Research Group for the Study of Manuscripts SIGLUM extends an invitation to a lecture by Dr. Dmitry Bondarev, entitled “Islamic manuscript cultures of West Africa”. The lecture will take place on April 30 2024, at 2:15-3:45 CET via Zoom. To register for the meeting, please contact us at siglum@wn.uw.edu.pl.

Dr. Dmitry Bondarev will talk about the manuscript tradition of pre-colonial West Africa, almost unknown outside specialised circles. The manuscripts in question were made in Muslim intellectual and religious centers located in today’s Chad, Nigeria, Mali, Guinea and Senegal. In addition to Arabic, the manuscripts contain texts of various length in African languages written in Arabic script. As such, they are an invaluable source for the study of African languages and Islamic civilization in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Dmitry Bondarev – Africanist, head of West Africa Projects and Ajami Lab at the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg. His research interests focus on African linguistics, Islamic manuscripts and literacy in Arabic-based script (Ajami), developed among the speakers of Kanuri, Hausa, Songhai, Mande and other African languages.