What surprised me in the National Museum of Hungary? or

 the various statuses of Lenin’s & Stalin's statues in Hungary and Armenia

My interest in the current condition of communist period statues or their remnants in Hungary and Armenia started from the moment I visited the National Museum of Hungary in 2013. Upon entering the Soviet section of the museum, I was surprised very much when seeing remnants of Lenin’s statue - a hand and an ear displayed among the other objects of the communist period Hungary. It was completely new for me as I had never imagined them being represented in the museum context.

The remnants of Stalin's statue

        National Museum of Hungary,  2013

I found myself getting surprised at how Lenin’s statue can be represented when visited The Statue Park in Budapest this year.  After the end of the Communist regime in Hungary, the monuments of communist leaders (Lenin, Stalin, and others), as well as all the other communist theme monuments were demolished from Budapest and other parts of Hungary. Then, Statue Park was created, and all of them gained a new life in there. They were musicalized or were represented as museum objects. While having a walk in the park my reaction gradually turned from surprise to understanding and analyzing. These cases showed how societies can deal with their past and the material evidence of it such as monuments. Instead of rejecting, destroying and trying to forget, they just removed the symbols of the communist regime from daily life and made them museum objects. In this way, they both acknowledged the past as well as placed it at a distance trying to control its influence on the present.

                                        The Statue Park/Memento Park, 2019

Why I was surprised by seeing socialist period monuments or remnants in the National museum or in the Statue Park? Because I immediately made comparisons with the cases in Armenia and found the different situation there.

After the collapse of the USSR, the statues of communist leaders in Armenia were treated not as a respectful manner as in Hungary. Trying to reject the Soviet past and forget it, the statues were destroyed or put into storage. The most popular statue of Lenin located at the main square of the capital city Yerevan was demolished and taken to the storage within the yard of the National Museum. It is there till now left as if unnecessary objects in storage. Only one statue of Lenin “survived” in one of the remote villages. The statue appeared in the land of a family after land privatization, so the statue got owners who liked it as a work of art and did not destroy it.

                       Lenin’s statue, Arin village, 2015

                      Lenin’s statue, the yard of National Museum of Armenia

                                                 from pinterest.com, 2019

There is a more interesting case in Armenia about dealing with Lenin’s statue. In my hometown called Artik, the pedestal with Lenin’s legs seemed hard to destroy, so while removing the statue, this part remained in its place. As a result, the inhabitants have been living with these remnants until nowadays. The site has become a popular place to ask someone to meet “under Lenin’s legs’ or to ask taxi drivers to come and wait nearby “Lenin’s statue”. I would always see people sitting on the pedestal and having a chat. For young people, it is just a comfortable place to have a sit and sometimes use the pedestal surface for graffiti or love confessions such as Aram + Sima = Love. As for the older generation who experienced Soviet years, this place has many more meanings. For instance, when passing by the pedestal I would hear a group of aged people nostalgically recalling the Soviet years when the statue was “alive” and their lives seemed better. What I can state from these practices around the statue remnant is that it is still part of the daily life of the town, part of people’s meeting points and talks.

          the pedestal and legs of the former Lenin’s statue, 

                      2015, 2019

When comparing how the statues were officially treated in Armenia and Hungary, the following conclusions can be done: in both countries, the statues were demolished. However, in the case of Hungary we can notice a more organized and conceptual approach to the statues. They all were removed from urban and village landscapes and were musicalized. In case of Armenia trying to forget the past they “fought against the monuments” demolishing them, then destroying or hiding. However, it seems they did not do the task of knocking all the statues down successfully as the pedestal with the legs was left in one town and the whole statue in another village. They continue being part of people’s daily lives and memories.

COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND THE IMMORTALIZATION OF THE DEAD: THE CASE OF KAMUNGOMA LIBERATION CAMP-SITE

COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND THE IMMORTALIZATION OF THE DEAD: THE CASE OF KAMUNGOMA LIBERATION CAMP-SITE

