Ananda van der Pluijm
an incomplete history
G r ey M AT T er S 7
For Do-Willem (1957-2013) and Rover (2014)
Ananda van der Pluijm
An Incomplete History
For Do-Willem (1957-2013) and Rover (2014)
Ananda van der Pluijm
An Incomplete History
That which remains: On Ananda van
der Pluijm’s An Incomplete History
By Bill Kouwenhoven
There is nothing sacred. Nothing stands the course of time. Entropy is destiny. Systems break down. Order becomes disorder. It is the way it goes. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. In nature, of course, as the good Lord giveth, the good Lord taketh away, and the process that said good Lord useth is called erosion. As the Dutch photographer Ananda van der Pluijm cites by way of borrowing liberally from the Encyclopaedia Britannica definition, in her introduction to her exquisite body of work, An Incomplete History, the word “erosion” is defined, thusly:
EROSION noun e • ro • sion the process by which rock or soil is gradually destroyed by wind, rain, or the sea: the problem of soil erosion the erosion of the coastline the process by which something is gradually reduced or destroyed erosion of: the gradual erosion of our civil liberties erosion, removal of surface material from the Earth’s crust, primarily soil and rock debris, and the transportation of the eroded materials by natural agencies from the point of removal.
The concept of erosion, like that of entropy, is complicated in its ramifications. Just as a pearl is produced by an oyster tormented by a grain of sand, so is a rock worn down and polished by the action over time of wind and water, or for that matter, a fossil is produced through the effects of millennia. And photographs from stories. The systems that form the basic structure, of, say, an object, a rock or stone, a senseful thing, a person, or for that matter a family, a relationship, or, greater still, a society, a city, a nation, do always break down. Entropy, erosion, polishing… for us, the living, what is important is that which remains. Where we find our stone tools and fossils, the results of natural processes, is something that becomes important to archaeologists and paleontologists. For those of us who deal with the breakdowns of human systems, that is more something for artists and philosophers – like Ananda van der Pluijm. Ananda takes as her starting point a stolen stone. It triggers, à la Marcel Proust, a certain remembrance of things past and her relationship to her father. The point that is indeed the trigger point for this photographic project, An Incomplete History, is a trip to Tanzania where she meets a family that suffered both personal loss and the loss of their cultural memory through the erosion, not just through natural causes, but also through the intervention of man-made actions. The family Ananda meets lives at the edge of what has become a hydroelectric plant on a small river in central Tanzania. For those of us who do not remember history but who are
condemned to suffer the returns – tragedy and farce are something for intellectuals, but the destruction of societies, loss of arable land and the graves of one’s ancestors are the reality for people actually living in places with a brutal past - Tanzania was for a while a German colony back in the Conradian days of European colonialism. When Ananda went up the river and came to the little village of Tosamaganga, Tanzania, she met a family also suffering loss. A parallel story began that represents what we can know of our past through stories and objects and photographs. An Incomplete History is this story, and Ananda makes it especially clear that we cannot fully represent “truth”. We can only reconstitute and represent it through that which remains: the objects, the land – itself subject to the forces of time that intervene and erode, sculpt, and polish what had been then and thereby construct those artefacts - and, more significantly, the memories of what was then as experienced by Ananda and the Kikunga family, Marcus Kikunga’s widow Eularia Nzalaria (65), her daughter Daria Kikunga (35) and her grandchildren Saoeda Bukuku (14), Joseph Bukuku (13) and Victor Mgimwe (3½), among others. Ananda presents the village, the sites of the family’s history, and those of their history of resistance to the German conquest in the late 19th century. Here, she notes, “Iringa is a region of the Hehe tribe, known warriors. The name of the city Iringa means ‘fort’, the village [Tosamaganga] is called ‘throwing rocks’. It’s a site where much blood flowed. There’s no difference between life and death; bodies were sometimes left
behind in the forest or woods. These forests are now sacred sites, involved in battles over land rights.” The sense of loss and the defence of memories and properties pervade her images and crop up in the locations she photographs. Her story, Ananda’s story, takes a traditional route both up a river and along a path, as it traces the story of the Kikunga family. The photographic artefacts, here, represent this tracing at the level of metaphor. What we see is and is not simply about that which was in front of the camera as Ananda encountered the location or the people she came to know. There are, of course, specific places where things happened – where the Hehe resisted the Germans in the 19th century and where Eularia met her husband in the 20th walking to school through a cornfield. Later, once married, they shared such a cornfield together. One can, of course, note that the very existence of corn, a New World crop, in Africa is, in itself, yet another artefact of colonial intervention. The very fact that corn, the potatoes that resemble Ananda’s father’s fossil, and hydroelectric plants and cinderblock houses are here in this village where the ancestors were buried over centuries and centuries are a testament to the changes wrought by time and to the disappearance of sense of place. It is also a testimony of the people living there, as it is to Ananda holding onto her talismanic fossil, physical symbols of living memory at risk of erosion through land development and the dying off of the people whose stories concatenated place and experience. The love story that Ananda depicts in this small bit of Africa
