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By Gilbert Munetsi
Documents for Zimbabwe’s museums and monuments should be digitally safeguarded to preserve and account for the country’s cultural objects, it has been emphasized.
The emphasis emerged at a recent week-long workshop carried out by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) in Harare.
It was aimed at introducing digitisation in line with the International Council of Museums standards against the current manual catalogue system.
Funded by the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation and attended by curators and technical staff from all collection units of the NMMZ, representatives from the US Embassy and the Fowler Museum at UCLA (by virtual participation), the University of Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe University, Harare Institute of Technology and the National Art Gallery.
It ran under the theme: “Documentation of Collections at Risk” where it was discussed that weak documentation systems promote illicit trafficking of cultural objects.
It is estimated that at least 3 000 material samples are at risk and these include rock painting reproductions, textile, metals, ceramics, wood, leather, ivory, paper and photographs.
According to the NMMZ, the collections originate from archeological excavations, ethnographic expeditions, donations and exchange loans.
Apart from being home to centralized, ubiquitous and varied collections, the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences holds varied collections of a pre-historic nature as well as the national collection of “Objects at Risk”.
The latter is the most treasured of all NMMZ’s collections.
“These collections are ‘valuable’ in scientific, cultural and financial terms.
“All objects or specimens are of such notable significance that they would fall under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property which Zimbabwe ratified in 2006,” NMMZ director for the Northern Region, Mr Ghodhi Bvocho told Nhau.
He said the collections at risk are a pillar for national cultural identity manifest in cultural beliefs, values, practices, and traditional knowledge, and their transmission across generations are critical in building a strong and cohesive society.
“A community with a strong cultural capital (cultural collections) built on the continuity of knowledge values and symbols will be better able to withstand adversities drawing on its collective memory, shared values, traditional skills and robust social connectedness.
“Such is the situation with our collections at risk. Most of the collections are a testimony of ingenuity and inventiveness of the pre-colonial Zimbabwean societies,” he said.
Bvocho said these material samples were a unique resource for current and future use as well as research hence the objects should be documented and secured for posterity.
“They mirror the diverse cultures of Zimbabwe and are an important source of inspiration and pride for many generations to come.
“However, the collection is at risk of loss and dissociation, as most samples lack proper description, labeling and storage measures.
“Weak documentation systems promote illicit trafficking of cultural objects as evidenced by Zimbabwe’s inability to prove ownership of stolen objects that has led to non-recovery of some of its cultural property even with the assistance of Interpol,” Mr Bvocho said.
He cited the need for a provision of a documentation system that is accessible to a wide audience and can be updated from multiple sources and locations.
The convergence agreed at the end of the workshop that a digital strategy for the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences using a CMS that allows curatorial staff to sort and manage collections data more efficiently than with a manual system is a necessity.
And in his presentation, the curator of historical buildings, Godfrey Nyaruwanga, lamented the pace at which the world was losing its architectural and archeological cultural heritage than it can document.
He attributed this heritage vanish to wars, natural disasters, neglect and inappropriate documentation.
“Documentation and information management can contribute to better results in the conservation of cultural heritage places. This can be done through proper finding, cataloging, storing and sharing of information by making it accessible to potential users now and into the future,” noted Mr Nyaruwanga. Nhau/Indaba
