Remembering Bilillee Machbuba: A chapter of colonial history is revealed!

Remembering Bilillee Machbuba: A chapter of colonial history is revealed!

On Wednesday, July 9th, an important event to reflect on colonial history will take place on the Cottbus central campus from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This event, supported by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of the State of Brandenburg, will inaugurate the 50th FrauenOrte memorial plaque to Bilillee Machbuba. Guests such as the President of the BTU, Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande, Patricia Vester, an expert on decolonial contexts, and Elio Gäbelein, who is the project manager for FrauenOrte, will be present.

Bilillee Machbuba, who was born around 1825 in Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, lived a tragic story. She was enslaved as a child and captured in 1836, aged just eleven, while her parents were murdered. A year later she was sold at a slave market and Hermann von Pückler-Muskau purchased her to take with him on a three-year journey through Europe. Pückler called her Machbuba, which means “beloved.” Many details of her life story are incomplete; She not only looked after Pückler's well-being, but also tried to take her own life twice.

A program of remembrance

The event in Cottbus will be accompanied by an open conversation about modern culture of remembrance, which will take place from 5:45 p.m. Participants can also expect a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which not only shows the cultural connection to Machbuba, but also underlines the importance of remembering. In their welcoming remarks, Professor Grande and the other speakers will illuminate the social and historical dimensions of slavery that Bilillee lived through.

An important part of the event will be the unveiling of the memorial plaque. It is intended to raise questions about Bilillee's biography and memory and give participants the opportunity to reflect on the legacy of colonial history. The program also includes a presentation of student spatial design that addresses the topic of cultural sustainability and critical reflection.

Cultural engagement and decolonization

Patricia Vester, instrumental in the success of the event, also leads a seminar entitled BTU4Future, which deals intensively with German colonial history and the issues it contains. This critical examination of the past is also evident in the “Decolonial Culture of Remembrance” project, which was launched in 2021 with the aim of uncovering colonial legacy and encouraging a change of perspective. This large cultural project is supported by various initiatives and the Senate Department for Culture and Europe.

Another aspect of decolonial cultural work can be seen in the upcoming Decolonial Festival in Berlin, which opens on September 1st with the “Revue Noire”. This event aims to address colonial themes in the context of gender perception and individual identity and is accompanied by artists such as Martini Cherry Furter. Such efforts are part of a broader movement to question and reinterpret the narratives surrounding colonialism and slavery.

The memorial plaque for Bilillee Machbuba is not only a tribute to a tragic life story, but also a call for critical reflection on the colonial past and its effects on the present. The event on July 9th offers a platform to learn from history and promote a dialogue about the culture of remembrance.