colonialism – Pike & Hurricane

What Goes Around Should Always Come Back Around

Kristina Bartl — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 15:31:59 +0000

I still remember the first time I went to visit the British Museum with my brother. I found myself staring at the museum’s collection map and, as indecisive as I am, I could not pick a starting point for our journey. Did I want to be taken back to Ancient Rome and Greece and stroll through halls full of temples and statues? Or was I rather in the mood for South Indian Artifacts such as the statue of Shiva Nataraja? And what about Ancient Egypt — I always wanted to see a Sphinx! I was amazed by the fact that all those treasures could be found within one building in Central London, but my brother only rolled his eyes and said: “Ever heard of Colonialism?” and all of a sudden I was not that amazed anymore.

They came, they saw, they took

People who grew up in western parts of the world tend to forget that exhibition material is more than just a collection of pretty things to look at. Those objects are related to ancient myths and represent the origin of entire cultures. One of the many ways Britain exploited several parts of the world as a colonizer, was the theft of cultural assets, only for them to be displayed in their museums. Especially in the last few years, countries have started to demand those stolen artifacts back. Since then it’s been heavily discussed in the media if those artifacts should be returned or not.

Museums have two main arguments that speak against them handing back the artifacts. Firstly, it is claimed that the countries of origin do not have the required knowledge and means to maintain the objects. The fact that western museums consider their knowledge regarding ancient artifacts as superior to eastern museums, is not a good look considering the entity of this discussion. Furthermore, and almost a bit ironically, there is a claim that returning some of these goods is almost impossible, because the original owners are not traceable, even though researching the artefacts’ origins is a huge part of the museums’ work. Yes, returning heavy marvel-built parts of Greek temples back to their home country would be without a doubt an intense process, but maybe this is just one more hint that they were never meant to be displayed in foreign museums in the first place.

Cultural appreciation or exploitation?

Museums are not the only places where we can find awkwardly placed ancient artefacts. Within one mile distance from the British Museum stands Cleopatra’s Needle, which has no connection to Cleopatra besides its origin. It came all the way from Alexandria in 1877 after being gifted to Britain by the Sultan of Egypt and Sudan. Two similar obelisks found their way to Paris and New York. Shipping those enormous artifacts to their current placements was expensive and nearly took the lives of some of the sailors. All this expenditure for a monument. What is it with the West and its obsession with other cultures? Whilst cases such as Cleopatra’s needle are at least not as ethically questionable as the display of stolen artifacts, it is still an example of the West and its exceptionally strong interest in other cultures. On the one hand, some representatives have openly spoken about appreciating the fact that their culture is being displayed to a huge audience, yet it should also be possible for their citizens to see the artifacts that have been crafted by their ancestors.

Some museums, such as the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, introduced a policy which is dedicated to the returning of goods that are reclaimed by their original owners. There are also private collectors who handed back artifacts that they inherited, which is how some of the famous Benin Bronzes found their way back home, while most of them are still in the British Museum in London or in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. France handed back a few objects in November last year, but it does not outweigh the fact that former colonies only own a small percentage of their cultural artifacts, whilst their former colonizers withhold most of them. For example, 90 percent of African artifacts displayed are exhibited in European museums.

The discussion surrounding the stolen artifacts has, of course, many more factors and stories that have to be considered, but in the end; theft is theft. If former colonies reclaim their cultural heritage, they have every right to have them handed back. And if it is, for whatever reason, not possible to return stolen goods, then there has to be at least enough transparency regarding how they ended up in the museum’s possession. Britain, and other former colonizers, have profited from other cultures for long enough and it is time for them to talk about their history. After all, that’s what museums are here for, isn’t it?

by Kristina Bartl

Photo Credits

London, Das British Museum, symbol

Museum, Roof, Architecture, London, hurk

Benin Bronzes, Archie, CC BY 2.0

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Sámi music and activism: a historic and contemporary struggle

Merle Emrich — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:51:30 +0000

The joik is the traditional music of the Sámi, the indigenous people of northern parts of the Fennoscandian Peninsula. It’s scales differ from those of Western music, it is purely vocal and if it includes instruments, it’s drums – at least that’s how it’s been for generations. Now a new generation of Sámi musicians is combining traditional joiking with other genres such as pop, jazz and hiphop – and in recent years the music of artists like Sofia Jannok and Maxida Märak has become increasingly popular.

