Exploring the Musee des civilisations noire (Museum of Black Civilization)

 On Saturday afternoon, my daughter and I set off through the busy streets of Dakar. The holidays are over, and life is back to business as usual. The streets were filled with cars, motorcycles and pedestrians and at the station passengers were disembarking from a train.

Every street-side vendor had their wares spread out, some engaging with customers. We passed carts filled with coconuts. Not the small, dark ones covered with fibres found in Canadian supermarkets - these were large and smooth, appearing to be carved out of pale wood in the shape of a dreidl. A woman in a colourful headscarf picked her way through the rubble on the side of the street. A man walked by carrying a circular tray covered with snacks. Another passed us with a box perfectly balanced upon his head as he strode confidently along the road.

Clustered together, close to the train station, are the Grand Théâtre National, the Musée International sue la Biographie du Prophete et de la Civilisation Islamique, and the Musée des Civilisations Noire.


Opened in 2018, the Musée des Civilisations Noire is housed in an impressive building. The exhibits begin at the centre, surrounding a stylized baobab "tree of life". Working counter-clockwise, visitors discover the history of humanity from the earliest hominids to Homo sapiens sapiens. Replicas of skeletal remains intermingle with text panels, and at the end - a mirror - to remind us that all human life started on this content. We are all African.


A powerful commemorative wall - Les Lignes de Continuité - features Black men and women in Haiti, the United States, Senegal and other nations who fought for Black rights and freedoms throughout history.


Backing the central hall, a temporary exhibition explored ancient Egyptian civilization and linguistic and culture ties that reveal the impact of the many Egyptians who resettled in West Africa following the Assyrian and Roman occupations of their homeland in 671 and 332 BCE. 

The second floor exhibits explored the unique challenges faced by Black women, and recognized their significant contributions.


The final exhibitions explored the experiences of Black women and the fight agains oppression and racism through art. We were particularly taken by these stunning photographs Angèle Etoundi Essamba that wre tucked into a small hallway. The images captured by my phone don't come close to doing them justice - follow the link in her name to her Instagram page to be dazzled by her work.


Moving through the main gallery we examined several stunning pieces, attempting to capture the flavour of the exhibit with our cameras. 

 


 

 

This was the piéce de resistance for me:


Moved and inspired to learn more about Black histories, cultures and civilizations we left the main building to pay our respects at the wall of remembrance. The mural runs the full length of the museum site and incorporates the likenesses of Black victims of racism worldwide.




















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