Mutero Prosper

Kamungoma liberation war camp-site is situated 12 km Southeast of Bhasera growth point, which is in the South-eastern side of Zimbabwe. This site recorded the highest number of civilian people killed at the same time on a single day during the liberation struggle within Zimbabwe during the Zimbabwean liberation struggle. Locals holds the narrative that on the 14th of May 1978, about 105 people were killed by the Rhodesian forces during a pungwe (night vigil where the liberation fighters met and taught the masses about the strategies and reasons for the Liberation struggle). Amongst the contemporary locals is a number of individuals who are survivors to the 1978 event as well as relatives of those who perished. Ever since the 1980 when the country attained its independence, people in this part of Gutu area started commemorating such national holidays as the Heroes day, the Independence day, the Unity day at this very site. The celebrations however were done on this site most importantly to identify participants with the ruling Zanu pf political party as well as to commemorate the lives of the departed heroes. This community however approached the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) in the 2012, seeking the NMMZ’s intervention in constructing a memorial on the Kamungoma liberation war camp-site.

The community members

The NMMZ stone masons

The NMMZ had to do some research on the matter, as well as hosting planning meetings with the community leaders on what exactly was to be done.  A year later, on the 16^th of October 2013, the NMMZ sent a team of nine to help the community erect a memorial at Kamungoma. Among the nine (all based at the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site) was the stone-masons as well as the two intern Honors student of which I was one of them. This team was being led by a curator of archaeology and it worked with the communities to construct the memorial which was built in a similarly to the Great Zimbabwe free-standing dry-stone structures.  The construction was regarded by the community as tangible form of remembering the dead and commemorating them. According to the community, the Great Zimbabwe known locally as the dzimbabwe meaning residence and burial of the kings/owned hence the dry stone structure as well as the conical tower was the best possible way of immortalizing the memory both of the event and the people who perished at this very site. A black graphited panel with inscriptions of the manes of those who perished during the massacre placed on the wall and this was done to ensure their being remembered.

The site after completion of the memorial 

Buongiorno Italia or where To Find Beauty In Milan

by Arina Govorina

Since early childhood, I always knew that Italy is the best place to discover world heritage history and explore amazing culture. Later I found out that each part of this country in most cases has own traditions, architecture and even dialects. Being inspired by picturesque landscape of Amalfi coast, great history of Rome and romantic Venice, one day I booked tickets to Italy and randomly chose Milan.

The most famous and recognizable symbol of Milan is Duomo Cathedral. Located in the heart of Milan, Duomo attracts both local people and travellers. Construction work of Milan Cathedral lasted over six centuries and now everybody can explore the beauty of this place. This Gothic-style cathedral covered with white and pink marble has more than 3400 statues that decorate the building. Inside the cathedral everybody can see the elegant interior with sculpted marble columns and go to the rooftop terrace to enjoy an amazing panoramic view of Milan.

Duomo di Milano

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is the other place that cannot be missed when you visit Milan. Being the oldest active shopping mall in Italy, this site became a favorite meeting point both for tourists and local people. Usually, people spend a lot of hours in Galleria admiring its magnificent arch, a stunning glass ceiling and eclectic luxury style.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Visited the top two Milanese sites, I could not find any more beautiful buildings. Google suggested me to take a train to Rome or just go shopping. I decided to stay in Milan and prove that it has more than two beautiful places. Who knows more about a city than a person who was born and bred there? Local people like to say that Milan is the brain of Italy. It is responsible for economics, business and money issues, not beauty. That’s why sometimes the city seems gray and even gloomy and does not have many cultural heritage sites. The best example of it can be Torre Velasca, a skyscraper known as one of the world ugliest buildings according to opinion of architects. Despite its terrible exterior, Torre Velasca is an expensive place to live in (the famous Milanese joke: you have to pay a lot of money to live in Torre Velasca because only here you can enjoy the city view without seeing this building).

Torre Velasca

Probably, Milan is not the best place to explore the diversity of Italian culture and heritage. But here you still can find something interesting and even attractive. Sometimes beauty does not mean great architecture, picturesque natural sites or famous historical places. If you try, you will find beauty in small urban details from window decoration to old bicycles in the central park.  

Milanese atmosphere 

Have you ever been to Italy? What places and why would you recommend to visit?

WHEN SEARCHING FOR ROAMING CATTLE AMIDST THE MIST: THE CROSSROAD OF DEVELOPING A THESIS PROJECT

WHEN SEARCHING FOR ROAMING CATTLE AMIDST THE MIST: THE CROSSROAD OF DEVELOPING A THESIS PROJECT
Mutero Prosper

I remember the old days back-home when I used to herd my uncle’s cattle, how he would to send us to gather the cattle in the mountain range during the rainy and misty winter days. Usually after harvesting our fields (thus the winter season) we would let the cattle to roam in the nearby Dindingwe mountain range for some days, and then later I and my cousins would then go to search for them. We would wonder in the mountain range searching for the cattle till we find them, despite the misty nor the cold. I am now finding the same experiences similar to that of developing a thesis project, for the completion of my masters’ study at the Central European University (CEU).