They not only mix joiking with other musical styles, but also the music itself with activism for Sámi rights and environmental protection, as well as against racism. The colonial oppression of the Sámi people is reflected in songs such as Snölejonnina (“Snow lioness”, Sofia Jannok) and Andas (“Breathe”, Maxida Märak). And in This Is My Land Sofia Jannok sings: “This is my home, this is my heaven, this is the earth where I belong and if you want to ruin it all with big wounds in the mountains then you’re not worthy of listening to this song.“

A history of oppression

Starting in the late Middle Ages and lasting well into the 20th century, the Sámi were subjected to colonial discrimination and assimilation policies. Race biology that was supposed to prove the Sámi’s racial inferiority served as justification to take their land from them. Joiking was discouraged and, since it served as refuge from and a form of resistance to colonial oppression, it was later banned. Likewise, the Sámi were forbidden from speaking their own language. By the time these assimilation policies were officially ended, both joiking and Sámi languages had disappeared from several regions.

Since then Fennoscandian countries have granted the Sámi language and cultural rights, although, unlike Norway, Sweden and Finland have not ratified the ILO’s convention of indigenous people. The Sámi have schools teaching their language, as well as their own parliaments. But still, it would be naive to say that the north of Europe has left behind colonial discrimination in its entirety. “It’s like ‘Do you even exist?’ (…) That has been, and still is, very challenging, especially living in a society that is considered the most democratic in the world”, said Sofia Jannok in an interview with NewsDeeply. And in an Amnesty International campaign video, Maxida Märak stated that “to me the violation are the same as they were 400 years ago. Only that they’ve been modernised.”

An ongoing struggle

With a law passed in 2007 the Norwegian government is limiting the size of reindeer herds. Not only might smaller herds lead to a smaller income which could result in their herding licences being revoked by the state should they not make enough profit, but for the Sámi, reindeer herding is more than a job, it is a way of life and an integral part of their culture. Therefore, because he “could not see my culture die”, reindeer herder Jousset Ante Sara sued the Norwegian state. Elle Márjá Eira, whose father launched another case against the state due to an energy project that threatened to diminish their summer grazing lands, pointed out that they would have to find another, not yet occupied, place for their reindeer. “By pushing us into smaller areas they are forcing us into conflicts with each other.”

The ongoing struggle of the Sámi is not only tied to political conflicts, but also to social issues. In 2016, the Arctic village Girjas (Sweden) was granted exclusive rights over hunting and fishing which the Swedish state had taken from the Sámi in 1993. Not only were the state lawyers accused of using “rhetorics of race biology”, but the village’s Chairman, Matti Berg, faced threats of violence when the case began as many local Swede’s are worrying that their snowmobiling and hunting activities will be further restricted in future. And both in the real and the virtual world a multitude of examples of hate against Sámi can be found: from insults, over accusations that Sámi herders kill their own reindeer to reap financial compensation, to (often unsolved) cases of killed reindeer.

Over the last 100 years undisturbed reindeer habitat has decreased by 70%. Lapland is not only serene mountains, endless snow fields under northern lights and rocky, mosquito-haunted plains; the land holds resources that conjures up dollar signs in some people’s eyes. In Sweden, which provides 90% of the EU’s iron ore, there are around 1000 mines. Most of them are located on traditional Sámi land where pasture land is reduced by the mines and the areas flooded to store – at times toxic – mining waste. Certainly, the mining industry creates jobs and offers a possibility to keep up the declining population of places such as Jokkmokk. But at the same time it poses a threat to wildlife and the traditional way of life of the Sámi. At the same time, the timber industry is replacing ancient forests holding a variety of tree species of different height and age creating an uneven canopy under which snow can accumulate unevenly leaving some areas grazeable with monoculture plantations. There, the trees grow fairly evenly resulting in a more uniform snow blanket that makes it harder for the reindeer to find food.

In addition, global warming might make free access to even more resources in northern Europe: not only are 5-13% of the world’s untapped oil and 20-30% of the world’s untapped gas located in the Barents region, the melting of Arctic ice would also open new shipping routes. It is this development on which Finland’s proposal to build a €2.9 bn railway to Europe’s first Arctic port in Norway is based. The railway would cut off the reindeer’s migration routes in six different herding areas, and could lead to reindeer being run over by trains. This infrastructure would make it possible for companies to encroach even further on the still untouched parts of Lapland. Sámi parliament president Tiina Sanila-Aikio told The Guardian that she only heard about the project in the media.She describes government and company practices as a “slow colonisation” that functions by dividing the land with railways and handing it over to outside industries.

