Regional Conference of the South African Museums Association
From 16 to 18 March, strange activity would have met the eyes of visitors to Fort Nongqayi Museum Village. Fifty-seven museum practitioners from all over KwaZulu-Natal gathered in the Adams Outpost Restaurant for the annual Regional Conference of the South African Museums Association and put to death the misconception that museums and their staff are standoffish and elitist.
The hosts of the conference were the curators of the Zululand Historical Museum and the Vukani Zulu Cultural Museum, Zameka Yamile and Vivienne Garside. Both were determined to show Eshowe for the beautiful and interesting town it is, and had arranged a non-stop programme to keep the visitors revving. Apart from the academic papers, which are always kept at a popular level at the Regional Conference, there were evening entertainments that connected with the work done during the day. The theme of the conference was “Alternative Archiving” – an encouragement to researchers to look at different sources of information. The Wednesday programme featured an interesting talk by Sharon Louw on the forests of Zululand; that evening the delegates all braved the depths of Dlinza Forest to listen follow Louis Gunter as he called an African Wood owl to visit the party. On Thursday the programme included a thought-provoking talk by Ida Gartrell on finding information in myths and legends, and was followed in the evening by an atmospheric bonfire storytelling. They were also privileged at various times to hear local speakers Roger Gaisford, Gavin Wiseman, Nonceba Lushaba and Richard Aitken.
However, the most intriguing activity of the conference was undoubtedly the Time Travel exercise. Started in Sweden twenty years ago, Time Travel is a method of understanding history by re-creating it at a significant site, such as Fort Nongqayi. Eshowe was fortunate to have the founder of Time Travel International, Ebbe Westegren from Kalmar Museum, and his team to assist in helping the museologists to understand the method fully. Key to its success is the complete change from one time period to another and the adoption of a new persona. No observers are allowed and all modern items are left behind – no cellphones, watches, cameras, etc. Participants are then clothed in garments appropriate to the period and the specific time-related activity is carried out. All research is carried out well beforehand and the day-to-day chores, as well as the historic moment, all have to be observed. The effect is to give participants an understanding of history from an objective viewpoint that brings it alive as no text book can do.
The conference ended at 11a.m. on Friday but, as delegates were packing up their briefcases, a blast of music heralded their farewell surprise – a visit from the Field Band Academy. These outstanding young performers lifted the mood to a new high, and delegates left with comments such as, “I wish I lived here,” “The food was fantastic!”, “Wow, what a band!” and “What a great conference.” To all the hostelries that hosted delegates to the conference, sincerest thanks from the conference organisers, who were delighted with the efficiency and co-operation that they received from all the service providers. Well done, Eshowe!