Commerce and Colonialism in the Regalia of the Samorian State
2020; UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center; Volume: 53; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1162/afar_a_00526
ISSN1937-2108
Autores Tópico(s)Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
ResumoFollowing his defeat by French forces in 1898, the revolutionary West African leader Samory Touré, was stripped of his possessions and marched to the heart of the French empire. Touré, his retainers, family members, and material wealth were paraded through villages across Guinea and Senegal—their defeat made public through this violent act of captive display. In the metropole thousands of kilometers away, the French press declared that West Africa had been pacified. Touré's empire, the Samorian State, was the final West African-ruled entity to fall to French colonial forces.1 Touré, the "despot," was ousted after years of hard fighting (Rouil 1897). The new empire was officially safe from recalcitrant African rulers.2After Touré's defeat, the Samorian State's cultural system was largely destroyed and can only be recreated by piecing together documents, material objects, and oral histories. In this article, I reconstruct this system of regalia and show that the Samorian State invented a unique, syncretic cultural system that visually reasserted the State's control of trade networks. This system consisted of physical objects—such as clothing, headgear, flywhisks, and axes—as well as more intangible experiences in the form of public ceremonies or political negotiations. At its peak, the Samorian State controlled lands in present-day Guinea, southern Mali, western Côte d'Ivoire, and parts of Liberia (Fig. 1) (Gaboriaud 1900). During his rule, Touré's economic and political ambitions were a constant roadblock to French colonial aspirations in Western Africa.Existing scholarship focuses on the Samorian State's complex political and military maneuverings, which has overshadowed other avenues of inquiry. Contemporary scholarship has failed to consider its sophisticated system of regalia that was dependent on complex trade networks along the Niger River. Samorian regalia have not yet been the subject of independent, scholarly analysis, and many of the objects discussed here have not been published in decades. By better understanding the intricacies of Samorian material culture, we can begin to think about West African systems of regalia as extensions of exchange and trade, not just of power and prestige.As many scholars have recently argued, nineteenth-century West African regalia demonstrates the ways that leaders "learned to manipulate [colonial] systems" to gain symbolic markers of "prestige and power" (Robinson 2000: 4–5). These symbolic gains were then transformed into concrete material advances in the form of economic, social, and political capital (Robinson 2000: 31–40). Scholarship in art history has taken this further by demonstrating the ways that regalia bolstered a ruler's power and could embody a state's aims (Geary 1981; Blier 2012: 6).3 The Samorian State functioned and flourished within this power matrix. Here, I focus on the material demonstration of power and the ways that the Samorian State invented a syncretic visual system inspired by African and European sources. Rather than solely considering the political aspects of Samorian regalia, I am interested primarily in their materiality. Material considerations are a burgeoning avenue for making sense of West African regalia as objects that functioned within diverse trade systems and offer an avenue into understanding this once-powerful state.The Samorian State itself was a mobile and multiethnic entity that incorporated symbolic and material rhetoric from a variety of African and European sources. This syncretic mode of production, however, was centered on a decidedly Malinké identity, with Touré and his retainers identifying as Muslim Malinké. Prior to Touré's consolidation of power, Malinké leaders living in the Niger Delta did not have a cohesive system of regalia (Wagner 1860). As part of his goals for the State, Touré departed from Malinké norms and developed regalia that visually validated the State's right to rule, negotiate, and trade with foreign powers.4Contemporary accounts of Touré primarily describe him as a ferocious warrior, yet also a pious ascetic. The few surviving photographs of Touré reinforce this perception by showing him dressed in simple, white robes, akin to the outfits worn by Sufi mystics in Senegal (Fig. 2). These photographs have come to eclipse the vast array of opulent costumes and accessories that Touré and his retainers wore during public events throughout the State's history.5 Although the French described Touré as a bloodthirsty tyrant, he was also a shrewd politician who wanted to pass his lands, wealth, and prestige down to his children. He planned to form a vast "empire," centered along the Niger River, which would last for generations (LANS 1897: 60–61). Samorian regalia bolstered these