Work processes

During the collaborative research process, Leni Riefenstahl’s photographs were critically analysed in terms of their creation, distribution and reception, in collaboration with Nuba actors, Sudanese scholars and artists. In workshops, the sensitive visual material was jointly analysed and classified with regard to its public accessibility. For the first time, the contexts in which the photographs were taken and their significance today could be reflected on, from the perspective of those depicted. This was made possible by collaboration with Nuba actors, as well as short research trips to the original shooting locations and interviews with those involved.

A pop-up exhibition in Kampala was attended by members of the local Nuba diaspora, and the joint viewing and discussion of the images was deepened as a result. These activities, together with the digital handover of the image material for a planned cultural centre, mark the beginning of a process of appropriation by the Nuba actors. This multi-perspective contextualisation creates new, multi-layered pictorial meanings oriented towards local and Sudanese frames of reference, restoring history to those depicted and their descendants. The project results were then discussed at an international, interdisciplinary symposium.

Workshops form the core of the multiperspectival, collaborative research process whereby the digitised holdings from Riefenstahl’s estate are viewed and discussed with Nuba representatives and Sudanese scholars. The aim of viewing the contents is to explore the photographic and film material in its historical context and classify it with an eye to ensuring its accessibility within the archives. In addition to a critical examination of Riefenstahl’s work and its aesthetics, this process first and foremost seeks to situate the material within the political, cultural and social setting of Sudan. The focus is placed on local perspectives of the images as well as the contexts in which they were created in the Nuba Mountains.

In December 2023 and May 2024, we conducted two three-week workshops in Kampala, Uganda. The participants comprised a diverse group of 13 to 15 individuals of various ages and professions from a range of social and cultural backgrounds. Members of the Pan-Nuba Council and Sudanese scholars and artists were present, as well as members of staff from Berlin museums. The Pan-Nuba Council also invited selected individuals from the Nuba Mountains, including one delegate from Masakin and another from Kau Nyaro, the areas where Riefenstahl’s films and photos originated. Other Nuba delegates travelled from Uganda and neighbouring countries, where they had sought refuge after war broke out in Sudan. A Sudanese filmmaker documented the workshops and a translator assisted in the discussions, which were held in English and Arabic.

The methodological approach to classifying, exploring and contextualising the images was based on an open research process. This involved resolutely avoiding any kind of preselection of the photographs to ensure that preconceived European concepts and themes did not predominate. Wherever possible, the images were viewed just as they had originally been arranged within the various sets, in order to obtain a broad overview of the photographs for classification. We adopted the method of photo elicitation for viewing the photographs together, whereby associations and memories elicited by the subject matter of the photographs are considered and viewers are encouraged to discuss these. Biographical and oral history interviews with Nuba delegates facilitated the understanding of their individual attitudes to the photographs and the contexts in which they were made.

The photo elicitation method guided the research process and contextualisation of the images. Depending on each participant’s background and stock of knowledge, specific images would spark particular scrutiny. To give just one example, a Nuba delegate from Masakin, a former wrestler, was especially interested in photographs depicting wrestling scenes. In this manner, representative series of photographs from the photographic collection were discussed and contextualised in greater detail. The process of viewing the photos provoked a wide variety of emotions and memories. Group discussions of these themes led to shared knowledge production and a reciprocal learning process as each of the participants spoke on issues they were familiar with.

In addition to discussions focusing on cultural practices such as burial rituals, the participating Nuba representatives also identified places and people – some of them still living – shown in the images. For example, one of them recognised his father in a photo, as well as well-known wrestlers. Further research and contextualisation of selected images took place during our research in the Nuba Mountains with representatives from Kau Nyaro and Masakin who were depicted in the photographs and who could remember them being taken. This process of multiperspectival contextualisation resulted in multiple layers of interpretation and creating meaning that aligned with local and Sudanese frameworks of reference; moreover, it meant that the people depicted in the images acquired histories of their own.

While participants were contextualising the photographs during the workshops, they devised additional specific themes concerning their visual contents as well as suitable keywords that can be used to reorganise groups of images, improve the structure of the archive and thereby benefit users’ own searches.
The Nuba workshop participants considered the photographs to be important historic records that can help consolidate their cultural heritage and make it more visible. To that effect, the images contribute to the way in which Nuba societies construct their identity within a context of state repression and marginalisation. The Nuba representatives were extremely interested in the process of critically examining, contextualising and classifying the photographic and film material so that it can be made accessible to Nuba societies as well as the general public in Sudan and throughout the world.