I remember how we would plan our search in the company of our uncle, and how we usually promised him of our quick return from the mountain. This appears to be the stage when one is applying for admission at the University and is also submitting a prospectus. To the writer, it appears final and comprehensive, many times a time-plan projection is drawn within the prospectors stipulating what the applicant perceives as the milestones. However after being admitted, one would then realize that either the scope of the research was either too big to be attainable in the given time period, or it’s just not practical, or just that the study has been done else-where. While wondering in the midst, we wouldn’t be sure of the direction or where exactly to find the cattle, but often we would ask ourselves on what to do next.

There are more than five hills in the Dindingwe mountain range where we would the cattle roam to graze. We usually guessed where among these hills we would find the cattle and sometimes times we would have to listen to the mooing, the bells or we would consult among ourselves on how to proceed on our search. At the CEU, one has to consider seriously the planning sessions with the supervisors. My meetings with my supervisors have been very helpful. Many are times when you find hardships in understanding some concepts or when you just feel like you are missing the direction, the supervisor redirects and explain things around. My research project is on the preservation of human remains in Zimbabwe and at first I didn’t really know what area to tackle for this is a broad research area. However after consultation and having looked at the available data and resources, I have decided to go for a more practical than theoretical thesis project. Since we do not have guiding instruments on the museology conduct and preservation of mortuary heritage, I realized the need to come up with a policy on the preservation and management of the human remains in Zimbabwe.

In the mountain range searching for the cattle, we would come across wild fruits which we would spare not. One of my older cousins Peter would always climb the trees and get the fruits for us. I find my class being an interesting one, with very amazing individuals.  Indeed we are not academic robots, there are times we arrange small get-together functions just to relax and shaking off the academic stress. We sometimes coordinate ourselves and get together and exploring Hungarian foodstuffs, drinks and places. This however does not remove our attention from our academic pursuits, but gives us the necessary break to freshen-up, refocus and engage on a better dimension. Indeed, there is no way we can do without the third model of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is enveloped in love and belongingness. Our class is one of those amazing communities that has accepted the notions of intercultural and interreligious tolerance and as a result, we manage to give positive criticism and positive feedback on one another’s thesis prospectus and research ideas.

There are taught courses that I have to attend in this journey of attaining my masters’ certificate with the Central European University. Various concepts in the study of Culture and Heritage have been made known to me and it’s even a matter of choosing which one I would like to include in my research. I have noted how for example cultural heritage policy course is so key to my study since I would like to come up with one. This however would not mean that other courses are of no significance for they all avail important insights into the heritage related issues, for example language and identity issues, memory and remembering, the presentation of heritage and other issues. Having these concepts and those from the coming semester classes, I do hope to complete my thesis in the timeframe provided by the department.

Nataliia Tomenko

Representation of Roma Female as Fortuneteller in Mass Culture

Shoot from the Bremen Musicians

During the observation of visual sources, I was surprised how antigypsyist some animated cartoons produced for children around the 1970s both to the USSR and US are. The Bremen Musicians produced in the Soviet Union (here and after, SU; movies were filmed in 1969 and 1973) and Robin Hood (1973) created in the United States provide a very similar depiction based on sexualization, sexual objectification, gender discrimination and orientalization, also offering very strong racial discrimination and oppression towards Roma. Even though the political regimes in the two countries were different, capitalism in the US and communism in the USSR, the treatment of Roma was the same with a range of stereotypical messages.

The first cartoon, Bremen Musicians has video clip with depiction of “Gypsies” performing dances and singing songs. It begins with a general view of the hut in the forest which looks in the medieval way. The heroes, who look like robbers, sing about their dangerous life style (activities). The gang consists of 3 men with appearance of robbers (with knives and daggers) and one woman who looks like the gang leader. She performs fortune telling with the use of a regular pack of cards (which you can buy on each corner), which seems slightly  unconvincing, because normally the prediction of the future happens by virtue of Tarot cards. This aspect shows a criminal reference, as far as in the USSR, prisoners entertained themselves playing games with regular cards. The sequence shows contemporary prisoner’s culture framed into the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. The woman is depicted with particular attributes of a stereotypical “Gypsy” female person (with golden rings, bracelet, necklace). The sexualization in the depiction presence as (big bulk of female “Gypsy” body, big breasts and bulky bottom body part, red lipstick, stereotypical clothes (long, tight skirt)). 