ambitions by alluding to this prized and disputed trade network. These visual dynamics can be seen in the only surviving shirt associated with the Samorian State, which is now held by the Musée de l'Armée in Paris (Fig. 3). This shirt is indicative of the type of clothing Touré and his retainers wore during public appearances. Indeed, this shirt was owned by one of Touré's older sons, Sarankegny Mory. French soldiers took the tunic from Touré's personal gourbi (round, thatched sleeping quarters) after the fall of his main camp.The prestigious Samorian tunic is a shortened version of the boubou (long, loose-fitting tops sometimes paired with airy pants), which have been popular among Malinké men for at least 200 years (Fig. 4). Boubous were often adorned with protective charms or amulets, and men frequently wore pouches that contained similarly defensive, apotropaic materials (Wagner 1860). These amulets were typically made of lower-quality scraps of cotton and twine, like the amulet taken from a Sofas warrior (a soldier in the Samorian State's army) that was seized by French soldiers after a battle (Fig. 5). The amulet taken from the Sofas and the rough-spun boubou reflect the basic sartorial system of the Samorian State's subjects. Elite clothes and regalia were elaborations on this basic template.The Samorian tunic is made of a rich, indigo-dyed textile decorated with cream-colored, vertical lines of varying widths that move regularly across the fabric (Fig. 3). Attached to the shirt by small loops of leather are close to 100 silver boxes in a variety of shapes. These boxes are ornate, three-dimensional amulets, which were carefully arranged to accentuate the patterning on the fabric as well as the shape of the wearer's body. Amulets have historically been used throughout Muslim West Africa to invoke divine protection. Touré himself was a staunch Muslim who was named, or perhaps named himself, Almamy—a title used by Muslim West African rulers, roughly meaning "ruler of the faithful."Amulets were a normal part of many Samorian soldiers' uniforms, so it is not surprising to see ornate amulets used on elite clothing (Fig. 5). The majority of the tunic's amulets are evenly and symmetrically dispersed along the fabric's vertical lines. This regularity is broken up at the neckline, where six triangular amulets form a collar that frames a larger, rectangular amulet set at the center. On the bottom half of the tunic is a third type of amulet that is attached at irregular intervals. These amulets are completely closed and are long, curving, and thin in shape. Although their form is not readily identifiable, they are reminiscent of knife sheaths or powder horns, which gives the shirt a militaristic air. These amulets in particular bolster the shirt's function as a form of spiritual armor that offered the wearer divine defense. When they were new, the tunic's amulets would have glittered in the sunlight—making the wearer appear to shimmer or glow, perhaps visualizing the protective light of God.The amulets themselves are formally quite similar to tcherot amulets produced by Tuareg artisans from southern Mali, which are now housed in the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris (Figs. 6–7). Typically, Tuareg tcherot amulets contained Qur'anic verses or other protective materials. Red fabric is visible within some of the Samorian amulets; however, they have never been opened to determine whether they contain anything else. Although we cannot say for certain, it is highly likely that the amulets do contain some sort of apotropaic material that activated their protective function. Both the tcherot amulets and the Samorian amulets consist of silver front and back pieces, which are connected by a flat border surrounding the raised main body of the amulet. Tcherot amulets can come in a number of shapes and sizes, quite similar to the diversity in form on the Samorian tunic.The formal Tuareg style of the tunic's amulets speaks to the State's close relationship with Tuareg leaders in the southern portion of present-day Mali. The Samorian State's strength was heavily dependent on control of key ports along the Niger River. The Tuareg-Samorian alliance gave the Malinké state use of Tuareg-controlled stretches of the river, as well as access to transcontinental trade networks that reached across the Sahara and into Northern Africa (Person 1968). At varying points, Touré and his retainers even disappeared into the seemingly inhospitable Tuareg lands to escape French capture or interference. Tuareg craftsmen have historically worked extensively in silver and were likely involved in the production of silver goods, like the amulets, for the State. Silver amulets were rarely, if ever, seen in Malinké lands, and silver-smithing generally was not widely practiced by Malinké artisans. The use of this elite, markedly foreign craft demonstrates the ways that a single piece of regalia could reflect complex trade routes and economic relationships.As an armature for the silver amulets, the Samorians used a variety of similarly elite, foreign textiles, which reinforced the tunic's prestige and the wearer's power. Unlike the closed-body Tuareg amulets, the tunic's amulets had latticework fronts that reveal the boxes' interiors (Figs. 3, 6–7).6 As mentioned, within a handful of the tunic's amulets we can still see bits of brilliant red fabric that stand out against the primarily dark blue textile body. Both the red and the blue fabrics are distinctive within the corpus of Malinké cloth from this period. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, synthetic, European-made dyes had yet to become popular in western Africa; fabrics were thus still made using locally sourced, natural pigments (Pemberton 2004: 19–20). Blue colored fabrics found in contemporary Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire are typically associated with indigo dyeing traditions practiced by Fulbe women in the Fouta Djallon or in western Côte d'Ivoire (Aherne 2000).7 Although Fulbe women were not the only craftspeople engaged in indigo dyeing during this period, Malinké oral histories still strongly associate the distinctive coloration of the fabric with the Fulbe.8 Indigo dyeing is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that requires patience, physical exertion, and a good deal of indigo plant material. The richest, blue-black textiles were expensive luxury products that only the rich could acquire. The Samorian State was both heavily involved in indigo-growing regions and, at varying points, controlled access to these areas. Although the exact origins of the tunic are now unknown, at the time of its production, its blue textile base certainly referred to the State's ties to fertile foreign lands.The red textile within the amulets was even less common in Samorian territory. I know of no textiles from this region and period that used red in significant quantities. When red was used, it was primarily in small amounts on prestige objects or elite clothing. Since the red was used sparingly, in the most valuable and powerful parts of the tunic—the silver amulets—it is quite likely that the red fabric was also an imported luxury, reserved only for the most prestigious commodities. Although the red textiles' exact origins are now unknown, its importance lies in its rarity and connotations of trade. The Samorian State's control of Niger River ports gave Touré and his retainers access to incalculable material wealth, like silver, indigo, and red fabric. The tunic is indicative of the State's innovative reimagining of non-Malinké aesthetic traditions to create a distinct system of regalia that mirrored the State's control of trade routes.This project was reinforced by a "war hat" or turban, which was likely paired with the tunic (Fig. 8). Like the tunic, the turban was taken from Touré's chambers at the moment of his defeat and was inspired by Malinké clothing styles. Simplified versions of the hat are seen throughout the colonial archive, including the 1891 portrait of Touré, which shows the ruler in a simplified turban (Fig. 2). The "war hat" consists of three elements: a thick, cloth bottom, an upper section of loose-stacked fabric, and nearly fifty silver amulets. Around twenty of the amulets are positioned vertically and are arranged around the base of the hat, forming a nearly continuous wall of metal. An additional thirty amulets are interspersed across the hat's upper portion and form four spiraling layers of silver. Although these boxes are far less ornate than the ones on the tunic, they are still representative of a high level of silver craftsmanship. For example, on each of the box's outer corners there are delicate metal pegs from which two thin, loose-hanging chains are attached at the diagonal. These small silver chains were an impressive metal-working feat and speak to the craftsmen's abilities. They also added an intriguing auditory component. When the wearer moved, the chains would have swayed, producing a soft tinkling sound.Brought together, the shimmering, metal-encrusted tunic and turban imbued the wearer with a sublime, protective power. This ornate costume was most likely only worn during public ceremonies and performances that Touré staged for visiting dignitaries. The silver amulets would have captured and dazzled an audience's attention, while the jingling metal chains would have acted as a melodic backdrop to quieter sections of public events (LANS 1886a: 7–9). On display during ceremonies, the incredible amount of silver and indigo in these regalia were powerful reminders that the Samorians could access a plethora of valuable materials. Trade was simultaneously the site of the Samorian State's authority and one of its main sources of external conflict (LANS 1889: 6). The tunic, turban, and other regalia sat at the crux of these political-economic contestations and were meant to visually reinforce the State's control of key trade networks through a syncretic dialogue between diverse materials.A flywhisk owned by Touré himself, now housed in the Musée