That which remains: On Ananda van
der Pluijm’s An Incomplete History
By Bill Kouwenhoven
There is nothing sacred. Nothing stands the course of time. Entropy is destiny. Systems break down. Order becomes disorder. It is the way it goes. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. In nature, of course, as the good Lord giveth, the good Lord taketh away, and the process that said good Lord useth is called erosion. As the Dutch photographer Ananda van der Pluijm cites by way of borrowing liberally from the Encyclopaedia Britannica definition, in her introduction to her exquisite body of work, An Incomplete History, the word “erosion” is defined, thusly:
EROSION noun e • ro • sion the process by which rock or soil is gradually destroyed by wind, rain, or the sea: the problem of soil erosion the erosion of the coastline the process by which something is gradually reduced or destroyed erosion of: the gradual erosion of our civil liberties erosion, removal of surface material from the Earth’s crust, primarily soil and rock debris, and the transportation of the eroded materials by natural agencies from the point of removal.
The concept of erosion, like that of entropy, is complicated in its ramifications. Just as a pearl is produced by an oyster tormented by a grain of sand, so is a rock worn down and polished by the action over time of wind and water, or for that matter, a fossil is produced through the effects of millennia. And photographs from stories. The systems that form the basic structure, of, say, an object, a rock or stone, a senseful thing, a person, or for that matter a family, a relationship, or, greater still, a society, a city, a nation, do always break down. Entropy, erosion, polishing… for us, the living, what is important is that which remains. Where we find our stone tools and fossils, the results of natural processes, is something that becomes important to archaeologists and paleontologists. For those of us who deal with the breakdowns of human systems, that is more something for artists and philosophers – like Ananda van der Pluijm. Ananda takes as her starting point a stolen stone. It triggers, à la Marcel Proust, a certain remembrance of things past and her relationship to her father. The point that is indeed the trigger point for this photographic project, An Incomplete History, is a trip to Tanzania where she meets a family that suffered both personal loss and the loss of their cultural memory through the erosion, not just through natural causes, but also through the intervention of man-made actions. The family Ananda meets lives at the edge of what has become a hydroelectric plant on a small river in central Tanzania. For those of us who do not remember history but who are
condemned to suffer the returns – tragedy and farce are something for intellectuals, but the destruction of societies, loss of arable land and the graves of one’s ancestors are the reality for people actually living in places with a brutal past - Tanzania was for a while a German colony back in the Conradian days of European colonialism. When Ananda went up the river and came to the little village of Tosamaganga, Tanzania, she met a family also suffering loss. A parallel story began that represents what we can know of our past through stories and objects and photographs. An Incomplete History is this story, and Ananda makes it especially clear that we cannot fully represent “truth”. We can only reconstitute and represent it through that which remains: the objects, the land – itself subject to the forces of time that intervene and erode, sculpt, and polish what had been then and thereby construct those artefacts - and, more significantly, the memories of what was then as experienced by Ananda and the Kikunga family, Marcus Kikunga’s widow Eularia Nzalaria (65), her daughter Daria Kikunga (35) and her grandchildren Saoeda Bukuku (14), Joseph Bukuku (13) and Victor Mgimwe (3½), among others. Ananda presents the village, the sites of the family’s history, and those of their history of resistance to the German conquest in the late 19th century. Here, she notes, “Iringa is a region of the Hehe tribe, known warriors. The name of the city Iringa means ‘fort’, the village [Tosamaganga] is called ‘throwing rocks’. It’s a site where much blood flowed. There’s no difference between life and death; bodies were sometimes left