Shoot from the Robin Hood

The second animated cartoon, Robin Hood (1973), created in the United States, has a sequence depicting Gypsies which starts from background of forest with heroes in clothes from the Middle Ages. The cartoon in general shows Robin Hood as a criminal figure with good image who robs from the rich to help poor people, there is a difference compared to the Soviet cartoon where criminals are displayed as a negative force. In the Medieval setting of the Robin Hood, the King’s convoy goes through the forest, and the Fox (Robin Hood) together with the Bear (Friar Tuck) intend to rob the King.. The King’s counselor snake is depicted as a negative hero with magic (hypnotic) skills. The shoot continues with an image of “Gypsies” (disguised Robin Hood and Friar Tuck) offering the King to predict his future, greeting him and simultaneously stealing precious stones from his jewelry successfully. They perform a magic ritual for the King pronouncing unknown, randomly created words using crystal ball. During the ritual “Gypsy” female figure tries to steal the gold but the snake interrupts it. Just when the king closes the snake in the basket, immediately the Wise women steal all the goods and leave the King’s shelter. On their way “Gypsies” steal everything valuable they see, even the golden caps on the wheels of the coach (there is the similarities with the Soviet cartoon, where a “gypsy” also carries the stolen wheels). The appearance of two “Gypsy” females shows the bulky body shapes, stereotypical clothes (long skirt), accessories, and dark skin, which can be because of animal origin of figures. 

As far as culture is an essential part of nationalism it was also affected by the Cold War. As both countries asserted, motion image was as a form of strategic weapon. During that time cinema and cartoon productions were controlled and shaped in US by the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and FBI, in the same time in Soviet Union that role executed government. The FBI put efforts to create in Cinema the image of America as the protector of the American people and to blacklist Communists, the same Soviet government facilitated to produce movies to spread negative propaganda towards US. Some of movies even were banned for being insufficiently patriotic. Many of SU films were focused on spreading a positive image of Soviet life with the goal to prove that Soviet life was better than American one.

The outcome shows that both countries oppressed Roma for being the other, and this “otherness” is very much intersectional. The explanation is that this kind of stereotypes  lies on a deeper level, as psychologists say, on a stage of “first desires”. It is there where, from the point on view of a White European Male (dominant gaze), the representational intersectionality of “Gypsy” females as fortunetellers was established, and it explains how pop culture portraits non-white women. 

Also, Medievalist stylization of depictions would add another degree of oppression to this representational intersectionality, because being a fortune teller in the Middle Ages very often meant a risk of being accused in witchcraft. To some extent, it gives the modern people an illusion that Roma do fit somewhere, at least the Medieval period with its relative tolerance to harmless magic. So, antygypsyist stereotypes have to be observed, analyzed and removed from Mass Culture with aim to promote the real image of Roma culture. 

As promised, some technical advice that you really don't need, but might make you laugh, from Catinca.

Chapter VI: Begin by being honest 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young student in possession of a thesis topic must be in need of advice. Luckily, there is plenty of it on offer here at CEU. 

As you may remember from my previous instalments, this whole thesis debacle started with a passion. As much as I was in love with my topic, I was very anxious to share that with faculty. This is an academic institution, right? 

Science!

Rigour!

Citations!

Theories! 

How could I walk into my supervisor's office with feelings as a methodology? But, dear reader, that is exactly what I did. I spoke openly with my supervisor, we discussed motivations and plans, and guess what? Not only was it a cathartic experience, it was productive as well. We came up with a plan! And a methodology! But I am getting ahead of myself. 

What I am trying to say is, be honest with your advisors. Tell them your fears, your ideas and do not be afraid to stand your ground. If you are very attached to an idea or concept, find arguments to convince them it is a good idea. Be creative in the ways you could integrate it in the thesis. You don't have to let go of the soul of your project. A supervisor will help make sense of your (sometimes messy) ideas and you will figure out a good outcome together. But talk to them you must, young padawan. 

