In Banaadir, unfortunately, the destruction perpetrated on the ancient ruins, both by Somali from other regions and importantly colonial Italian government has denied history the possibility of reconstructing its past. They say that those who want to conceal the tracks of history are always dissident; destroyers of buildings, monuments and books. In fact at Mogadishu, it was the colonial government, at the ruins of Hamar Jab Jab to build an airstrip in 1920. In the 1929 Italian Touring Club guide it is stated that:
“In the 1892 digs, objects of silver and gold, coins, fragments of spun glass and domestic utensils were uncovered.”
It is not known where these objects ended up. How the port area of medieval Mogadishu was
organised is now very difficult to ascertain. The reason is written by Alberto Arecchi:
“From the 1897 reliefs, we can suppose that the constructions excavated in the rock have been destroyed, but one notes the presence of two fascias of blocks, subsequently demolished to open up a coastal road running from the ancient city right down to the sea.”
Colonial Italy’s Destruciton of Banadir History
The colonial government, to apparantly make way for wide roads and new buildings, demolished the Shingani quarter, which constitutes perhaps the most important historical centre of Mogadishu, again. In a photo published by Professor Arecchi one can see the enormous dimensions of these demolished blocks. But it is the invaluable research of Giuliano Gresleri that enlightens us to the perverse and appalling logic behind this destruction. He published part of a letter, written in 1940 by the vice governor general of Italian Africa, Nasi, in which he explains the reason for the destruction of the historical centre of Mogadishu thus:
“The project [by the technicians of Mogadishu] set out on the rigid understanding of keeping standing all the existing structures […]. The political necessity which eventually would have suggested such a concept, even right and unquestionable, badly agrees with the other one political value which wants safeguarded all the principles for the defense of the race [of the people].”
It is clear that the ancient Banaadir civilisation, witnessed by the centre of Mogadishu, prevented the colonial government from proposing itself as the beacon of progress. The engineer Tumidei, who headed the technical office of the capital understood this and tried to oppose, with incredible courage, the folly of the vice governor:
“The inspectorate of Addis Ababa- answered Tumidei – eliminates without distinctions all the old buildings of historical value or of characteristic aspect […] in order to keep and to mark […] the oriental architectural type and the local characteristics which have given to Mogadisshu a unique and, in the opinion of many, singularly pleasant aspect […].”
Somalia’s involvement in the Destruction of Banadir History
The Somali, intended as the ethnic group, have always acted out in agreement of the strategy Nasi. During the civil conflict that began in 1991, the USC, practically razed the Shangani quarter and destroyed the national museum. The Somali governments pre-1990 had reacted more subtly, leaving, indifferently, important monuments to the looting of foreign collectors. Siad Barre, the then President at that time, named a corrupt and incapable relative as Minister for Antiquity, a collaborative role under the supervision of the Ministers of Art and Education. The English archaeologist Brandt describes the effects of these types of politics to us. In fact in 1988, during the digging of a sewer line in Hamar Weyn, the other historic quarter of Mogadishu, a large collection of archaeological finds including ceramics, metal objects, stone walls and human remains were uncovered. The workers threw everything in to the sea. Almost certainly other Banaadir cities suffered the same fate, even if there are few witnesses.
Destruction of Barawa History
It was under the reign of Siad Barre where the names of the towns in Barawa were later changed in an attempt to nationalise the town, names of the district and area where changed to a more Somali sounding name, an example is Biruni and Al Bamba was changed to ‘Dayax’ (Somali: Moon), Mpaayi was renamed to ‘Wadajir’ (Somali: United) and Baghdaad being renamed to ‘Howlwadaag’ (Somali: Communism). These name changes under the nationalist socialist regime mainly came about to deny the peculiarities of the Arab history of that city compared to other cities in Somalia.
Destruction of Marka History
Stefani tells us about Marka: “As well as the walled city, the traces of its antiquity […] have disappeared, due to, in part, the work of resident Captain Vitali who saw to the restoration of the houses and buildings to such an extent that today Marka is a model town!”
The destruction of Banadir’s historical monuments by Italy was not just an attack on buildings, but an attempt to erase a historical past. Through colonial policies of demolition and cultural suppression, centuries of history were lost, leaving behind only fragments of what once was.
Sources:
V. Bertarelli, Guida d’Italia del Touring Club Italiano, Possedimenti e colonie, Milano, T.C.I.,1929, pp. 755.
A. Arecchi, L’immagine di Mogadiscio, in Atti del Convegno di L. Robecchi Bricchetti e la Somalia, Pavia, Camera di Commercio Industria e Artigianato e Agricoltura, 1979, pp. 75.
A. Arecchi, Mogadiscio e i problemi dell’urbanesimo in Somalia, in Bollettino della Società geografica Italiana, ser.XI, 1984, pp. 646.
G. Gresleri Architettura italiana d’oltremare 1870-1940, Venezia, Marsilio, 1993, pp. 210 S. A. Brandt e O. Y. Mohamed, Starting from scratch, in P.R. Schmidt e R. S. Mc Intosh, Plundering Africa’s Past,mLondon, Currey, 1996, pp. 255.