VH

When we asked about the kind of picture they would take today, the majority stressed how their appearance had changed by wearing clothes; many even regretted having been portrayed by Leni Riefenstahl in photographs while naked. They explained that it was due to their ignorance at that time, in not knowing what Riefenstahl was doing, and what photos even meant. As one said: “We considered her an idiotic person who just spent hours moving around, and we were busy with our ceremonies”. Then we asked how they remembered the era when the pictures were taken, and most expressed regrets about losing that beautiful, ideal period in the past when they were young, when life was good and easy in every respect compared with the situation today.

They remember Leni Riefenstahl moving around and taking pictures freely, asking everybody to be pictured, and only rarely would anybody refuse. Some reminisced that she would hand out suksuk (coloured beads) to girls and sweets to children, and a few men recalled her giving money to youths so that they would decorate their bodies in order to be depicted in the mountains. They also remembered her following all the ceremonies and events. All the participants agreed that she rarely talked with people due to the language barrier, as she was only able to say a few words in the local language and was hence forced to communicate via her translator and driver.

When we asked whether they wanted their picture to be accessible in the digital archives, they all agreed that it should be made available on the condition that all explicit sexual organs were covered up in the collection. When we presented the four options in the consent form that we had prepared, none of them seemed to satisfy the participants, and so we decided to add another option that would incorporate their suggestions, namely obtaining their permission to use their photos. There were two cases of individuals who wanted their photos to be accessible without any changes; one of them explained that it was because she was a child in the pictures, and she did not think her nudity should be interpreted negatively.

The main themes and issues raised during the fieldwork were as follows.

The majority of participants in the FGDs, as well as other individuals, stressed the need to cover the “bad images”, because they would, in their own words, be “ashamed” if those images “were shown to [their] children”, or “new generations would laugh at [them] about it”. At the same time, people were proud of their ceremonies and their memories of the past; in fact, the only problem with the past was being “seen naked”. Most participants from Kau wanted to cover all explicit sexual organs in the pictures but retain other details; however, if the content in question was in the distance, or the subject was not shown clearly, they believed it should be possible to publish the image without censorship. Most people from Nyaro wanted to cover or remove the lower part of the body in order to hide the sexual organs in pictures depicting nudity. But some people did want to conceal just the sexual organs while preserving the rest of the photos.

A majority of participants in the FGDs expressed regret at not knowing the real purpose of Leni Riefenstahl taking the photos; they considered the sole motive for her work to be making a profit. A few participants demanded that they should receive a share of Riefenstahl’s wealth. In the last formal meeting with the community leaders’ representatives, they (especially the overall leader, known as the makk) clearly expressed their wish to receive a fair share of the profits generated by Leni Riefenstahl’s works that used their own images.

In conclusion, the fieldwork materials and analysis made it clear that Kau Nyaro people have a very specific understanding and interpretation of the pictures in which they appear, as a consequence of the changing culture and worldview of the communities as a whole. Consequently, the people who appeared in Leni Riefenstahl’s images want any that show explicit sexual organs to be censored. The people of Kau Nyaro and the leaders of the communities have very high expectations about what the project might offer them, since they consider it to be an extension of Leni Riefenstahl’s visual work.

MB

One focus of the German-Sudanese Cooperative Cataloging Project was on understanding and interpreting the social and cultural practices depicted in Leni Riefenstahl’s Nuba photographs, as well as identifying related artefacts. These practices include wrestling, stick games (duwas) and bracelet games (suar), as well as pigmentations, scarification, agriculture, daily life and animal camps.

From 16 September to 3 October 2024, I, Towhid Tabasa, travelled to the Masakin region as a postdoctoral researcher in the project, accompanied by the research assistant Isa Albasha Shaliya. A key objective of the fieldwork was to engage with individuals depicted in Leni Riefenstahl’s works, conducting focus group discussions and individual interviews. The study also involved the epistemological decolonization of museums, enabling the image owners (that is, the individuals depicted, and in some cases their descendants) to view themselves from their own perspectives. The study also explored the meanings of gourds in Nuba Mountain folklore, examining their functions and the importance of tangible and intangible cultural elements, as well as their emotional significance. The customs, traditions, and social practices associated with gourds were compared with those depicted in Riefenstahl’s works to determine whether these practices have continued, changed, or ceased, and, if so, why. Thus, the research aimed to understand how ordinary indigenous people view and perceive themselves in the works of Leni Riefenstahl.