behind in the forest or woods. These forests are now sacred sites, involved in battles over land rights.” The sense of loss and the defence of memories and properties pervade her images and crop up in the locations she photographs. Her story, Ananda’s story, takes a traditional route both up a river and along a path, as it traces the story of the Kikunga family. The photographic artefacts, here, represent this tracing at the level of metaphor. What we see is and is not simply about that which was in front of the camera as Ananda encountered the location or the people she came to know. There are, of course, specific places where things happened – where the Hehe resisted the Germans in the 19th century and where Eularia met her husband in the 20th walking to school through a cornfield. Later, once married, they shared such a cornfield together. One can, of course, note that the very existence of corn, a New World crop, in Africa is, in itself, yet another artefact of colonial intervention. The very fact that corn, the potatoes that resemble Ananda’s father’s fossil, and hydroelectric plants and cinderblock houses are here in this village where the ancestors were buried over centuries and centuries are a testament to the changes wrought by time and to the disappearance of sense of place. It is also a testimony of the people living there, as it is to Ananda holding onto her talismanic fossil, physical symbols of living memory at risk of erosion through land development and the dying off of the people whose stories concatenated place and experience. The love story that Ananda depicts in this small bit of Africa
Evidence of early hominid activities 260K (260,000+70,000-40,000) Th230/Pa231 Late Acheulian/early Middle Stone Age Assemblage Type 1: 70% handaxes, cleavers, knives, small flake tool, large picks, corescrapers, choppers, spheroids; Type 2: 40- 60% small tools; Type 3: 50% large picks, core-scrapers, Choppers, spheroids, few small tools, few bifaces Lower sand horizon Hippo, skull and limbs absent, unretouched quartz flakes Raw material types Quartz, quartzite, rock crystal, chert or flint varieties, sandstone, rhyolite, granite, trachyte, basalt, ironstone, argillite, feldspars, pumice
Evidence of early hominid activities 260K (260,000+70,000-40,000) Th230/Pa231 Late Acheulian/early Middle Stone Age Assemblage Type 1: 70% handaxes, cleavers, knives, small flake tool, large picks, corescrapers, choppers, spheroids; Type 2: 40- 60% small tools; Type 3: 50% large picks, core-scrapers, Choppers, spheroids, few small tools, few bifaces Lower sand horizon Hippo, skull and limbs absent, unretouched quartz flakes Raw material types Quartz, quartzite, rock crystal, chert or flint varieties, sandstone, rhyolite, granite, trachyte, basalt, ironstone, argillite, feldspars, pumice
Erosion Encyclopædia Britannica noun e-ro-sion
1. The process by which rock or soil is gradually destroyed by wind, rain, or the sea: the problem of soil erosion the erosion of the coastline
Erosion is the general wearing down and moulding of all landforms on the Earth’s surface, including the weathering of rock in its original position, the transport of weathered material, and erosion caused by wind action, fluvial processes, marine processes, and glacial processes. The complementary actions of erosion and deposition or sedimentation operate through the geomorphic processes of wind, moving water, and ice to alter existing landforms and create new landforms. Erosion will often occur after rock has been disintegrated or altered through weathering. Weathered rock material will be removed from its original site and transported away by a natural agent: moving water or wind. Factors affecting erosion rates are topography, vegetation, climate, and soil structure. Water In rivers and estuaries, the erosion of banks is caused by the scouring action of the moving water, particularly in times of flood and, in the case of estuaries, also by the tidal flow on the ebb tide when river and tidewater combine in their erosive action. This scouring action of the moving water entrains and transports sediments within the river or stream load. These entrained sediments become instruments of erosion as they abrade one another in suspended transport or as they abrade other rock and soil as they are dragged along the river bottom, progressively entraining additional sediments as long as the river’s volume and velocity of the stream continues to increase. As the velocity of the river decreases, the suspended
2. The process by which something is gradually reduced or destroyed erosion of the gradual erosion of our civil liberties
sediments will be deposited, creating landforms such as broad alluvial fans, floodplains, sandbars, and river deltas. The land surface unaffected by rivers and streams is subjected to a continuous process of erosion by the action of rain, snowmelt, and frost, the resulting detritus and sediment being carried into the rivers and thence to the ocean. Wind In some arid and desert tracts, wind has an important effect in bringing about the erosion of rocks by driving sand, and the surface of sand dunes not held together and protected by vegetation is subject to erosion and change by the drifting of blown sand. This eolian action erodes material by deflation, the removal of small loose particles, and by sandblasting of landforms by wind-transported material. Continued deflation of loose particles from landforms leaves behind larger particles, more resistant to deflation. Wind action transports eroded material above or along the surface of the Earth either turbulently, particles moving in all directions, or by laminar flow, in which adjacent sheets of air slip past one another. The transportation of wind-eroded material continues until the velocity of the wind can no longer sustain the size particle being transported or until the wind-blown particles collide with or cling to a surface feature. Topography The topography of the land determines the velocity at which surface runoff will flow, which in turn determines the
Erosion, removal of surface material from the Earth’s crust, primarily soil and rock debris, and the transportation of the eroded materials by natural agencies from the point of removal.
