abilities. from a foreign land symbolizes
”
status. Rome’s military success and cultural
“ ”
superiority.
Dependent, socially inferior people were
sometimes shown as alien, different, ugly,
and deformed to distinguish them from Another example for the element of foreignness is the
”
the free. depiction of Black Africans. Most of these have been
interpreted as images of slaves, which can be seen
in the fact that most are shown in subordinate roles:
There are also numerous depictions in Roman art of carrying objects, serving, performing as dancers or
“barbarians” from the north, such as Celts, Germans musicians, or asleep or huddled as they wait for their
or Dacians (from the western Black Sea region), who masters; some are even tied up. These images show
have long manes and shaggy beards and wear long a great interest in depicting physiognomic features,
trousers – no Roman would look like that. Although such as rounded faces, fleshy lips, wide noses and
these depictions emphasize the savagery and physical short, curly hair. In general, Black African slaves were
strength of the “barbarians”, they are always shown seen as exotic in antiquity. This also explains why (6) Greek vase painting showing the coronation of a craftsman by
as inferior enemies who submit to the Roman emperor vases such as the one in Bonn’s Akademisches Kun- the goddess Athena, Vicenza, Banca Intesa (reproduction from AdI
1876, tab. DE)
or general, pleading for mercy or already in chains. stmuseum (fig. 2), which were used at the banquets of
This latter motif can be seen in a couple of statues the wealthy upper class, were decorated with images
now on the arch of Constantine, which were originally of Africans. was reserved for citizens. On a fifth-century BCE
made under the emperor Trajan (early second century pottery vessel (fig. 6) a vase painter has portrayed
CE). They are of men clad in long trousers, tunics and himself as a wealthy citizen. He is seated in an
cloaks, whose hands are crossed in front of their SELF-REPRESENTATIONS OF SLAVES expensive armchair with his hair in ring-shaped curls
bodies in a gesture that suggests bondage (fig. 5). The In addition to images seen from the perspective of the (a style typical for the sons of Athenian aristocrats).
context indicates that these men are captive Dacians, elites we also have a number of depictions that were In real life, his carefully pleated robe would only get
and that the statues are meant to commemorate created by or on behalf of the dependent. Are they dif- in the way if he really were at work, and to cap it all
Trajan’s successful campaigns in this region. So the ferent from the images we have looked at so far? Do the goddess Athena is putting a wreath on his head.
portrayal of captive, chained “barbarians” from a they show a more realistic perspective? An analysis Clearly, these unrealistic scenes are unattainable
(4) Votive tablet showing workers in a clay pit (reproduction from
distant, foreign land is part of public representative enables us to distinguish between two types of pic- wishful thinking, but they also demonstrate a certain
S. Scholl – D. Grassinger – E. Ambros (eds.), Die Rückkehr der Götter, art, intended to symbolize Rome’s military successes tures: first, depictions of work and everyday life that professional confidence of the expert craftsmen (and
Ausstellungskatalog Berlin, Pergamonmuseum (Regensburg 2008)
and cultural superiority. at least in part adopt the iconography of the othering, indeed craftswomen; we also have some, albeit rare,
313 upper fig.)
less-than-ideal images. Second, images that express depictions of women at work) who depict themselves
an idealizing or “wishful-thinking” perspective that with pride.
DELINEATING AND OTHERING show the dependent in ways typical for citizens. We
“
In sharp contrast to those idealized images are depic- know of no images that cast a critical eye at everyday
tions of dependent persons that show them as alien, work or life situations. Some enslaved craftsmen depict them-
different, ugly, and deformed in order to distinguish selves as well-dressed, well-groomed
them from the beautiful, idealized representations of Earlier we discussed a votive tablet from the sanc- citizens. This is wishful thinking, but it also
”
freeborn citizens. One example are the painted votive tuary in the Greek village of Penteskouphia (fig. 4), shows their self-confidence and pride.