Chapter VII: Research and (actual) methodology (and some practical advice)

Time to talk about Bucharest again. Do you know what a mahala is? Bucharest used to be made of them. People still use the term today. 

mahala: word of turkish origin meaning simply neighbourhood. Only after the urbanisation following western models started in the 1830's the word acquired a negative connotation of a marginal space. These were spaces 'outside the citadel walls', where minorities and merchants usually dwelled. Most of these unplanned, often poor, organically developed neighbourhoods disappeared, either integrated into the city, or demolished for modernisation. 

Why am I telling you this? Because these are the basic urban cells from which the urban space developed. One can still see their traces today. Small merchant's homes, some only a little more than huts. They are heritage too. They are part of urban history as much as the neoclassical palaces I was crying about in part 1. And the thing is, I only found out about their significance during my research for my Jewish Cultural Heritage module.

Just because something isn't specifically 'thesis research', that doesn't mean it isn't useful thesis research.

Furthermore, thinking about these neglected heritage sites I realised the underlying concept of my thesis. Community involvement blah blah. Heritage reuse blah blah. But what was the underlying connection? And it dawned on me that it was authenticity. My idea of asking people what shape they want adaptive reuse projects to take in their ares was fuelled by the unconscious thought of a 'geist', an intanglible aspect of local heritage that I wanted to see manifested in heritage reuse. And I finally realised this by coming clean to my supervisor about my motivation. I used the word vibe a lot. But it is true that some places have a vibe, a je ne sais quoi that results from their history and heritage. The academic terms for that fall somewhere between intangible heritage and authenticity.

Just because some of your ideas don't sound academic, that doesn't mean that there isn't a useful concept underneath it all.

Chapter VIII: She reads, she writes, she reads more, she re-writes

So from this idea, my supervisor recommended I look into the concept of Historical Urban Landscape. I just checked out 3 books on the topic. Thing is, it may not be suitable. It may be the most useful thing ever. But I will never know unless I study it. So read. Read everything. Read it all. Even when you watch Netflix, keep an eye out for ideas. When you walk around the city. On the metro. All research is good research. And by the end, you will know what is useful for you. (More than that, you will sound hella smart.)

Pro tip: keep a notebook with you at all times and every time you a have thought about your thesis write it down. It might me amazing. You may never remember it again.

And with all this research, your ideas will naturally change. Your biases will be challenged, your assumptions unveiled. But everyone says to narrow down the topic. How does this technique help, you may ask. Well, the answer is counterintuitive, but bear with me. The more you read around the topic, you will find out a lot of things you don't need. Which is exactly the point. The more you know what is irrelevant, or belongs in a different research area, the easier it will be to define your are and hedge ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)effectively. 

That's all the cliche advice I could come up with, based on my meagre personal experience. Hope it helps! 

Cliche Appendix:

1. All bad thesis are bad in the same way, but all good thesis are good in their own unique way. (if Anna Karenina wrote a thesis)

2. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of research, it was the age of procrastination, it was an epoch of learning, it was an epoch of waking up late, it was the season of presentations, it was the season of essays, it was the spring in Vienna, it was the winter in Budapest, we had a BA before us, we had a prospectus before us, we were all getting an MA. (A tale of two years at CHSP)

3. In my younger and more vulnerable years, my supervisor gave me some advice that I've been turning around in my mind ever since: every time you feel like criticising anyone, remember peer reviewing. (The Great Prof. Dr. Gatsby).

4. As students fro CHSP awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, they found themselves transformed in their beds into monstrous bibliographies. (The Metamorphosis)

Inspired by the East: When you cannot escape the discourse of Orientalism!

Zeinab Abdelhamed

The British Museum's new exhibition 10 October 2019 –26 January 2020,Inspired By the East: How the Islamic World Influenced Western Art, attempts to present orientalist art as not only one where western artists traded in cliché, but also to show how portrayals of the East in the West were more than just racist pastiches. It attempts to present orientalist art as a sort of cultural exchange, rather than plunder, more of a long-term interaction between east and west that influenced not just paintings, but also ceramics, travel books and watercolor illustrations of Ottoman fashion. It also presents orientalism as an effort to understand other cultures at a time when there was not much travel, and perhaps an idealized longing for a life in an Islamic world that had not yet been untethered from the familiar by industrialization and secularization.