Reindeer are an integral part of Sámi culture and way of life, but also of the Arctic ecosystem. Without reindeer fast growing grasses and shrubs will no longer be kept in check leading to less plant diversity and the higher growing shrubs creating a more uneven layer of snow that reflects less sunlight and thus contributes to increased global warming. Finish climate scientist Tero Mustonen argues that Lapland will be fundamentally transformed by the railway running through areas providing us with climate security. On top of that, it is a project that depends on global warming. Global warming, which threatens the survival of reindeer as spikes of warm winter weather lead to the melting and refreezing of snow. Thus, layers of ice appear on the ground that trap lichen – reindeer’s main winter food supply – underneath. The Sámi’s reindeer are then either at risk of starving or the reindeer herders must bear the extra cost of feeding their animals throughout the winter.

Music as activism

“In Saami I don’t have to say ‘This is our land’, ‘We are still here’, (…) it’s like saying planet Earth is round (…) But when I write in Swedish and English I have to write the most basic stuff”, Sofia Jannok explains the difference between her Swedish and English, and Sámi song texts. She says that she started writing in Swedish and English when she addressed people in power in her head. “By the reactions of listeners, politicians and journalists, I realized how necessary it was that we actually use words so that people understand (…).”

In Swedish schools not much is taught on the subject of the Sámi and their oppression, and often inaccurate information is mixed into the little that is taught: “But I can put it in a song and tell the truth through arts. And I think that is a more efficient way, and actually truer too, because the politicians and people in power are always describing our society with a hidden agenda.” In that sense, Sofia Jannok believes, music can be an effective tool of activism and decolonisation. Maxida Märak, too, argues that culture, including music, has contributed to the improvement of conditions for Sámi people, and remains important as “it was not neutral to have racists in the government (…) and now they sit in Parliament” and point to groups, including the Sámi, they perceive as a threat to Swedish society. “People watch World War II movies and talk about how it could happen, but it’s exactly the same thing that is happening now (…)”

by Merle Emrich

Photo Credits

Sofia Jannok EM1B1389, Bengt Nyman, CC BY 2.0

DSC_4496_Maxida Márak, Riddu Riddu, CC BY-SA 2.0

A day at work, Mats Andersson, CC BY 2.0

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All Power to All People?

Nikhil Gupta — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 18:55:39 +0000

You’ve learned about all the great revolutions and struggles of the past. The French Revolution was iconic, overthrowing all the monarchs and aristocrats. The American Revolution fought off the British colonizers in what led to the establishment of the United States of America. Any definition of a revolution generally involves an extreme shift in a country’s political structure. The sheer audacity adds to the romance and the ink writing the stories of France and America is permanent in your history books. They are often symbolized as the foundational pillars of the modern world.

Well, what if I wave my wand and magically give you a revolution that changes the country’s government, sends the colonialists back home with their tails between their legs; oh, and also abolishes slavery…. All in the year 1804? If the sheer audacity of such a revolution exists (at that time), then surely you must have studied it.

It did happen. But there is little discourse in history that captures the magnitude and greatness in the story of Haiti – one that was well ahead of its time. But why is this the case?

The Haitian Revolution

Between 1791 to 1804, the French colony of Saint-Domingue saw a series of conflicts that eventually led to the formation of an independent country founded by former slaves. It began with Toussaint L’Ouverture gaining control of several slave areas. He was an ex-slave and is considered the most charismatic hero and leader of the revolution. It ultimately ended as a successful slave rebellion that established a fully functioning country.

Why is this particularly special? Well, slave rebellions have historically almost always failed. This was the biggest slave rebellion since Spartacus’s failed revolt 1900 years ago!

Slavery wasn’t the only institution of fragmentation in the colony. Haitian society was also divided by the metrics of class and gender. The population of the country consisted of roughly 500,000 slaves, 32,000 colonists and interestingly, 24,000 Affranchis. The Affranchis were mostly of mixed, African and European descent and were often slave owners themselves. Their identity added an extra layer of fragmentation on a class and racial level and was crucial in determining the tide and success of the revolution. There also existed a faction of slaves that escaped called the Maroons and fought guerilla battles with the colonial forces.

To be able to unite multiple factions in a society that has been divided on so many levels, given the time period, is truly unique. This uniqueness brings a peculiarity with it because despite it being around the same time as the American and French Revolutions, it had somehow been omitted from the history books. The Americans were fighting for their freedom from Britain, and France was fighting for liberty within their own nation. Haiti surpasses both cases on paper. Even though the revolutions in France and America were successful, neither nation abolished slavery for many years afterwards. It cannot be stated enough that the abolotion of slavery in 1804 is as revolutionary as revolutions get in the history of mankind.