tablets from Penteskouphia near Corinth in Greece, where artisans dedicated their humble gifts to the
which were given as offerings to the god Poseidon. god to ask for support in their tasks. Their use of the
The images show dependent persons engaged in stereotypical image ciphers – elongated sex, snub A mixture of both of these modes of representation
typical activities, such as carrying heavy objects, nose, baldness etc. – clearly show that they lacked an occurs in the grave markers of Roman freedpeople
with negatively connoted behaviors, such as indecent alternative iconographic vocabulary of their own with (liberti). After manumission, former slaves proudly
exposure, and negatively connoted physiognomic which to characterize and distinguish themselves signal their new social position by wearing both a
features such as physical defects. Our tablet (fig. 4) from their citizen masters. tunic and a toga – the latter garment was strictly
from the sixth century BCE shows several workers reserved for male citizens. Our example (fig. 7) from
who seem to be mining clay in a pit and carrying it We do, however, have a whole range of “wish- the first century CE shows, according to the inscrip-
away in baskets. They include a naked, bearded man ful-thinking” images that depict dependent persons tion, P(ublius) Aiedius Amphio, who was the freedman
who wields a hoe and who has an elongated, flaccidly in situations they were extremely unlikely ever to of a Roman man named Publius (the inscription reads,
dangling phallus. A respectable citizen would never achieve. Slaves, occasionally named, are shown as P[ublii] L[ibertus]: freedman of Publius). Although he
have been depicted in this way. This is therefore an finely dressed and well-groomed citizens participat- took the name of his former master, the freedman’s
image cipher that enables the viewer to identify the ing in festive banquets with musicians and hetaerae face does not show the idealizing features of a
(5) Statues of captive barbarians on the arch of Constantine in
man as a dependent, socially inferior worker. Other Rome (reproduction from P. Pensabene (ed.), Arco di Costantino tra
(high-class concubines), taking music lessons and or member of the nobility, but an old man with a receding
iconographic features used to characterize slaves as archeologia e archeometria (Rome 1999) 199 fig. 6) practicing athletics in the gymnasium – a space that hairline, deep wrinkles, sunken cheeks, no teeth, and
12 | S PECIAL FOC US NEWS | 1 3
One of the few negative depictions of working condi-
tions is clearly exaggerated with, apparently, hyper-
bolic humor. In a workshop scene on a crudely painted
pottery vessel from the fifth century BCE (fig. 8) a
naked potter and his wife are shown at work making
NEWS
drinking vessels. On the right, an also naked slave is
suspended from the ceiling and being whipped; while
a slave who hurries away to the left is being pushed
or beaten with an object by the woman. Given that
the scene just described is on a wine cup, it seems
reasonable to assume that it served to provide enter-
tainment at a banquet rather than transport serious
criticism.
Martin Bentz
is Professor of Classical
Archaeology at the
University of Bonn and
Principal Investigator at the
(7) Relief of a Roman freedman (reproduction from Staatliche Mu-
BCDSS. He studies different BCDSS PUBLISHING SERIES
forms of dependency in
seen zu Berlin (eds.), Die Antikensammlung im Pergamonmuseum
und in Charlottenburg (Mainz 1992) 202 upper fig.) the Greek and pre-Roman world of the AVAILABLE AS GOLD OPEN ACCESS
first millennium BCE, beginning with the
material evidence – archaeological finds
several warts. But his unembellished, warts-and-all and ancient images – and contextualizing The BCDSS is committed to building bridges between researchers from all over the
features clearly carry a positive connotation. The it with literary sources. At present, he world on the one hand, and researchers and the general public on the other. Being
freed were proud of the hard work by which they had is directing a research project on the
aware of the fact that sharing knowledge is one of the key values of responsible
earned their new social status, and wanted to demon- Etruscan necropolis of Monte Abatone
at Cerveteri (Italy) that looks at social
research, the Cluster of Excellence makes available all of our publishing series
strate this publicly through the medium of this almost as Gold Open Access content. This publishing strategy makes research findings
inequalities and dependency structures.
exaggerated realism, combined with the garments immediately accessible to everyone, without any embargo period. Immediate
The project is funded by the DFG.
that signalled their achievement. open access significantly increases the international visibility of the Cluster
and overcomes socio-economic obstacles that may challenge individuals and
“
research institutions interested in having direct access free of charge.
Roman freedpeople were proud of the
hard work by which they had earned their In addition to workshops, movie series, podcasts and social media content,
freedom and their new citizen status. They
”
Patrick Zeidler Gold Open Access represents an important element in the BCDSS’ outreach
wanted to demonstrate this publicly. is a PhD candidate in
strategy. A conscious and targeted use of this toolbox accompanied with
Classical Archaeology at
the University of Bonn and
unlimited access to the Cluster’s e-publications means that truly everybody –
works at the BCDSS as young people, teachers, policy makers and the general public, as well as of course
a Research Associate in scholars across the globe – can be informed about current scholarly debates on slavery and other forms of
Research Area B “Embodied strong asymmetrical dependencies that are of crucial significance for understanding current socio-political
Dependencies”. His research project deals challenges. This interconnectedness between researchers and the general public lies at the center of our
with the material, epigraphical and literary research agenda.
evidence for slavery and other forms of
asymmetrical dependencies in Etruria. He
analyzes depictions of dependent persons,
Using the option of Gold Open Access also means a wider audience for the scholarly works of our authors, as
such as prisoners of war, or different types well as a deep impact on ongoing scholarly discourses. To guarantee recognition for the authors and their
of household servants including cupbe- intellectual property, all Gold Open Access content is published under a Creative Commons (CC) license.
arers, musicians, dancers, pedagogues The authors retain copyright for their works, and users must adhere to the copyright law as prescribed in
and nurses, from between the sixth to the CC license “BY-NC-ND”.
the first centuries BCE in different classes
of Etruscan visual culture, among them
For more information about
mural and vase paintings, urns, sarcophagi, https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/
mirrors, statuettes and gems.