The people of Masakin live in scattered villages in the foothills and on the plains near the hills. These include Tolabi, Tangadoba, Tangabo, Tassapo, Tosari, Tomori, Tadharo, Tidima, Tosobi, Togrukuru, Kamalaila, Nongasawa, Tagossa, Tismotokawor, Todhori, Togori, Togair, Tasolo, Tagotom, Tosowa, and Turri. The Masakin community is divided into two main groups: Tarwa and Arra. Although they belong to the same linguistic group, Talodi, there are some differences between them, and each has its own native administration, led by Mak (local leaders) Eisa Kuku and Teia Tiyara, respectively. Field research during the rainy season posed particular challenges, especially with regard to transportation from South Sudan to the Masakin in the Nuba Mountains. The only means of transport to the area were tractors and motorcycles. As motorcycles were the most cost-effective and fastest option, I chose this despite it being riskier. Thus, it took ten hours to reach the destination.

How do you see yourself in the image(s)?

Based on the responses of most people in Masakin, the research can conclude that they accepted their images and were satisfied with them, having understood the changing historical contexts. The people of “Dagig” (Tarwa) also accepted and were pleased with their images. Compared to the Kau Nyaro people, the Masakin people (both Arra and Tarwa) had a slightly different perception of their images. They regarded the photographs as a blend of their own histories, local ideals, and the surrounding human and natural environments. Their customs strongly influenced this view, as they saw the photographs as extensions of their identities and cultural heritage rather than merely a representation. Additionally, they were less influenced by their surroundings than the people of Kau Nyaro, being located amongst Nuba groups and farther away from Arabic and Islamic culture. This is also why Riefenstahl chose to work in these remote areas.

How would you like to present yourself today?

To ensure that Riefenstahl’s images are presented and used appropriately, it was important to our Masakin interlocutors that they were shown clearly and precisely. This means the images should be of a high quality and a suitable sized so that all the details are clearly visible. Our interlocutors also felt it would be helpful to present the images in a context that explains and represents the real life of Nuba people, as this is why the photographs are important. This would enable viewers to better understand and use the images effectively.

Today, how would you like to be portrayed in a photograph from Riefenstahl’s time?

The people of Masakin that we spoke to generally accepted their images as they were. However, when asked what kind of picture they would like to represent themselves today, they had different opinions. The people belonging to the Arra, the “Masakin Qusar”, wanted to present themselves as they were in Riefenstahl’s time, including the women, because they were not completely naked, and the men wrapped their bodies in layers of clothes. In contrast, the people of Tarwa, the “Masakin Tual”, were divided into two groups. The first group wanted to be portrayed as they appeared in Riefenstahl’s photographs, without any changes. The second group preferred the middle part of the body to be covered in the photographs, especially in the case women were depicted.

As a representative of the Masakin people, what do you expect from the project?

Our interlocutors from the Masakin people in the Nuba Mountains had diverse expectations with regard to the project and the depiction of representatives of their group in Leni Riefenstahl’s photographs. Some seek economic compensation for the use of their images, while others want the images to be used to create a cultural center, viewing them as important historical documentation. Additionally, some hope that the project will foster a sense of pride in their Nuba identity and heritage. Those who expressed a desire for financial compensation directed their demands at the German Government, because Riefenstahl profited from their photos without their consent. This expectation stems from the perception that, while documenting their culture, Riefenstahl’s work also generated income for her, and they believe that some of that revenue should be directed back to the community.

Social and Cultural Expectations

Our interlocutors viewed the photographs as a valuable historical record of Nuba culture and traditions, particularly as their way of life is changing due to modernization and the dynamics of Western, Christian, Islamic and Arabic influences in their nearby surroundings. There was a strong desire to use the images to establish a cultural center, which would allow for the preservation and display of their heritage. The photographs could help younger generations to connect with their history and understand their cultural roots, fostering a sense of pride and identity.

