Tectonic agency in Africa : reinvigorating collective making through repair

Abstract

This paper explores the African concepts of ubuntu and ukama in relation to sympoiēsis, or collective making. Traditional practices like litema and the re-claying of the Great Mosque of Djenné demonstrate the complex relatedness between people, and between people and the environment, and highlight the tectonic tensions between the social and the material. An overview of the Hikma Religious and Secular Complex in Niger shows how some of these tensions can be addressed through socio-environmentally conscious material selection and how this can enable collective modes of making. It is argued that tectonic agency and the strengthening of tectonic networks can contribute towards the reinvigoration of collective making through repair.