Creative Common Licenses, see:
(8) Greek vase painting showing workshop in caricatured fashion,
Athens, National Museum, inv. no. 1114 (reproduction after
H. Blümer, Scenen des Handwerkes, AM 14, 1889, fig. 151)
14 | NE WS NEWS | 1 5
PROFESSORS AT THE BONN CENTER
FOR DEPENDENCY AND SLAVERY STUDIES
The BCDSS is delighted to announce that as of October 2021, Julia Hillner, Claudia Jarzebowski, Pia Wiegmink and
Christoph Witzenrath will hold our four BCDSS Professorships.
Julia Hillner
who will start her post in October 2021m, is already at the BCDSS as a Heinz Heinen Fellow.
She works predominantly on the transformations of the family and the household in the
period 300–750 and how these are reflected in legal norms and practices. In addition, she
also focuses on a number of related topics ranging from the urban context of the family
and property holding, particularly in the late antique city of Rome, to issues of authority,
hierarchy and discipline within the household and how these have influenced concepts and practices of
state punishment in late antiquity.
GLOBAL LEGAL HISTORY ON THE GROUND Claudia Jarzebowski
will start her BCDSS Professorship in September 2021. In her current research, she focuses
on global and gender history of the early modern period, including the history of dependence
We are happy to announce that our researcher Dr. Mariana Dias Paes will be conducting a Max Planck
and enslavement, as well as the genesis of bourgeois society. She has previously focused
Research Group from January 2022 at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in
on the social and cultural history of the early modern period, the history of children and
Frankfurt am Main. She successfully participated in a rigorous and highly competitive selection proce-
emotion during the period of 1450-1800, and on historical research into violence and crime.
dure held by the Max Planck Society. Max Planck Research Group Leaders hold a five-year W2 position,
have their own budget for personnel and resources and have scientific autonomy. The group will be titled
“Global Legal History on the Ground” and will put forward new theoretical and methodological perspec-
tives in writing about how norms and legal categories are created in a global perspective. African Legal
History plays a central role in this new perspective.
Pia Wiegmink
“
will start her BCDSS Professorship in September 2021. Pia Wiegmink is interested in cultural
Dr. Mariana Dias Paes will be conducting the new Max Planck Research Group
practices and narratives of nineteenth-century American slavery and dependency and their
“Global Legal History on the Ground”, which will put forward new theoretical and
transatlantic entanglements and circulation. In previous research projects, she examined US
methodological perspectives in writing about how norms and legal categories are
”
American abolitionist literature in specific transnational contexts and highlighted the role of
created in a global perspective.
women as producers, subjects and audiences of abolitionist literature.
The title of the project expresses the two main goals of the Research Group: first, writing a global legal
history told from the perspective of daily and concrete normative production that took place in ordinary
places and in which local and subaltern groups were active participants: on the ground of normative pro-
duction. Second, to create a global legal history that privileges research on African archives. The project
Christoph Witzenrath
will therefore put forward joint initiatives with a number of African archives and academic institutions:
has been Professor at the BCDSS since 2017. His research focuses on the Eurasian steppe
on the ground of the archives. Dr. Dias Paes is at present engaged in leading the research group “Law
and its neighbors, and on the influence of nomadic-settled relations and the slave trade
and the Creation of Dependency in the Ibero-Atlantic”, at the Cluster of Excellence “Beyond Slavery and
on social dependency and political representation. He aims to analyze Eurasian societies’
Freedom”. She has also extensive experience in research that analyzes court cases filed before courts in
structural and cultural specificities that are characterized by a significant gap between state
Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau.
and dependent social groups.
FURTHER NEWS https://www.dependency.uni-bonn.de/en/press-releases Each of our four Professors has one Postdoctoral Research Associate on their team and will supervise PhD the-
AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF ses within the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies and beyond. Their teaching will form the core of
BCDSS EVENTS CAN BE FOUND our two MA programs, “Dependency and Slavery Studies” and “Slavery Studies.”
ON OUR WEBSITE: https://www.dependency.uni-bonn.de/en/events
We are looking forward to shaping the field of dependency and slavery studies together in the future.
16 | I NTE RVIE W I INTERVIEW I | 1 7
Media units? of BASO, but they are included in the You mentioned books in Japanese,
What does that mean? card catalogue and listed in a sep- Korean and Chinese. So there are
arate data list. Of course, it would researchers in modern Asia who
Besides classic books or mono- be great if the different databases focus on ancient Mediterranean
INTERVIEW
“
graphs there are also numerous could now be merged in Bonn.1 slavery?
A VERY EXCITING printouts or photocopies from ency-
clopaedias, journals and antholo- There are indeed, especially col-
with Johannes Deißler,
LONG-TERM Mainz Academy of Sciences and
gies, as well as some microfilms and What are the main focuses of the leagues in South Korea and Japan
”
a large stock of PDF files. collection? have been quite outstanding. I
LOAN Literature. am convinced that we only know
The project primarily focused on about a small part of their research,
How are the holdings catalogued? ancient slavery, i.e. in classical unfortunately. Finding out about
Greece and the Roman Empire. them was quite a laborious process,
The entire collection is accessible However, we were always con- and in some cases only possible
The library of the former Mainz Academy project Forschungen zur antiken Sklaverei (Research on Ancient by means of an alphabetical card cerned to include literature from with the support of native speakers.
