On African Indigeneity, Land, and Talking About Them in a Colonial Language

A CONVERSATION WITH MENNA AGHA

Regular readers of The Funambulist will be familiar with Menna Agha’s words about her understanding of Nubian Indigeneity as a set of deep relationships with the land—of which the Nile is a central component. The following conversation is built on a prior discussion about Indigeneity in Nubia and the Somalian region, which we organized between Nasra Abdullahi and her in February 2025.

LÉOPOLD LAMBERT: Could we perhaps start with the terms themselves. Black. Indigeneities. How do you approach these two terms and their relationship with one another?

MENNA AGHA: The first thing I’d like to say is that Indigeneity is an English word that has already introduced an element of epistemic displacement from the outset. Even as we begin to approach the topic, we are framing it within the limits of the English language. Here, I am reminded of a verse by poet Adrienne Rich : “It is the oppressor’s language, yet I need it to talk to you,” which means I have to start this conversation that was supposed to engage with the concept of African Indigeneity with a long rant on the word Indigeneity itself. This is what Nasra Abdullahi and I talked about in the first version of this dialogue about this issue, but unfortunately, she fell ill midway through this project. I owe her the space she created and allowed me to embark on lengthy rants.

When I first spoke to you about this piece, my dear brother, you made it clear that you didn’t want to discuss Indigeneity in North America, where I currently live, but rather on the African continent. But, if we are going to use the English term, we can’t and shouldn’t use it in isolation, as that would only heighten our epistemic displacement. Instead, we must connect it to other Indigenous projects around the world—whether in Europe, Australia, or Turtle Island—where Indigeneity is often closely tied to land.