Conclusion

During the fieldwork, we enabled the ordinary indigenous people of Masakin to reflect on, perceive, and interpret their own presence in Leni Riefenstahl’s work. We also engaged them in discussions to explore their perspectives on the photographs as well as the influence of their broader social and political environment on their cultural heritage. To sum up, a significant number of the individuals depicted in Riefenstahl’s images are still alive today. Among them are returnees displaced by the current war in Sudan. Many of those whom Riefenstahl photographed and who had once descended from the hills during her visit now live nearby or in the surrounding villages. During the fieldworks the people we met were healthy and well dressed. Many spoke fondly of Leni Riefenstahl and expressed satisfaction with how they were represented in her photographs. Finally, there was a noticeable difference in attitudes between the residents of Masakin and those of Kau Nyaro. Unlike the latter, most of the people of Masakin did not request that sensitive parts of their bodies, or of those portrayed, be covered in photographs intended for wider or academic audiences.

TT

Leni Riefenstahl had no qualms about photographing people even in highly intimate situations. She would occasionally use zoom lenses to get a closer shot of people in their day-to-day lives, without their knowledge. This produced a great deal of material that would nowadays be perceived as offensive or even abusive, which is why it cannot be readily shown and made accessible. Nuba representatives discussed the boundaries of what could be shown and came to a joint decision with all the project participants about the necessity of having a classification system.

One of the main objectives of this collaborative research project is to classify the images and films according to their accessibility in the archives. To this end, the materials are critically assessed, discussed and grouped into categories depending on who is given access to them and how they can be used. Reflecting a commitment to implement decolonial practices, it is representatives of the Nuba who decide how the materials are published rather than the Berlin museums. The images and films are therefore classified on the basis of the context in which they were created. The rules and categories for classification are worked out in a collaborative research process and applied both to the holdings of Riefenstahl’s estate in Berlin and to the Nuba Mountains digital archive that has been edited in preparation for being handing over to the Pan-Nuba Council.
Representatives of the Pan-Nuba Council and the museums of Berlin have agreed on the following categories for classifying the material:

1: Public: public access and use
Unlimited access. The visual material can be used for non-commercial purposes, such as research and exhibitions.
 
2: Partly restricted access: access for research purposes only
Access to the materials is limited to research purposes (e.g. academia, journalism, art). Users must apply for permission to use the images, for example for non-commercial publication in scholarly journals. Applications are approved according to predefined criteria by a committee of the Pan-Nuba Council.
 
3: Restricted access and use
Access to and use of the material is reserved exclusively for Nuba communities from the Masakin and Kau Nyaro regions in the Nuba Mountains. Permission to use the material – for example, for non-commercial publication – must be obtained from the Pan-Nuba Council in consultation with representatives from Masakin and Kau Nyaro. In order to avoid infringing on personal rights, wherever images show people from the Kau Nyaro and Masakin regions who have been identified by Nuba representatives as still living, these pictures may only be made accessible and used with the subjects’ consent. This similarly applies to unpublished images of people who appear in previously published images.
 
4: Not classified
This concerns photographs in which people from other parts of Sudan or other countries are depicted, or those in which Leni Riefenstahl is depicted alone.

After collaborative research into Riefenstahl’s photographic and film materials produced its first findings, in May 2024 project members organised an exhibition with accompanying discussions in Kampala, Uganda, to which Nuba groups were also invited.

The Nuba diaspora community in Kampala includes people who fled Sudan shortly before the war as well as individuals who fled from the Nuba Mountains during previous armed conflicts with the Sudanese government. Youth organisations, artists, women’s rights activists, members of Nuba refugee organisations and members of the Pan-Nuba Council were invited to participate.

The aim of the exhibition was to present the project to a wider audience and encourage discussion. In a workshop, project members selected a number of photographs for a pop-up exhibition. Descriptions were created to accompany these images and contextualise the material. As part of the proceedings, the Pan-Nuba Council discussed the project, its approach and the project’s aims with attendees. Held on premises provided by the Kandaakiat Organization for Women Empowerment and Development in Kampala, this popular one-day event was met with great interest.

VH

On 25 and 26 October 2024, an interdisciplinary symposium was held at Kulturforum Berlin in connection with the research project. Taking Collaboration and Digital Handover: Discussing the Project ‘Nuba Images by Leni Riefenstahl’ as its title, both days were filled with substantial exchange and dialogue, featuring a broad cross-section of speakers who were invited to present and discuss their research.

Practices concerning repatriation and collaborative research into provenance have hitherto largely focused on cultural objects in museum collections. Collaborative research and the digital provision of photographic collections from colonial contexts is still in its infancy. The German–Sudanese research project on Leni Riefenstahl’s Nuba photographs and film footage, which is being carried out in conjunction with the Pan-Nuba Council, is currently exploring joint approaches towards revising these works with the aim of analysing, classifying and digitally handing over the photographic material for appropriation. The ultimate goal is to develop alternative ways of engaging with these works that incorporate various kinds of knowledge and counter hegemonic museum discourses, practices and representations.

