“Timbuktu African Artifacts Exhibit & Workshop”

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“Timbuktu African Artifacts Exhibit & Workshop” is a very special 30-45 minute interactive educational segment of our program that literally takes audiences back in time, into the 18th century classroom of the “Teacher”, Omar ibn Sayyid, in Futa Torro. This exhibit features a rare collection of unique museum quality artifacts that highlight the profound culture and civilization of early West African learning centers like Bundu, Futa Torro, Timbuktu and others.

These are “one of a kind” artifacts not found in most museums within the U.S. Their relevance to our own culture is exemplified. Audience members are required to take a “multiple choice” written exam, and there is a 46 page “Omar ibn Sayyid Lesson Plan” for educators. This is for interactive audience dialogue.

This extends the total Program to 2 hours. (No Intermission)

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The fabled city of “Timbuktu” (pronounced: “Teem-book-too”) was named after a Tuareg woman, named “Tin Abutut” (“Lady with the Big Navel”) woman who owned a well. It was founded in the 11th Century. Over the passage of time, the name of the area became pronounced “Timbuktu” (pronounced: “Teem-book-too”).

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•Timbuktu was in a very strategic location for the trade caravans crossing from West to East Africa in present day Mali, and it’s history became tied into the many great African civilizations, rulers, holy persons, and scholars who visited and studied there from all parts of the known world. The famed “Sankore University” contained over 700,000 manuscripts in Timbuktu with many dating back to West Africa's Golden Age (12th-16th centuries). This was the heart of African litterary scholarship that produced men like: Ahmad Baba, Muhammad Bagayogo, Modibo Muhammad al Kaburi, Shaikh Mahmud ibn Umar, Abu al Baraka, Abu Bakr ibn Ahmad Biru, Muhammad Kara, Aqib Mahmud, Abdur Rahman Mahmud, Muhammad ben Uthman, and a Peul (Fulani) Prince, from Futa Djallon, who would be enslaved in America, named Abdur RahmanIbrahima“The Prince Among Slaves.”

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Educators will find that this is an "enrichment educational program" relevant to the following academic subjects: World History, World Cultures, World Religions, Comparative Religion, American History, African History, African American History, Islamic History, Ante-Bellum American History, Civil War History, Slavery, Civil Rights, Government, Foreign Language, American Literature, Mathematics, Diversity and Interfaith Studies.

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