de l'Armée, is another example of this distinctive visual system (Fig. 9). Flywhisks have long been important power objects in West Africa that emphasize a ruler's gestures and spoken words (Blier 2012: 6–10). This object, or perhaps a similar flywhisk, was recorded in an 1897 description of Touré's appearance during a public performance that was attended by several French soldiers. The report writes, "[Touré] has an elephant tail mounted in silver" (LANS 1897: 47).9 The body of the Musée de l'Armée flywhisk is made of hammered copper or brass that was plated with silver. The handle is decorated with two horizontal bands of delicate finial work and raised metal lines, which are a subtle display of the metalworker's skill. Attached to the handle is a thin silver chain, which Touré would have wrapped around his wrist or belt. At the opposite end of the handle is a curving silver plate that bound together the hairs in the flywhisk itself. Protruding from these metal joins are two elevated boxes—one on each side—with front panels that are incised to reveal a layer of red fabric. These boxes are almost identical in style to the rectangular amulets seen on the tunic and turban. It is highly likely that these boxes also acted as amulets that endowed the flywhisk's owner with divine protection and may also have been made, or inspired by, Tuareg silverwork. The flywhisk's subtle material and visual references to the garments suggests the articulation of a regalia system that was distinctive to the Samorian State.As a further indication of the flywhisk's status, the hairs used on the object were taken from an elephant tail. This fact was noted not only in the museum's object description, but also in the 1897 French report. In the same text, the French sources make note of the many material goods put on display by Touré and the State, including carpets, flutes, whips, hats, veils, guns, and lances (LANS 1897: 4748). Many of these objects are described in rich detail. Following the flywhisk description, the author writes, "[Touré] wears a black veil on his head and wears simple white fabrics. His retainers were dressed in velvet" (LANS 1897: 47).10 Similar descriptions exist throughout the written archive and reflect the attention that was paid to the materiality of Samorian regalia. Each object of regalia was loaded with material connotations whose significance was legible to contemporary viewers.The French observer was careful to note that Touré held an object made of elephant hair, which was significant for a variety of reasons. Elephants were, and still are, important symbols of physical strength, virility, power, and intelligence among the Malinké.11 The hairs would have carried these rich, symbolic connotations to Malinké observers. However, by the late 1890s, elephants were no longer indigenous to eastern Guinea and southern Mali, and only a few elephants still roamed in modern-day Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire (Maclaud 1906). The Samorian State's incursions into Côte d'Ivoire gave the State access to ivory and other elephant products that rivaled that of the French. They had enough control over the trade routes that they were even able to keep an abundance of elephant hair to use in their own regalia, rather than immediately export the products to covetous French traders (LANS 1889: 6). Foreign powers likely viewed the elephant hair as an allusion to the State's central role in the lucrative ivory trade in this period. Combined with the silver, the flywhisk demonstrated the wide reach of Samorian trade networks in the Niger River delta.Public ceremonies were opportunities for Samorian men to bring out their own power objects, which mirrored Touré's personal objects of command. In one vignette, a commander flanking Touré during a public ceremony held his own flywhisk made from an elephant tail—probably quite similar to the one owned by Touré (Fig. 9) (LANS 1897: 48). As the ceremony progressed and music began, the man jubilantly began waving the flywhisk to the rhythm of the music, much to the amusement of the crowd and the French observers (LANS 1897: 49). On another occasion, one of Touré's most important sons, Karamoko, held two objects of power during a public ceremony, "a baton of command" and "an ax of bright metal" (LANS 1886a: 6).12 The metal ax was most likely quite similar to an ax currently held by the Musée de l'Armée (Fig. 10). The extant "ax of command," was originally owned by Touré and confiscated during the battle at Tiafesso on September 14, 1898. The surviving ax comprises a long, straight handle with a bulbous protrusion at one end, and a thick metal chain attached to the opposite end. A sharp, pronged blade extends out at a slight angle from the handle. The blade is an unadorned, utilitarian metal—probably iron—which suggests its military past. Although Touré used the ax in battle, the weapon was still finely wrought and was decorated with circles and joints made of silver. Since the average war ax would have been unadorned—like the