Inspired by the East - the first Orientalism show in the UK since 2008 - casts its net further than art, referencing ceramics, architecture, photography, even theatre. It closes with responses from four of the biggest contemporary female artists of the region to the Orientalist cliché, including Iranian-American Shirin Neshat and Morocco's Laila Essaydi, both of whom are well known for boldly confronting the stereotyped role of Muslim women in art. I am actually working on the same concept for my Anthropology paper, Orientalism and Islamic art and Architecture. I was very surprised to see such an exhibition. And I believe if Edward Said, the Palestinian writer and academic, were alive, he would have a heart attack! The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. The focus of the exhibition is, “how the Islamic world influenced Western art -- includes generous loans from their extensive collection of Islamic and Orientalist art”.

Orientalism as a concept

I assume that you are already familiar with the concept of “Orientalism,” but let me introduce you to the concept in a nutshell. Orientalism is a very important term that has been widely used after Edward Said’s book Orientalism, 1978. Many authors regard it as a major intellectual contribution and a very important book. The book is now being translated into twenty-six languages and is required reading at many universities and colleges. Said argued that patronizing Western depictions of the East, and especially Arab culture, were bound up with imperialism, creating stereotypes of “the other”. It is also worth mentioning that Said made Orientalism a dirty word, and the book is a major intellectual contribution rigorously posing the problems of the East/West problematique, in fact, of any form of polarity thinking which, in many cases, obscure the actual complexity of the picture.

Closed circuit: Exchange a western depiction of the East to the West 

Julia Tugwell, the exhibition's co-curator, explains: “It’s an East-West exchange and we want to talk about the influences of Islamic art, not just [on] Islamic art but from the Islamic world, Islamic culture, on the West.”..... to be continued!

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g56M4dDOde4

• Said, Edward W. 1978. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.

Theatre as Memory Media?

By Suzyika Nyimbili

Memory as an area of study is pretty new to me. Though I have thought about concepts of memory, I never really thought about it in terms of an actual field of study. When I saw that there would be a course on memory, I knew I had to sign up for it. The course, "Understanding Memory Media: Image, Material Culture, and Space" is what I am taking now. Its has helped me better understand this area of study and put into context some of the things I already know from back home. I must note that some of the classes have been on what would be strange for a person that is not familiar with this area of study. One of the classes we had was in a grave yard. Strange as it may sound to some people, it was an insightful class looking at commemoration and communication. Following that class, we got back to class the following week and discussed memory of the dead focusing on rituals, space, monuments and material culture. 

From our classes so far, we have discussed how memory works. We have discussed the concept of memory as involving collecting, storing and then retrieving. The interesting thing is that this does not just apply to the individual, that is, individual memory. A whole society, for instance, might have some sort of memory. . So, besides the individual memory, there are concepts of collective memory, social memory and cultural memory. These ideas and concepts have been discussed in depth by scholars such as  Maurice Halbwachs and Aby Warburg from the 1920s as per our discussions in class. 

In my study of memory, I have been thinking about my own work back home in Zambia. I have been wondering if at all my work as a playwright who is particularly interested in writing historical plays could fall under the concept of memory. Being an interdisciplinary area of study, that is, memory studies, history is one of those areas of study connected to memory studies. In our class on Memory as Communication, we considered the ideas of Peter Burke on history as social memory. If we somewhat agree, that history can be considered as social memory, could historical plays then fall under some  sort of memory? or is the play itself not memory but what is being portrayed in it can be memory? These are some of the questions that arise in my head as I consider theatre as memory. 

I got to lean that there are plays that are referred to as as memory plays. According to Wade Bradford, a memory play is "A play that focuses on the past as narrated by the main character. Usually, the play is a dramatic representation of the playwright's life—or at least loosely based upon the playwright's experiences". 

Cover of a book that caught my eye. 

Memory theatre could fall under individual memory. Could it then mean the institutionalized history or local history or any other form of history that can be recreated on stage could somewhat fall in a category of memory? And if so, could theatre, as performance, not the building, be a tool in memory? I am beginning to think it could though I clearly need to read more about the concept. My work in as a playwright boarders on work that is not in the mainstream curriculum or knowledge that is openly discussed and debated. One of the plays that I have done focus on the life of a woman call Lenshina. 