Geological erosion: 1 to 10 mm per century
erosivity of the runoff. Longer, steeper slopes (especially those without adequate vegetative cover) are more susceptible to very high rates of erosion during heavy rains than shorter, less steep slopes. Steeper terrain is also more prone to mudslides, landslides, and other forms of gravitational erosion processes.
and temperature range may also affect erosion, via their effects on vegetation and soil properties. In general, given similar vegetation and ecosystems, areas with more precipitation (especially high-intensity rainfall), more wind, or more storms are expected to have more erosion.
Vegetative cover Vegetation acts as an interface between the atmosphere and the soil. It increases the permeability of the soil to rainwater, thus decreasing runoff. It shelters the soil from winds, which results in decreased wind erosion, as well as advantageous changes in microclimate. The roots of the plants bind the soil together, and interweave with other roots, forming a more solid mass that is less susceptible to both water and wind erosion. The removal of vegetation increases the rate of surface erosion.
Soil structure and composition The composition, moisture, and compaction of soil are all major factors in determining the erosivity of rainfall. Sediments containing more clay tend to be more resistant to erosion than those with sand or silt, because the clay helps bind soil particles together. Soil containing high levels of organic materials are often more resistant to erosion, because the organic materials coagulate soil colloids and create a stronger, more stable soil structure. The amount of water present in the soil before the precipitation also plays an important role, because it sets limits on the amount of water that can be absorbed by the soil (and hence is prevented from flowing on the surface as erosive runoff). Wet, saturated soils will not be able to absorb as much rain water, leading to higher levels of surface runoff and thus higher erosivity for a given volume of rainfall. Soil compaction also affects the permeability of the soil to water, and hence the amount of water that flows away as runoff. More compacted soils will have a larger amount of surface runoff than less compacted soils.
Climate The amount and intensity of precipitation is the main climatic factor governing soil erosion by water. The relationship is particularly strong if heavy rainfall occurs at times when, or in locations where, the soil’s surface is not well protected by vegetation. This might be during periods when agricultural activities leave the soil bare, or in semi-arid regions where vegetation is naturally sparse. Wind erosion requires strong winds, particularly during times of drought when vegetation is sparse and soil is dry (and so is more erodible). Other climatic factors such as average temperature
Erosion Encyclopædia Britannica noun e-ro-sion
1. The process by which rock or soil is gradually destroyed by wind, rain, or the sea: the problem of soil erosion the erosion of the coastline
Erosion is the general wearing down and moulding of all landforms on the Earth’s surface, including the weathering of rock in its original position, the transport of weathered material, and erosion caused by wind action, fluvial processes, marine processes, and glacial processes. The complementary actions of erosion and deposition or sedimentation operate through the geomorphic processes of wind, moving water, and ice to alter existing landforms and create new landforms. Erosion will often occur after rock has been disintegrated or altered through weathering. Weathered rock material will be removed from its original site and transported away by a natural agent: moving water or wind. Factors affecting erosion rates are topography, vegetation, climate, and soil structure. Water In rivers and estuaries, the erosion of banks is caused by the scouring action of the moving water, particularly in times of flood and, in the case of estuaries, also by the tidal flow on the ebb tide when river and tidewater combine in their erosive action. This scouring action of the moving water entrains and transports sediments within the river or stream load. These entrained sediments become instruments of erosion as they abrade one another in suspended transport or as they abrade other rock and soil as they are dragged along the river bottom, progressively entraining additional sediments as long as the river’s volume and velocity of the stream continues to increase. As the velocity of the river decreases, the suspended
2. The process by which something is gradually reduced or destroyed erosion of the gradual erosion of our civil liberties
sediments will be deposited, creating landforms such as broad alluvial fans, floodplains, sandbars, and river deltas. The land surface unaffected by rivers and streams is subjected to a continuous process of erosion by the action of rain, snowmelt, and frost, the resulting detritus and sediment being carried into the rivers and thence to the ocean. Wind In some arid and desert tracts, wind has an important effect in bringing about the erosion of rocks by driving sand, and the surface of sand dunes not held together and protected by vegetation is subject to erosion and change by the drifting of blown sand. This eolian action erodes material by deflation, the removal of small loose particles, and by sandblasting of landforms by wind-transported material. Continued deflation of loose particles from landforms leaves behind larger particles, more resistant to deflation. Wind action transports eroded material above or along the surface of the Earth either turbulently, particles moving in all directions, or by laminar flow, in which adjacent sheets of air slip past one another. The transportation of wind-eroded material continues until the velocity of the wind can no longer sustain the size particle being transported or until the wind-blown particles collide with or cling to a surface feature. Topography The topography of the land determines the velocity at which surface runoff will flow, which in turn determines the
Erosion, removal of surface material from the Earth’s crust, primarily soil and rock debris, and the transportation of the eroded materials by natural agencies from the point of removal.