Winners write history

Historians have admittedly described the Haitian Revolution as the most successful slave rebellion. The problem with this is that it reduces the complexities of the revolution that brought forth ideals of human rights, universal citizenship and participation in government. Many argue that it has purposefully been done this way as Haiti threatened to essentially steal the thunder from America and France.

Popkin argues that certain ommissions by historians stem from the fact that it was considered a greater accomplishment than the American Revolution. As word about the Haitian Revolution circulated, many European powers ostracized Haiti, fearing the spread of more slave rebellions. If it’s possible in one colony, it gives hope elsewhere and that’s bad for business. Many slave owning states in America were thus wary of the revolution. Despite Haiti achieving universal equality, it was shunned and forgotten because it posed as a threat to the (white) west’s poster child revolution of its own.

In many ways, then, the true victors in the foundation of modernity were decided on a racial instead of a meritorious level. While this, by no means, aims to discredit the revolutions in France and America, it hopes to incite conversations today about social justice and universal human rights for all. Awareness of history as well as omitted history could bring about all power to all people.

by Nikhil Gupta

Photo Credits:

Haiti flag – Carifiesta 2011, abdallahh, CC BY 2.0

Haiti, elycefeliz, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

rEvolution!, Albert, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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The Horrors of the Kanelbulle

Julia Glatthaar — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:52:16 +0000

Every country has a specific way in celebrating what people deem to be important, their national heritage, or just because everyone likes an excuse to party. Globally we celebrate events and movements such as international women’s day and with festivities expanded towards an ever growing range of bizarre holidays, there are also holidays like the international Winnie the Pooh Day on January, 18th that can be celebrated by everyone.

In Sweden, with Swedish people having an average of one to two fikas per day and eating around 316 kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) per year, it seems only natural to celebrate what represents Swedish culture at its best on October, 4th, the Kanelbulle Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day). However, do not let this little sweet, delicious, scrumptious pastry fool you! The kanelbulle has a dark past that is little known around Sweden. To let a bit more light into this grey zone of people’s minds, let us delve into this horror story together.

Colonialism, Exploitation and Cinnamon Cravings
Cinnamon may not directly spring into your mind as being the number one trade good that allowed for an increased European domination of the Indian Ocean in the late 16th century. However, this particular spice and the capture of the cinnamon trade was a priority goal amongst the European aristocracy.

Originally cinnamon was used to cover up the taste of foul meat during the winter and, more importantly, cinnamon was a mighty status symbol. Everybody who could afford this spice would make sure to have plenty of it on display to impress guests and friends during feasts.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the rising middle class soon began to pursue cinnamon as well and with rising demands, the race to capture the cinnamon trade monopoly was on!

Portugal was the first country to win this race and managed to take over Ceylon cinnamon production. They defended their monopol through cruel means- by enslaving the Sinhalese and by making sure that no competitor would take away their monopoly. Their methods would include measures such as sinking Arab dhows (trade ships) and hanging any possible European competition. This strategy did work for some time, until the Dutch forcefully took over the Portuguese production. For the local Sinhalese however little changed, some argue they were treated even worse by the Dutch than by their former Portuguese colonizers.

The colonizers changed flags once again in 1796 when the British arrived in Ceylon and displaced the Dutch from their control of the cinnamon monopol.

By the middle of the 19th Century the cinnamon market in Europe grew more “democratic”. Whilst there was an increase in production of 1000 tons a year, low quality cinnamon became more acceptable. Therefore cinnamon production sites were erected in a variety of locations, such as Brazil, the West Indies and Guyana and the era of the cinnamon monopoly came to an end.

Cinnamon – Sweden’s Grey Zone?

Sweden, the “lagom” country of Scandinavia, the neutral country during WWII, a country that you would probably not link to torture, slavery, exploitation and colonialism. Whilst Sweden did possess some small colonies overseas, this was a very small number compared to its European neighbours. Yet the Kanelbulle that became so popular in Sweden during the 18th century, and was made into the national holiday in 1999, is a product of Europe’s dark past, its colonial history.

So, next time you go out for some fika and get your favourite pastry, do think about where the Kanelbulle comes from and be aware of its bloody past.

By Julia Glatthaar

Pictures:

Image by Gabby Canonizado, Stranded for a While_B&W, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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