Slavery) has moved to Bonn and is now available to the students, Fellows and faculty of the Bonn Center for catalogue, which also moved to other areas and epochs. The library To incorporate these titles into the
Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) and the Heinz Heinen Kolleg (HHK) within the Cluster of Excellence Bonn. For the titles that are directly includes works on slavery in prehis- database was a challenge. For lit-
Beyond Slavery and Freedom: Asymmetrical Dependencies in Pre-Modern Societies. relevant to slavery there is also a tory, in the Ancient Near East (Egypt, erature with non-Latin characters
digital catalogue, the Bibliography Mesopotamia, Iran/India) and East we used simplified transliteration
The Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero once claimed that a person wanted for nothing as long as they on Ancient Slavery Online (BASO) Asia, as well as Byzantium, the Bar- according to the rules for alpha-
had a garden and a library (Letter to Varro: Ad Familiares IX 4). Covid-19 has doubly confirmed the validity of this (https://www.sklaven.adwmainz. barian successor kingdoms to the betical cataloguing in academic
statement: under pandemic conditions, researchers especially know how important reliable and fast access to de/index.php?id=1584). This is the Roman Empire, the Early Middle libraries. Whenever an object was
necessary literature can be. The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) and the Heinz Heinen updated version of the last printed Ages and early Islam. We also col- written in a less common language,
Center for Advanced Studies are therefore very pleased that the library collected by the Mainz Academy Project version of our Bibliographie zur lected reception history (including we added a German translation
Forschungen zur antiken Sklaverei (Research on Ancient Slavery) (www.sklaven.adwmainz.de) is being housed antiken Sklaverei (Bibliography on children’s and young adult litera- and a language abbreviation of the
in Bonn for the duration of the Cluster of Excellence. The transfer was initiated by Winfried Schmitz, Professor Ancient Slavery) from 2003. We ture) and didactic material. How- original language in parentheses.
of Ancient History at the University of Bonn and a member of the Mainz Academy (www.adwmainz.de). The converted this printed version to ever, the majority of the works looks In the days before services such
Academy is loaning its library to Bonn for free. We spoke with Johannes Deißler, a former researcher at the a database and added all subse- at classical antiquity. Importantly, as Google Translate were widely
Academy project who was in charge of the library for many years. quently published titles to it directly. we did not restrict ourselves in available to the public, this took a
BASO thus contains all monographs, terms of language; in addition to lot of time and effort.
essays, and encyclopaedia articles the European scholarly languages,
“
on the scholarly study of ancient we also have many texts from the
Researchers know how slavery known to our Slavery Cen- Slavic, Nordic and Finno-Ugric lan- Do you regret the library’s
important access to liter- ter up to 2012. The database has a guage families, as well as titles in relocation?
ature can be, especially sophisticated expert search func- Hebrew, Turkish, Japanese, Korean
under pandemic condi- tion and is equipped with indexes and Chinese. It is my opinion that Of course it is never easy to hand
tions. The BCDSS and the and a descriptor search based on with this loan, Bonn gains the most over a library from one’s own care
Heinz Heinen Center are the systematics of the print ver- comprehensive specialized library into the custody of others. How-
therefore very pleased sion, allowing quite complex search on the subject of ancient slavery ever, it is a necessary and a good
that the Mainz Academy strategies. BASO lists all titles rel- worldwide! step: a library must be used and its
specialist library on evant to ancient slavery, and the contents must be looked after. If
Ancient Slavery is now collection that is now in Bonn con- there is no budget to keep the library
“
in Bonn for the duration tains 95% of those titles. Sadly, we updated, it makes sense to open
of the Cluster of were unable to procure the remain- The library includes it up again and make its contents
”
Excellence. ing five percent during the project works on slavery in accessible to a larger group. Some
The arrival of the books. period. They can be easily identified prehistory, in Egypt, former employees, researchers or
in the database by the absence of a Mesopotamia, Iran, India students from Germany and abroad
Mr. Deißler, what kind of founding of the Academy Program subsequently published literature shelf mark. In the card catalogue, of and East Asia, as well as from time to time asked for literature
library is now enriching the Bonn in 1977, this Academy project estab- on slavery in the ancient Mediter- course, these missing titles do not Byzantium, the Barbarian or even spent a few days and weeks
collections? lished a research center whose ranean and the surrounding region. appear at all. About one third of the successor kingdoms to in Mainz working with the library,
tasks included building a special Over the course of these three collection is more general, i.e. texts the Roman Empire, the but this was only occasionally. Such
The Academy project Forschungen library available to all contribu- decades, the library accumulated on general or social history that are Early Middle Ages and a valuable collection deserves more
”
zur antiken Sklaverei was a long- tors of the project and to all other some 16,600 media units. not directly relevant to slavery. But early Islam. frequent use, even if we no longer
term project jointly funded by the interested researchers worldwide. because it was a working library, added to the collection after 2012.