Geological erosion: 1 to 10 mm per century
erosivity of the runoff. Longer, steeper slopes (especially those without adequate vegetative cover) are more susceptible to very high rates of erosion during heavy rains than shorter, less steep slopes. Steeper terrain is also more prone to mudslides, landslides, and other forms of gravitational erosion processes.
and temperature range may also affect erosion, via their effects on vegetation and soil properties. In general, given similar vegetation and ecosystems, areas with more precipitation (especially high-intensity rainfall), more wind, or more storms are expected to have more erosion.
Vegetative cover Vegetation acts as an interface between the atmosphere and the soil. It increases the permeability of the soil to rainwater, thus decreasing runoff. It shelters the soil from winds, which results in decreased wind erosion, as well as advantageous changes in microclimate. The roots of the plants bind the soil together, and interweave with other roots, forming a more solid mass that is less susceptible to both water and wind erosion. The removal of vegetation increases the rate of surface erosion.
Soil structure and composition The composition, moisture, and compaction of soil are all major factors in determining the erosivity of rainfall. Sediments containing more clay tend to be more resistant to erosion than those with sand or silt, because the clay helps bind soil particles together. Soil containing high levels of organic materials are often more resistant to erosion, because the organic materials coagulate soil colloids and create a stronger, more stable soil structure. The amount of water present in the soil before the precipitation also plays an important role, because it sets limits on the amount of water that can be absorbed by the soil (and hence is prevented from flowing on the surface as erosive runoff). Wet, saturated soils will not be able to absorb as much rain water, leading to higher levels of surface runoff and thus higher erosivity for a given volume of rainfall. Soil compaction also affects the permeability of the soil to water, and hence the amount of water that flows away as runoff. More compacted soils will have a larger amount of surface runoff than less compacted soils.
Climate The amount and intensity of precipitation is the main climatic factor governing soil erosion by water. The relationship is particularly strong if heavy rainfall occurs at times when, or in locations where, the soil’s surface is not well protected by vegetation. This might be during periods when agricultural activities leave the soil bare, or in semi-arid regions where vegetation is naturally sparse. Wind erosion requires strong winds, particularly during times of drought when vegetation is sparse and soil is dry (and so is more erodible). Other climatic factors such as average temperature
Tanzania 945,087 km2 NE Africa Population: 47,783,100 (2012) Fertility rate: 5.3 Life expectancy: 60.9 Iringa Southern highlands Indian Ocean drainage zone Eastern Arc mountain range: 30,000,000 years old 96 endemic species of vertebrates 800 endemic plant species Tosamaganga 6°40’00” S 36°19’00” E SW TZ 1561 m above sea level
Tanzania 945,087 km2 NE Africa Population: 47,783,100 (2012) Fertility rate: 5.3 Life expectancy: 60.9 Iringa Southern highlands Indian Ocean drainage zone Eastern Arc mountain range: 30,000,000 years old 96 endemic species of vertebrates 800 endemic plant species Tosamaganga 6°40’00” S 36°19’00” E SW TZ 1561 m above sea level
Marcus Kikunga (1942-1990) Eularia Beatrice Nzalaria (1948): Richard Kikunga (1967), Pascacia Kikunga (1970-2010), Thomas Kikunga (1972-2006), Juma Kikunga (1975), Daria Kikunga (1976): Saouda Bukuku (1999), Joseph Bukuku (2000), Victor Mgimwe (2010)
Marcus Kikunga (1942-1990) Eularia Beatrice Nzalaria (1948): Richard Kikunga (1967), Pascacia Kikunga (1970-2010), Thomas Kikunga (1972-2006), Juma Kikunga (1975), Daria Kikunga (1976): Saouda Bukuku (1999), Joseph Bukuku (2000), Victor Mgimwe (2010)