Hub Theatre Porduction of Lenshina: The Uprising 

Lenshina led a church of over 150000 members at its peak in prior to Zambia's independence. Before 1965, in Zambia, this was an extremely large number. All the other denominations, when combined  including those those led by missionaries didnt not  have such numbers. Before independence, Lenshina and her follows came into conflict with the government which led to conflict between her and her follows and the government and the United National Independence Party. Following the conflict, over 700 people were killed and thousands displaced and made to flee their homes. 

A scene from Lenshina's play showing some people who were shot down

For a long time, this was not discussed and its discussion even now brings a lot of suspicion. Its not covered in the school curriculum except at University. These are the types of stories I write about and bring on stage to provoke somewhat "undesired" discussion and memory. Does that in any way meet the standards of memory in the auspices of memory studies? Well, I am not sure but its something I am keep to understand and read about more and maybe, get to write about as a chapter in my thesis. You can read one review of the play here. 

There are others who have written and performed plays about how for instance the ethnic groups who now live in Zambia moved from present Democratic Republic of Congo and settled in Zambia. Others have written about traumatic experiences of the apartheid regime experiences in South Africa giving the written record a a more vivid portrayal. Does all this qualify to be referred to as memory media? maybe, or maybe not.  

Lamma Bada Yatathanna

Nasser Al-Hamdi

Have you listened to the Muwashshah of Lamma Bada Yatathanna? Maybe you have been told that this Muwashshah is a Turkish melody, and the word of AMAN - which you can find at the end of each half of the Muwashshah - is the proof of Turkish origins. However, the Muwashshah has a story behind as we will see on this post.

Abdul Rahim Almsloub or Lisan Al-Din Ibn Al-Khatib?

Muwashshah is a novel poetic art, Different other types of Arabic lyric poetry, it follows certain rules, and it uses original Arabic or foreign language in the performance. The Muwashshah in Andalusia called Nauba, which was first flourished during their ruling in Iberian Peninsula, and it is mixed with many different of indigenous musical genres. It is also different from Muwashshah of the eastern part of Arabia, but it has transferred this musical type to eastern part, especially to the Levant countries and Egypt by Turks and Andalusian composers, poets, and writers.

Some sources mention that the Muwashshah of Lamma Bada Yatathanna is attributed to Lisan Al-Din Ibn Al-khatib (1313-1374) who was a poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician, and politician from Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. In contrast, other sources suggest that Abdul Rahim Almsloub (1786 – 1895) from Egypt did not only composed the Muwashshah but was also the first one who wrote its words. Almaslob tried to revive the Arab musical heritage, which was dominated by Ottoman influences. As a result, he established Egyptian singing school, the process of revival was releasing the old mold of Arabic music, which was absent for a long time during the centuries of Ottoman rule. But, why the Turkish word “Aman” has been used in this Muwashshah?

Ya Lail or Aman?

In fact, the Modern Egyptian Song was founded by (Al-shikh Al-Masri), who was close to the Muhammad Ali dynasty, who were the rulers of Egypt at that time, and they were a family of Turkish Culture origins. Almaslob may have used the Turkish "Aman" instead of the Arabic "Ya Lail", which was used mainly in (The Mawwil) for public events and he used to hold concerts for them to satisfy the taste of the Turkish elite. In 1910, before the Arabs formally got the independence from the Ottoman empire, that step from Almaslob to use The Turkish word was not a drawback, especially, since it was only an extra word outside the original text. However, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish word has been replaced by the Arabic word as Arab Nationalism was rising up especially during the 1950s. In this sense, many Arab musicians weed out from the Turkish effects, and Lamma Bada Yatathanna was one testimony to these revisions.

These Attempts to get rid of the Turkish word have been failed, and many Arab musicians emphasize that the Muwashshah with the word "Aman" is the original. The word itself is not important to be Arabic or Turkish because it is an addition to the original text. However, if " lamma bada yattathana " had been written after ottoman collapsed, there would be no doubt that its author Abdel Rahim al-Masloub would have used the famous Arabic word "Ya Lail Ya Ain".

The first performance of the Muwashshah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=38Rs14fo95I

And this first Symphony for the Muwashshah by Abu Bakr Khairat, and he is considered to be one of the Arabs who discarded the Turkish word (Aman), and also, he was the first one who converted the Muwashshah to Symphony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=345&v=fnYkqLIoFCA

The amazing Philharmonie 2016 performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4wF8wlp6FM