The centuries-old libraries in West Africa are among the most important, yet largely unknown, treasures of mankind’s cultural heritage. The center of science in Timbuktu (Mali) is legendary. But what European knows that there are nineteen libraries in the Mauritanian oasis of Tidjikja (pronounced Tidschikscha) alone with the most precious treasures of Arabic manuscripts? This oasis in the center of the Sahara in Mauritania lies at the crossroads of several old caravan routes and is an ancient important station in the trans-Saharan trade. Tidjikja was founded in 1660 by several families who had left the oasis of Chinguetti in the north of the country, naturally with all their possessions, including their knowledge documented in writings. Thus Tijikja was a center of Arab-Muslim scholarship from the very beginning. The awareness of this scholarly tradition is still alive today among the inhabitants of the oasis. All families have carefully guarded their libraries – despite all the difficulties in politically turbulent times. Nevertheless, many of these book treasures are in danger of falling into disrepair, as they are all still in family ownership and their financial resources are limited. The oldest and most important library in Tidjikja is the “Ehel Taleb Mohamed” library of Lembrabott Ould Taleb Mohamed. The scholar is also president of the “Society of Library Owners and Cultural Preservation in Tidjikja” (Ligue des détenteurs de manuscrits et de la protection du patrimoine à Tidjikja) and president of the Society of Scholars of Tagant (Tagant is the entire administrative district), and he is imam of the Elargoub Mosque. It was his direct ancestor, Taleb Mohamed Ould Khlife Ould Taleb Ahmed Ould Edge El Hadj, who had taught his knowledge of Islamic law (Fighe) in Chinguetti before settling in Tidjikja in 1660, thus founding a new center where the traditions of law, scholarship and the customs of social coexistence in general were passed on from then on.
The library, in which the fruits of this now centuries-old tradition are collected, comprises more than 600 manuscripts, books, writings, legal texts and old editions of the Koran. The oldest surviving book dates back to the 15th century and contains texts on medical topics. Since the 17th century, many Mauritanian scholars, including the famous Sidi Abdoullha Ould El Hadj Brahim, have drawn their knowledge from the wealth of this library. Part of the collection, especially from more recent times, are more than 20,000 documents and treaties relating to the city and its surroundings and describing the history of the entire region.
Thanks to the commitment of the Jutta Vogel Foundation, support for the protection and preservation of these treasures has now been provided for the first time. The priority was to protect the entire collection against sand, dust, rain and termite infestation and to store books, manuscripts and documents properly. Only then can the library be made accessible to interested users and thus make this collection known in Mauritania and beyond. In this sense, supporting the “Ehel Taleb Mohamed” private library is an important pilot project. Because in Tidjikja there are even more cultural treasures waiting to be brought to light.