Academy, the Federal Republic of With start-up capital, special funds scholars needed to be able to con- So I was absolutely in favour of the
Germany and the state of Rhine- and an annual budget, the project sult those titles for general back- transfer. Requests and users will
land-Palatinate until 2012. With the aimed to collect all existing and ground. These titles that are not part now simply redirected to Bonn.
1
We are happy to say that the University and State Library Bonn is currently engaged in exactly this task.
18 | I NTE RVIE W I INTERVIEW I | 1 9
the millennium onwards this really
meant all. We spent a great deal of
money in bookstores and antiquar-
ian bookshops. The project assis-
tants made countless photocopies
and scans in all accessible libraries
(and presumably cursed quite a bit),
the Mainz University Library trem-
bled in the face of our interlibrary
loan requests, and finally some
wires were occupied with searching
the Internet for electronic versions.
All in all, a total of 16,600 media
units were collected, that is about
3,500 books, 12,250 photocopies The very special
copy of “Spartacus”,
or printouts of articles, and about with an autograph
3,100 PDF files. Perceptive readers by the great Czech
will notice that the total adds up to classicist Pavel Oliva,
who passed away in
almost 19,000 copies – the reason March this year.
is that we have some titles in mul-
(Giovanni Pontano) tiple formats, such as print and pdf, In your eyes, is there a
The earliest work in the library, a book on obedience by the Italian humanist Giovanni for example. special book?
Pontano, or, in its Latinized form, Ioannes Iovianus Pontatus.
I have a favourite. Its shelf mark is
Collecting ended in 2012? acquired with a five-digit extraordi- Did you manage to acquire all the S Ro 38. It is a book, but it is also
nary allocation. This sounds incom- works you wanted for the library? a lot more. It contains a handwrit-
It had to. Without a project, there prehensible in view of the fact that ten dedication which makes it also
were no funds. From 2012 onwards, today, many of the RE volumes and I regret to say that this is not the a memory of an ancient historian
we could only add in-house pro- much more are inexpensively avail- case. Sometimes we were sim- who died only recently, and a tes-
ductions of the former project or able on the Internet, but you must ply unable to acquire some known timony to modern history. It has
donations, and the library could no remember that the twentieth cen- and newly bibliographed titles, or been years since this book was
longer be expanded. The in-house tury was a very different time. we stopped searching for them. In purchased second-hand – without
productions were several mono- view of scarce resources in terms knowledge of the autograph – but I
“
graphs published in the Forschun- of time and finances – the library still remember how much it caught
gen zur antiken Sklaverei series – The earliest work in the was an important working tool, my attention when it arrived. How-
and of course the Handwörterbuch library dates from 1472; but it was just one of the areas in ever, I would like researchers to
der antiken Sklaverei, a valuable it is the work of an Italian which the Center was active – this make active use of all titles equally
reference work. humanist, Giovanni was painful, but made sense. After and in the same way. I hope that as
Pontano, entitled all, it was important to keep an eye many colleagues as possible will
”
De obedientia. on the whole and not to concen- benefit from the entire collection.
What is the oldest work in the trate exclusively on, for example, Every book, every photocopy, in- Dr. Johannes Deißler
collection? an Uppsala dissertation published deed every media unit is a treasure has been a researcher at
in 1818. itself. the project Forschungen zur
The earliest work in the library Could you describe the acquisition antiken Sklaverei (Research
“
on Ancient Slavery) at the
dates from 1472; it is the work of an process? We agree entirely!
Mainz Academy of Sciences
Italian humanist, Giovanni Pontano, I hope that as many Thank you very much for the and Literature, and was
entitled De obedientia. This is not It always began with the search colleagues as possible information and the interview. in charge of the Academy’s specialist
an original, of course, but a reprint for relevant literature. We did this will benefit from the library for many years. He has published
of the 1490 edition. One of the great systematically with the help of entire collection. Every widely about slavery in classical antiquity.
challenges was precisely how to specialized bibliographies, the sup- book, every photocopy, His current research focuses on Jews in
The collection is housed at the
acquire pieces that had been pub- plements of Classics journals and indeed every media unit medieval German history and mandates
”
Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced of the German Emperor Frederick III in
lished a long time before the library those of related disciplines, cata- is a treasure itself. Studies (HHK) site at Heussallee southwest Germany.
was founded in 1977. A lot of money logues from German and interna- 18–24, 53113 Bonn. Scholars who
has been spent on this; Pauly’s tional publishers, as well as online want to use the library are wel-
Realenzyklopädie (RE), for exam- databases and library systems. We come to send an email to
ple, the standard encyclopaedia on attempted to obtain all titles found
classical antiquity, could only be in this way, and from the turn of
library@dependency.uni-bonn.de
A shelf of encyclopedias.FIELD As they investigate strong asymmetrical dependency,
our scholars go beyond the study of written records.