The late German film director Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003) became famous as a key creator of Nazi propaganda films. In the 1960s and 1970s she produced two widely distributed books of photographs of the Nuba communities in Sudan. Her Nuba photographs were charged with a colonial, racist aesthetic and attracted international attention. Although these works were subject to intense critical debate, they also acted as the catalyst for her artistic and popular comeback as a photographer. Leni Riefenstahl’s estate, which was donated to the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz in 2018, forms the material basis for this research project. The interdisciplinary symposium was structured around three thematic areas: multiple photographic contexts and working with archives; collaboration, knowledge production and multiple epistemologies; and (re-)claiming heritage.

At the symposium, members of the project team presented initial findings from their ongoing research. To broaden the theoretical framework, a number of scholars were invited to reflect on their own work and experiences in the field of digital archiving and provisioning. The aim of the symposium was to provide a platform for discussing different approaches to collaboration and digital repatriation, taking into account the challenges, constraints and potential of these kinds of working processes. The event brought together a wide-ranging audience of scholars and interested members of the public.

Opening:
Welcoming remarks from Claudia Roth, Minister of State for Culture and the Media and Professor Dr Hermann Parzinger, President of Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz

Professor Dr Lars-Christian Koch,Director of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and Professor Dr Moritz Wullen, Director of the Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Introduction:
Dr Paola Ivanov, PD, Curator of the East-, North East-, Central and South African Collections, Ethnologisches Museum and Dr Ludger Derenthal, Kunstbibliothek, Head of the Collection of Photography. Professor Shamsoun Khamis Kafi Tiyah, Chairman of the Pan-Nuba Council

Keynote:
Sudan’s Identity Politics, Violence, and Nuba Resilience
Dr Guma Kunda Komey Kalo, Pan-Nuba Council, Associate Professor of Peace and Development Studies and Associate Professor of Geography, University of Bahri, Khartoum

Working with a Working Archive: Collaboratively cataloguingRiefenstahl’s photographic estate
Katrin Peters-Klaphake, research associate, Kunstbibliothek, Collection of Photography

Sudan & Photography
Ala Kheir, photographer, educator and curator

The Allegories of Leni Riefenstahl’s Photobooks
Professor Dr Zoë S. Strother, Riggio Professor of African Art, Columbia University

Q&A

Tracing, Sorting, Identifying: Riefenstahl’s film recordings of the Nuba mountains as holdings in Deutsche Kinemathek
Anke Wilkening, film restorer, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek

Hussein Shariffe and The South East Nuba: A case study in digital archiving, restitution and reparation
Professor Erica Carter, Professor of German and Film, King’s College London

Artistic Reflections on the Digital Nuba Archive: Uncovering loss and ancient revival
Khalid Shatta, visual artist

Q&A

Film screening and discussion
Beats of the Antonov, directed by Hajooj Kuka, 68 minutes, 2014

Collaboration in Times of Crisis: Ethics, affects and agencies in the co-production of knowledge
Dr Paola Ivanov, PD, Curator of the East-, North East-, Central and South African Collections, Ethnologisches Museum

Identifying Criteria and Classifying the Nuba Images of Leni Riefenstahl: Challenges and processes
Dr Guma Kunda Komey Kalo, Pan-Nuba Council, Associate Professor of Peace and Development Studies and Associate Professor of Geography, University of Bahri, Khartoum

Q&A

Decolonizing Riefenstahl’s Work on the Kau Nyaro People: Perspectives of the photographed people between the past and the present
Dr Mohamed A. G. Bakhit, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of Khartoum

Visual Deconstruction of a Sudanese–German Connected Heritage
Hajooj Kuka, filmmaker

Q&A

Sudan Memory: Lessons learned
Professor Marilyn Deegan, King’s College London

Claiming Belonging: Nuba cultural festivals and creative practices of resistance
Mohamed Ahmed Farah Salih, research assistant and video journalist

Q&A

Creating with Purpose: Participatory art and resilience in the Nuba mountains, a contemporary context and experience
Professor Khalid Ibrahim Kodi, Professor of the Practice, Art + Design, College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

Nuba Centre for Culture, Heritage and Arts
Professor Shamsoun Khamis Kafi Tiyah, Chairman of the Pan-Nuba Council