Samorian machete that was used by a Sofas warrior in Touré's personal guard—the simple, silver decorations on Touré's ax raised the object's status, making it worthy of a ruler (Figs. 10–11).Karamoko's "ax of bright metal" would have been similar in form to Touré's "ax of command," but was likely more ornate because it was used in ceremonies. The lost ax and "baton of command" most likely combined the formal properties of the war ax with an aesthetic and material opulence more akin to the flywhisk (Fig. 9). Although the discussion of Karamoko's costuming is vague, the author's repeated use of words like "bright" and "silver" allows us to imagine the use of stunning objects that were meant to dazzle spectators (LANS 1886a). In 1886, when the document describing Karamoko's possessions was written, the young man was highly esteemed and well regarded by his father and by the French (Erbe 1897). Karamoko had recently returned to West Africa after a stay in France, where he had been involved in negotiations with colonial officials on behalf of his father. Contemporary journals published in the metropole described Karamoko in glowing terms, and his soft-spoken demeanor was often contrasted with the presumed aggressiveness of his father (LANS 1886b; Erbe 1897).From roughly 1886 until his death in the mid-1890s, Karamoko was either always at his father's side or traveling, doing diplomatic work on his father's behalf (LANS 1886b). It was generally assumed that Touré was grooming Karamoko to take over the Samorian State after his death, thereby ensuring that the State would last for generations to come. During this period, Karamoko's clothing and objects of power would have been second only to Touré's in terms of value and importance. Karamoko's regalia not only demonstrated his father's material wealth, but also alluded to a desired future of continued Samorian trade dominance. Axes, batons, and flywhisks are typical symbols of power in kingdoms across western Africa; however, prior to Touré, Malinké leaders had not made extensive use of these objects (Blier 2012). Like the tunic and turban that contained materials and influences from across the region, Samorian power objects showed comparable aesthetic innovations.As Touré's presumed successor, Karamoko's use of power objects reflects the successful—albeit brief—establishment of a distinctive Samorian system of regalia that was intended to last.Despite the importance of Karamoko's power objects, displays of material culture were not limited to Touré and his sons. Touré's wives, lower retainers, Sofas warriors, musicians, and griots were all intimately entwined in the syncretic Samorian visual system. Those in Touré's inner circle wore sumptuous "costumes" that reaffirmed the benefits of being connected to Samorian trade routes (LANS 1896: 5).13 A photograph, taken from a larger album of shots of colonial Guinée, gives a sense of the types of finery worn by wealthy families in Malinké lands at the end of the century (Fig. 12) (Maclaud 1898: 6). The album's owner travelled extensively throughout Guinée in the 1890s and often hired Sofas as local guides (LANS 1894: 12). Although it is unclear where in colonial Guinée this photograph was taken, based on the owner's travelogues it is quite possible that the photograph was taken in Samorian lands.14Here, women and men wear a variety of garments that are both Malinké and European in nature. Many of the women wear wrappers secured in different styles, paired with flowing tops, draped fabrics, ornate jewelry, and carefully tied hair wraps. These women's outfits were beautifully curated displays of high-quality textiles and accessories that demonstrate their wealth and status. During public ceremonies, Touré's wives often stood alongside their husband and sons, close to the central space that Touré himself would occupy. These women are often described in vague and sometimes perfunctory terms in the written archive. This photograph, however, gives us a sense of the types of outfits these elite women might have worn and reinserts women into an archive dominated by stories of men. It also provides a sense of the array of fabrics and styles that served as the backdrop for public ceremonies.Most often, contemporary oral histories remember the deeds of Touré, his most important sons, and his advisors.15 French envoys often included more detailed descriptions of the outfits and objects associated with these retainers. Touré's sons, for example, were said to only wear garments of "velvet and silk" that were tailored to make sleek boubous (LANS 1897: 7).16 These luxury outfits were paired with myriad headgear, quite similar to the many types of hats worn by men in the 1898 photograph (Fig. 12). Elite Samorian men wore a combination of West African and European styled hats, including "fez," "indigenous hats," "felt hats," "a hat of silver [fabric]," and "helmet [hats] with tiny mirrors" (LANS 1897: 47–50).17 After Karamoko's death, circa 1896, Touré's generals, other sons, and griots gained greater prominence