They travel to the regions they research in order to
RESEARCHERS’
scrutinize historical sources and artefacts. They also
conduct interviews with experts and communicate with
local people. In the following pages, the scholars share
impressions from their historical, archaeological or
REPORTS
anthropological field research.
Due to the corona pandemic, many of our scholars have
had to postpone their research trips to a later date. So
this section is shorter than usual. The reports we publish
in this issue look back on research trips that took place
before the pandemic. The health and safety of all is of
particular concern to us.2 2 | FIE LD R E SE A R CH FIEL D RES EARCH | 2 3
Approximately two years later, the ONE WOMAN, MULTIPLE ROLES
monarch of another Yoruba kingdom, The story of Moremi encompasses the historical
Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan experience of the tenth century. There are various
of Ugboland, also unveiled in front versions of the same story; current writing compiles
of his palace, a statue of the same what is common to the different narrated versions.
woman, Moremi. This time around she Moremi, the beautiful daughter of the ruler of the
is portrayed as a woman in humble Yoruba town of Offa, was a trader and traveller, who
dress, kneeling, palms closed and settled in Ife after her marriage to an Ife monarch. Ife
outstretched as a sign of pleading for was the economic centre of the Yoruba people, which
forgiveness. On the statue is written, attracted successful traders. It was during this period
Moremi, Iyawo Olugbo of Ugboland, that the Ugbo people were attacking Ife on market
that is, “Moremi the wife of Olugbo of days. Their costumes and the sounds they made were
Ugboland”. unfamiliar to Ife; besides, none of the kidnapped Ife
citizens ever returned to reveal the secrets of the
mysterious kidnappers. The kidnapped became the
MOREMI IN CONTEXT slaves of the Ugbo.
The story of Moremi has been dated to
around the tenth century, a period when The attacks by the Ugbo threw the great kingdom of
the fame of Ife had already spread all Ife into turmoil. The market, dominated by women,
over West Africa and beyond. Ife was served as the most important space of every Yoruba
famous for the production of works kingdom, for not only was it the centre of production
of art, especially bronze, brass, terra- and exchange of goods and services, but the Ife
cotta, as well as different kinds of glass market was also believed to serve as the melting pot
beads. They all served as the source of for different ethnic groups from all over the world.
the kingdom’s riches. During this period,
Ife also influenced other Yoruba groups
politically, as they gradually emulated
her monarchical structure. However,
The Statue of Moremi, Ile-Ife, Nigeria at some point political disputes arose
in Ife. The leading antagonists were
Oduduwa and Obatala. As the hand of
ON SAVIOURS, According to legend, queen and folk heroine Moremi
helped to liberate the Yoruba kingdom of Ife from
the Oduduwa group grew stronger, the Obatala group
fled Ife and dwelt on the outskirts of the kingdom.
MOTHERS AND WIVES: attacks by its neighbours. Our researcher Malik
Ade unravels the story of Moremi in its ancient and The struggle for power between the two groups had
IMAGES OF WOMEN, modern context. continued for several years before they finally recon-
ciled and the Obatala-led group was reinstated in Ife
MEMORIES AND Unless otherwise stated, pictures were taken by Malik kingdom. However, some followers of Obatala refused
DEPENDENCIES AMONG Ade during his 2019/2020 field research in Nigeria to return to Ife; they travelled further and settled at
a remote area called Igbo-Igbo (or Ugbo). Over time,
THE YORUBA OF NIGERIA On November 2016, the monarch, His Majesty, Ooni the Ugbo contingent developed rebellious strategies
Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II of Ile-Ife (or Ife), of attacking Ife citizens. They usually undertook the
Malik Ade Nigeria, unveiled a 42-foot-tall statue to honour attacks on special market days using masquerades or
Moremi. Ife traditions recognize Moremi as the leg- masked, costumed figures which were covered with
endary woman who rescued the Yoruba people of raffia leaves. The guttural sounds made by the mas-
Ile-Ife from invaders and kidnappers. Named Queen querades and the rasping sounds of their raffia leaves
Moremi Ajasoro Statue of Liberty, the statue became both created panic among the people of Ife, who were
the tallest in Nigeria and the third tallest in Africa, hitherto unfamiliar with the mysterious figures and
after the 171-foot African Renaissance Monument in sounds. To defeat the invaders, Ife people had to first
Dakar, Senegal, and the 66-foot Great Sphinx of Giza, demystify the strategies of the invaders.
Egypt. Moremi is portrayed as a gracefully dressed
woman, standing and proudly holding a firelight in her
right hand.
