From the Madrasah to the Museum: The Social Life of the “Kietaabs” of Cape Town

I

Ebrahiem Manuel sits opposite me, about to embark upon his story. His living room is filled with material manifestations of his research: boxes overflowing with books and papers cover his entire sofa, newspapers and articles line the floor, and collages of images and texts hang on the walls and sit in the cabinets. It is clear that he is consumed by his passion for heritage, and his personal journey of discovery. He speaks in an animated, almost theatrical tone, raising and lowering his voice, stressing certain syllables, alive as he tells his story of “the ancient kietaabs.”²

The journey began in 1997, when Ebrahiem returned to South Africa after years at sea, working as a cook on shipping vessels. Upon his return, he began a quest to learn about his personal heritage, inspired by a dream he had had about his grandfather. This search led him to an old kietaab, given to him by an elderly aunt. This was not the first time he had come across the old book; he remembered seeing it as a child, amongst other kietaabs, stored out of reach of the children, on top of his grandfather’s wardrobe. It was inside this book that a possible key to his ancestors was to be found.

This significant find was a range of hand-written inscriptions inside the book, in Arabic, English, and an unknown script. The Arabic script and its corresponding English transliteration read “Imaam Abdul Karriem, son of Imaam Abdul Jaliel, son of Imaam Ismail of Sumbawa.” Here was his family tree, starting from his great-grandfather and leading to two generations before him and, it seemed, their place of origin, the island of Sumbawa in eastern Indonesia. Ebrahiem then decided to go to Indonesia to solve what had become the mystery of “the ancient kietaab.”

With assistance from local supporters with contacts in Indonesia and government officials, he found his way to Jakarta in 1999. His search took him to several universities, and with the support of officials, he made his way to Sumbawa. Guided by dreams and “supernatural forces,” Ebrahiem eventually arrived at the village of Pemangong.

Upon entering the village, he came face-to-face with the village chief, Abdulatif Sirat. This man immediately “recognized” him and said that Ebrahiem’s visit had been anticipated by the villagers. They claimed to know the story of Ebrahiem’s great-great grandfather, to whom the book belonged. This man, Ismail Dea Malela, was a prince from the village, who had been caught by Dutch forces and exiled to the Cape. The villagers also said that a prophecy had been made, stating that someone would return to the village one day, looking for family names. Furthermore, they immediately responded to the kietaab. The unknown inscriptions were in a secret script that corresponded to that used in kietaabs from that village. The kietaabs were united and Ebrahiem was declared a prince. A celebration was held in his honor and he was given the title “Lalu Ebrahiem Dea Malela.”³

After spending four months in the village, Ebrahiem returned to South Africa with a mission to publicise his story and to “right the wrongs” done unto his family by colonialism and apartheid. As part of this plan, he began to collect the various kietaabs belonging to the Muslim families of Simon’s Town.⁴ These books, along with souvenirs from his journey “home” were then put on display at the Simon’s Town Heritage Museum, forming part of an exhibition on Ebrahiem’s story. A personal journey had become a public display, and a collection of family heirlooms, forgotten but now resurrected, had become collective heritage.

II

The kietaabs are predominantly nineteenth century manuscripts, which were produced and circulated in the Muslim community of Cape Town. At the time, this was a largely subaltern community made up of slaves, exiles and convicts from around the Indian Ocean Basin, as well as their Cape-born descendants.⁵ The manuscripts are written in Arabic and the ajami scripts jawi and Arabic-Afrikaans...