in public ceremonies and became secondary figures of command.18 As such, these men took up more ostentatious forms of regalia that were previously limited to Touré's direct kin.One of the most resplendent types of objects worn by these retainers were the oddly described "tall miters of panther fur" (LANS 1886a: 5).19 Surprisingly, a hat now held by the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac fits this description and is likely an example of one of these "miters" (Fig. 13). The surviving headgear was composed of a variety of sumptuous materials that emphasized the wearer's status. The body of the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac hat is made from light brown leather that forms a triangular upper section seated atop a cylindrical base—reminiscent of European miters. This gives the hat a dramatic silhouette that is accentuated by the addition of valuable decorative elements. The surface decorations give the hat depth and a variety of textures. Rectangular strips of dark blue or black cloth are evenly spaced around the hat's circumference. Attached to alternating bands are columns of bright cowrie shells that almost seem to float on the surface of the hat. These solid, immobile strips and the hard cowrie shells highlight the soft, supple qualities of the hat's light leather body, which draws viewers' attention to the hat's materiality.Rising out of the vertical bands and covering nearly half of the hat's body are tufts of animal fur that are reminiscent of the 1886 description, "tall miters of panther fur" (LANS 1886a: 5). The fur on the extant hat is a mixture of blonde and brunette animal hair, similar in hue to the leather of the upper piece. The 1886 document explicitly uses the word "panther" to describe the hats' components; however, this was a French term that was used to describe any number of wild cats in West Africa (Maclaud 1906). The fur on the existing hat probably came from one of the smaller cats with light coloration that are native to the region, such as the caracal or serval. The French document suggests that the materials used on these miter-like hats were perceived as highly valuable; large cats were difficult and dangerous animals to hunt and would have required a great deal of skill and effort to take down.Like the elephant tails used in the Samorian flywhisks, feline fur was a valuable commodity that was only accessible to the most wealthy and powerful. The abundance of fur on the miter, combined with the rich leather and numerous cowry shells, formed a lavish display of goods that were acquired from across West Africa. Cowry shells came from the coast, cat fur from the forested interior, and leather from livestock that lived in open plains—these hats demonstrated the State's access to all of these distinct regions. The miters further reinforced the Samorian State's highly cosmopolitan nature and their radical decision to look outward, beyond traditional Malinké practices and aesthetics.20Samorian regalia were made possible by a politics of looking at others, refashioning the most desirable aspects, and then putting the new creations on display (Geary 1981). This process was not limited to other African states, but was also used against European forces, most notably against the French. Samorian public ceremonies—an intangible form of regalia—were heavily influenced by French military reviews, to the point that French envoys who witnessed the ceremonies were left heavily distressed by the events' similarities. In 1897, the French Secretary General, Louis Alphonse Bonhoure, described a reception ceremony hosted by Touré for himself and several French treaty negotiators; the ceremony was one of the most extravagant receptions recorded in the colonial archive (LANS 1897: 45–51). The event began with a display of hundreds of Sofas foot soldiers. Bonhoure noted that these men wore, "almost without exception white pants with blue, cut in the indigenous fashion" (LANS 1897: 49).21In earlier reports, French officials described low-level Sofas' uniforms in a similar manner, which suggests that this was a uniform instituted by Touré and his generals. The "indigenous fashion" most likely refers to a boubou tunic and pant cut (Fig. 4). White textiles accentuated by thin blue stripes were, and still are, incredibly common in eastern Guinea and western Côte d'Ivoire. They are specifically associated with Malinké textile traditions.22 The 1891 portrait of Touré shows the leader wrapped in such a textile (Fig. 2). The Sofas foot soldiers, then, were purposefully dressed in recognizably Malinké styles, which mirrored more decorative, elite fashions (Ngong 2012).23 These foot soldiers fit squarely within the visual system that the Samorians invented. The low-level Sofas wore Malinké fashion—marking the State as a Malinké entity. As one progressed through the class tiers of the Samorian State, clothing became steadily more syncretic and dependent on material goods obtained through trade networks.As Touré, his retainers, his subject
Referência(s)