The Statue of Moremi, Ugboland, Nigeria24 | FIE LD R E SE AR CH FIEL D RES EARCH | 2 5
The incessant invasions and kidnapping on Ife market people had to do was to set their raffia leaves ablaze At last Moremi surrendered. She let the people of Ife
days saddened Moremi’s heart. She was not only a and they would detect that the kidnappers were mere know that she had made a vow and she must fulfil it.
trader but also a mother of her only son and of the humans. Additionally, Moremi had acquired different Besides, she did not want to be the reason why Ife
public as a whole. The economy was in decline whilst magical powers that would nullify the potency of the would face another trouble with the Esimirin river. She
her metaphorical children now faced insecurity. Brave Ugbo mysteries. thus surrendered her only son to be sacrificed to the
Moremi decided to help the kingdom of Ife. She first river, and peace reigned yet again in Ife.
consulted the Esimirin river deity for spiritual support. The people of Ife took the Ugbo invaders by surprise
“
She made a vow that if the deity supported her in her during their next (and last) expedition to Ife. They
mission to help the people of Ife, she would provide set the invaders’ raffia costumes on fire; war ensued In fulfilment of her vow, Moremi sur-
anything the deity demanded. The deity agreed. and the Ugbo were heavily defeated by the Ife army. rendered her only son, Oluorogbo, to be
Through the help of Moremi, Ife put a stop to the sacrificed to the river, and peace reigned
“
incessant invasions of the Ugbo people. again in Ife. After her death, the people
”
The incessant invasions on market days deified her.
saddened Moremi’s heart. Brave Moremi
”
decided to help the kingdom of Ife.
The people of Ife mourned with Moremi for her loss
The Ugbo people notice Moremi’s beauty and select her for
and promised to serve as her children whilst she lived
their king and after her demise. Moremi grew old, and after her
demise, the people deified her. Ife people kept their
At Ugboland the kidnappers uncovered the faces promise and continued to honour her as the mother
of the kidnaped. They were struck by the beauty of and saviour of the great kingdom. To the present
Moremi and decided to preserve her for their mon- day the people of Ife continue to remember Moremi
arch, the Olugbo of Ugboland, equally got struck by and perform annual festivals in which the historical
Moremi’s beauty and immediately took her as his wife. events are re-enacted.
Thus, Moremi’s status changed from slave to wife.
One of the major festivals associated with Moremi is
the annual Edi festival during which the whole story is
re-enacted. Also, streets were named after her; insti-
tutions, such as the university of Lagos, Nigeria, name
student hostels after Moremi. In 1978, Moremi High
The masquerades lead the kidnapped Ife citizens to Ugboland to
become slave labourers School was opened in Ife, situated on the campus of
the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Moremi returns to Ife and leads people with firelight to defeat
Next, Moremi disguised herself as a common woman the Ugbo masquerades However, the erection and unveiling of the 42-foot-
and allowed herself to be kidnapped – alongside other tall statue sparked great tensions and threatened to
Ife people – by the Ugbo masquerades. As usual, the revive history – one thousand years on.
eyes of the kidnapped were covered throughout the The Ife crown and the people held Moremi in the high-
journey to prevent them from knowing the road and est esteem. Peace returned to the great kingdom and While archaeological materials and preserved arte-
detecting the secrets of the Ugbo kidnappers. the economy began to boom again. But Esimirin, the facts have made it possible to successfully recon-
river deity, refused to share in the peace and joy of Ife. struct the activities of Moremi’s period, folklore
The King of Ugboland falls in love with Moremi The deity expressed anger by sweeping through the continues to serve as the major means of preserving
kingdom with a flood. Priests consulted the river to history among the Yoruba. Folk tales informed the
Throughout the process, Moremi pretended and find out what the problem was, only to realize that the festivals and corroborated visual objects. Above all,
played along as the Ugbo monarch fell in love with her. legendary Moremi was the problem. She had become Yoruba folklore continue to serve as significant ele-
Then she began to ask questions about the mysteries so overwhelmed by the victory of Ife over the Ugbo ments of information about the people’s personhood,
of the Ugbo kidnappers. The king who had fallen in invaders that she had forgotten to redeem her vow. identities, and gender concepts. According to the
love with Moremi thought that Moremi had the same Yoruba, folklore known by the Yoruba as àróbá, serve
feelings for him, and so he revealed the secrets of the The priests informed Moremi about this and she as the father of history. Each Yoruba group protects
mysterious spirits. As soon as Moremi discovered all immediately rushed to the river to express her apol- their own tales or their version of a conventional folk-
the necessary secrets, she escaped from Ugboland ogy and ask for what the river wanted in return. The lore jealously. Such fiercely guarded constructions
and returned to Ife. river deity demanded Moremi’s only son, Oluorogbo. produced the stories and statues of Moremi.
