Amadou Hampâté Bâ’s name stands out as an exceptional figure in African literature and the global intellectual landscape. Described as the “Guardian of Africa’s Memory” and “Codifier of the Spoken Word,” Bâ dedicated his life to collecting, documenting, and disseminating the rich oral heritage of the peoples of West Africa, particularly that of Mali. His primary mission was to bring the voice of Africa—its stories, wisdom, history, and worldview—to a wider audience, believing that “every elder who dies in Africa is a library on fire.”
Amadou Hampâté Bâ was born in 1901 (or 1900, according to some sources) in Bandiagara, Mali (then part of French Sudan), to a family of noble Fulani. He grew up in an environment rich in oral tradition, where stories, legends, and historical genealogies were passed down orally from generation to generation. He received a dual education: the first was traditional Islamic education in Quranic schools, where he studied Arabic, jurisprudence, and hadith, giving him a deep understanding of Islam and its heritage. The second was Western education in French schools, where he mastered the French language and was exposed to European thought. This dual education enabled him to be a unique bridge between indigenous African cultures and the Western world.
Bâ worked for the French colonial administration for several years, which gave him the opportunity to travel across different regions of West Africa and meet numerous tribal elders and sages. He used this opportunity to collect vast quantities of oral material, including stories, poetry, histories, and traditional knowledge. He was not just a colcollector but alsoskilled listener, a meticulous documentarian, and a brilliant translator of African culture.
Ba’s primary concern was the loss of Africa’s oral heritage amid the rapid changes taking place on the continent after colonialism. He saw that the knowledge and expertise accumulated over thousands of years, passed down orally from generation to generation, were threatened with extinction with the passing of the elders and ancestors who carried this knowledge. Therefore, he dedicated his life to recording these “living libraries” before they burnt down.
“whenever an old man dies, it is as though a library were burning down” (“un vieillard qui meurt, c’est une bibliothèque qui brûle”). – Amadou Hampâté Bâ
Ba founded the Institute of Human Sciences in Bamako in 1960, following Mali’s independence, the first research centre dedicated to the study and documentation of African oral heritage. He also held important diplomatic posts, representing Mali as Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire and then as Mali’s representative to UNESCO between 1962 and 1970. At UNESCO, he played a crucial role in promoting recognition and documentation of oral heritage and delivered his famous speech, which included the immortal line, “In Africa, whenever an old man dies, it is as though a library were burning down.” This sentence has become a global slogan for the importance of preserving traditional knowledge.
Amadou Hampâté Bâ’s works range from novels and biographies to ethnographic studies and the collection of oral material. His style is characterised by clarity, depth, and engaging storytelling, making him accessible to a wide audience.
Among his most notable works is “L’étrange destin de Wangrin” (The Fortunes of Wangrin) (1973), which is considered one of his most famous works and depicts the life of a real historical figure, Wangari, an African interpreter who worked for the colonial administration but used his intelligence and cunning to challenge the regime and defend his people. The novel is rich in popular wisdom, proverbs, and cultural details that reveal the complexity of the relationship between coloniser and colonised.
Another work, “Vie et enseignement de Tierno Bokar, le sage de Bandiagara” (The Life and Education of Tierno Bokar, the Wise Man of Bandiagara) (1962), is an autobiography and record of the teachings of his spiritual mentor, Tierno Bokar, a Sufi mystic and Islamic scholar. The book offers profound insights into African and Islamic philosophy, focusing on the importance of tolerance, dialogue, and the search for knowledge.
His work, “Mon Afrique” (My Africa), is an autobiography in which Ba recounts his personal experience, intellectual journey, and struggle to understand and appreciate African heritage. Also, “The Living Tradition” is a collection of stories, myths, and wisdom compiled by Ba from various African oral traditions.
“Much as a carpet’s beauty depends on the variety of its colours, the diversity of humans, cultures and civilisations makes the world beautiful and rich. How boring and monotonous a uniform world would be.”
Bá’s work was distinguished by its authentic voice, offering a profound understanding of its cultures, values, and beliefs from an insider’s perspective, free from Western stereotypes. He was a staunch advocate for the uniqueness of African civilisation, emphasising that it has wisdom, tolerance, and human values to offer the world.
Amadou Hampâté Bá died on May 15, 1991, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. But his legacy lives on and is influential. His work contributed significantly to preserving oral heritage; thanks to his efforts, a vast body of stories, myths, histories, and wisdom that were on the verge of extinction was saved.
Bá’s work also promotes cultural understanding. He presented the Western world with a more accurate and complex picture of Africa, transcending stereotypes, thus helping to build bridges of understanding between cultures. Also, his work has inspired many African and non-African researchers and writers to appreciate and document oral heritage. 4. Impact on UNESCO: He contributed to the inscription of oral heritage on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, ensuring its international protection.
Amadou Hampâté Ba believed that human understanding is universal and that every civilisation has something to offer. He emphasised that spoken stories are not merely tales; they are repositories of memory, identity, philosophy, and history.