The river’s demand sent the whole kingdom of Ife into
Immediately after arriving there, Moremi informed yet another confusion. Why would Moremi sacrifice
her people that the Ugbo masquerades were actually her only son to the river? Then they began to appeal to
humans who only wore raffia leaves (a plant that was the river deity, pledging to give the river anything else
not common in Ife) as costumes. She taught the Ife but Oluorogbo, the only son of Moremi. The river deity
The Ugbo masquerade raiders at (...arrive at Ife...), see (disguised)
people that the raffia could easily catch fire. Whenever refused all attractive offers and insisted on having
peasant Moremi and kidnap her. the kidnappers returned for their expeditions, all the Moremi’s only son.2 6 | FI E LD R E SE A R CH FIEL D RES EARCH | 2 7
WOMEN, DEPENDENCY AND YORUBA SOCIETIES Finally, the story of Moremi reveals the paradoxical
The story of Meremi mirrors the multiple roles of beliefs of the Yoruba about women. The beliefs apply
Yoruba women: Ife and Ugboland depended on Moremi differently to the two kingdoms in question, but are
for her economic, mother and wife roles. While both both tied to dependencies. Ife kingdom erected the
men and women traded, women embodied and dom- statue of Moremi as a legendary saviour because of
KANO
inated the economy. Women controlled all internal the belief in her as a public mother who prioritized the
trades in Yorubaland. When the economy of a kingdom wellbeing of her children – the people of Ife – over her
boomed, women took the praise; during a recession, personal safety and joy. In this sense, while the Yoruba
women became desperate and vulnerable and did honoured women, the women in question had to merit
everything to find solutions. This is why Moremi, a such honour by performing extra-ordinary services.
wealthy trader, did everything possible – risking her Moremi was not the only woman in Ife kingdom, but N I GER I A
own life and sacrificing her only son – to restore the she merits her representation because her services to
economic power of the great Ife kingdom. mankind were regarded as exceptional.
ABUJA
“ The story of Meremi mirrors the multiple
roles of Yoruba women. Women embodied
and dominated the economy. This is why
Moremi, a wealthy trader, did everything
“ The story of Moremi reveals the paradox-
ical beliefs of the Yoruba about women.
Ife kingdom honoured Moremi the saviour
because she prioritized the wellbeing of I BA DA N
possible – risking her own life and sacrific- the people of Ife over her personal safety
ing her only son – to restore the economic and joy. Ugboland portrays Moremi as a
”
L AG OS
power of the great Ife kingdom. kneeling wife pleading for forgiveness
to hint that the wife as an outsider is the
”
only one subjected to betrayal.
The story of Meremi mirrors the multiple roles of
Yoruba women. Women embodied and dominated the
economy. This is why Moremi, a wealthy trader, did Ugboland portrays Moremi as a kneeling wife pleading
everything possible – risking her own life and sacri- for forgiveness to hint that the wife as an outsider is
ficing her only son – to restore the economic power of the only one subjected to betrayal. The statue demon-
the great Ife kingdom. strates the Yoruba way of constructing insiders and
outsiders. Insiders were the direct descendants of
Age served as one category of hierarchies among founders of households or communities, while outsid-
the Yoruba. The older you got, the more respect you ers were those who joined household or communities.
enjoyed from the younger members of your household Incest was forbidden among the Yoruba. Marriage
A photo taken in the 1940s by Rev. J Michael Walsh during the
and from society as whole. Nevertheless, the respect Moremi Edi re-enactment festivals in Ife. served as one of the means of constructing outsiders.
accrued to old age did not come for free, because old (Courtesy: The University of Ibadan Library). Note the costumes Nevertheless, while the outsiders boost the popula-
of the Ugbo-type masquerade made from Raffia leaves, and the
age also entailed responsibilities. Responsibilities elaborate face and head masks. tion (through the motherhood of wives) in addition
varied, just as people differed in capacity. As the to rendering labour and other services, they were
wealth of trading women increased with age, they regarded as strangers and were often treated with
were expected to contribute to their communities: her chief responsibility was to bear children and boost suspicion. The suspicion originated from the Yoruba
in time of peace they sponsored festivals and other the population of her spouse’s household. A barren belief that outsiders always owed allegiance to their
ceremonies; in time war they not only led, but also woman became the object of scorn while her husband own communities of origin and were thus liable to
provided food and medical support for, the soldiers. rarely got blamed. When misfortune occurred in a betrayal. However, such belief and restrictions did not
These contributions enabled old women to earn fur- household, (barren) wives became the prime suspect. extend to the services rendered by the outsiders.
ther the title of “Iya” or “public mother”. Old women On the other hand, her ability to bear children was
who failed to render services for their communities, translated to her support for her marital household
lost respect and got terrible nicknames; it was not as she consequently gained acceptance and respect.
unusual for Yoruba communities to ostracize a stingy,
Malik Ade
wealthy woman and tag her as enemy of the state. Notably, not all Yoruba women became wives. Social Is doctoral researcher
status intersected women’s identities so that women at the Bonn Center for
Also, the Yoruba people valued themselves according of noble descent or of certain religious or occupa- Dependency and Slavery
to the size of their households. Heads of household tional background rarely became wives. This category Studies. He explores the
became fulfilled when their household grew bigger. of women remained in their own family household or constructions of identities
in sub-Sahran Africa,
Women played significant roles in growing the popu- founded their own, and thus evaded the role of wife.
especially as the people negotiate with
lation of households. This was done through marriage. The story of Moremi only portrays Moremi as a wife
historical and sociopolitical experiences.
A woman became a wife when she got married and after her status has changed to slave and after she
relocated to the household of her spouse. As a wife, has been relocated to Ugboland.You can also read
