Meet Bella Rose, curator of the national museum of history |17 July 2020

Ms Rose interacting with a colleague

37 years’ worth of history and cultural knowledge of Seychelles

Bella Rose has been working with the National History Museum for over 37 years, making her one of the longest-serving employees at the department of culture and she has pretty much seen it all.

She joined the team at the tender age of 19. At that time, the national museums which were situated in the Carnegie building comprised two sections – history and natural history.

A museum is a non-profit permanent institution in the service of society and its development. Open to the public, the museum acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education study and enjoyment.

Ms Rose started as a museum assistant.

“I had just finished high school; it was a new beginning for me. All I had was the interest for the historical and cultural heritage of Seychelles. Upon joining, I was passionate about the power of the museum and how it reflects and shapes our community and society. I received a number of opportunities to enhance my knowledge professionally through training. I learned how to maintain an effective workforce and to consolidate the different services we offer to the general public and among the basic requirements needed were learning about the various standards of museums featured in the ICOM (International Council of Museums) Code of Ethics for Museums, museum mission and vision, its important roles and functions in the society, care of collections, museum education, documentation and exhibition amongst other important aspects,” said Ms Rose.

The national museum of history was then relocated to the former governor’s secretariat on State House Avenue. It was later moved to the National Cultural Centre on Francis Rachel Street and most recently relocated to its current location at the ex-Supreme Court.

Ms Rose remarked that her workplace has become like a second home and despite few challenges, she has witnessed great progress not just at personal level but also within the museum management on how to sustain the development of the museum with resources available that can maintain the collection and hold them in trust for the benefit of society and its development

“I have received several trainings both locally and overseas. I have also acquired a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester. The innovative projects we do and the staff I work with have made working enjoyable, accessible, interactive and participatory for the public in general. And with the evolution of the museum, things are getting even better and this is thanks to the rise of various technologies which are transforming the museum from spaces of looking and learning to spaces of interaction, participation and engagement. This has improved both the educational and practical aspects of my museum experience and we can only look forward to more to develop more immersive, social and collaborative ways of learning for visitors. Advances in technologies have made our work easier and more globalised with touch screen devices, encouraging interaction from visitors,” said Ms Rose.

Highlighting programmes run by the museum, Ms Rose said because of the many awareness programmes, there are more museum visibility and attractions showcasing the museum achievements. Other activities include discoveries through public events, workshops and lectures that can explore, research and respond to visitors’ projects and locate them closer to their homes, thus bringing communities together.

“We organise educational and outreach programmes for children, adults, senior citizens and disabled persons as well as exhibitions for the general population on various topics of the Seychelles historical and cultural heritage to stimulate public awareness enabling them to learn more about the roles of the museum as well as to increase their knowledge on the values of the historical and cultural wealth of our country. Also, to educate and foster in our participants, an appreciation and respect for their historical and cultural heritage. Currently, we are finding our way more into schools’ curriculum to provide opportunities for students to appreciate and learn more. We also have holiday programmes for school children. In light of the COVID-19 restrictions, we are definitely considering creating virtual visits by creating Skype programmes. In other words, we are availing ourselves of the latest technology to enable the world in general to visit our museum,” she added.

Incidentally, in conforming to public health regulations, the museum has put into place various safety and precautionary measures. These range from social distancing stickers, hand washing basins in the compound, barrier Perspex glass at the museum reception and museum shop and will soon have fever detecting camera and a thermometer gun to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace for the wellbeing of staff and visitors.

It is said that the principal role of the National Museum of History today is the preservation of its unique collection which provides an insight into the history of the social development and progress of our nation. Museums preserve artifacts that have significant cultural, religious, scientific, and historical value; objects that denote significant turning points in the history of mankind and the planet in general. As Seychelles celebrates the 250th anniversary of the first French settlement here this year, Ms Rose reiterates the importance of knowing facts about the celebration.

“For example, the first settlement in Seychelles was created on Ste Anne island in 1770. Many people think it was on Mahé. It was only until 1772 that a second settlement was recorded on Mahé,” she affirmed.

Opportunities at the museum

“We have many job opportunities with good incentives. Personally, I have received both local and overseas training. Locally we undertake field work related to our museum mission in communities from which our collection comes from to promote the sharing of knowledge and the interpretation of our cultural heritage during which we get to meet people, listen to their stories and also get to see and acquire the historical collections which inspire our knowledge and experience,” explained Ms Rose.

One such project was visiting communities to acquire historical knowledge and artifacts.

She explained that to establish a museum, there is a need to work closely with the communities to make acquisition of artifacts for example to achieve the museum goals.

“Speaking with those who have cultural knowledge about their traditions also helps our inspiration, creating unity and long term partnership while recording stories from the past to the present for future generations. From then on, the information is documented and objects acquired are preserved and put on display in the museum,” she explained.

It is worth noting that historical and cultural objects are sentimental and have historical and financial value to individuals. Knowing that the artifacts and information are preserved at the museum, Ms Rose reiterated that communities are usually open to giving historical objects to the museums for preservation, education and innovative practice for personal inspiration and for the benefit of future generations.

“They know that we preserve the objects so that we can pass on the knowledge to the next generation. The artifacts stored and displayed in the museums help us understand where we come from, and thus determine where we are going as a Seychellois nation.”

Other historical and cultural research areas include slavery, architecture and other Creole culture topics.

Having started as a museum assistant, Ms Rose has moved through the ranks to her present post as museum curator.

“I would like to appeal to our youth to make a career in the museum,” said Ms Rose passionately.

“Those who have a keen interest in our history, belief in the unique power of museums to delight, inspire and educate all people, have personal integrity and professionalism, positive attitude and are willing to learn technical collections knowledge and skills, are responsible and willing to take responsibility beyond the scope of the job and organisation, are invited to take on a career in this field. They must also be creative, pro-active to generate innovative ideas to the vision and mission of the museum. They can start first as museum assistants and continue developing their professional skills with relevant training at local and international level to achieve higher incentives to the level I am and maybe even higher,” said Ms Rose.

Ms Rose is also inviting all Seychellois residents to come and visit the museum.

“You will be amazed and fascinated to discover aspects of our history which you might have never heard of. Your history is here in the museum. I enjoy engaging with people who visit the museum. One of the historical stories I like to tell is that of ‘The Stone of Possession’, the oldest monument in Seychelles to date. When the French came to Seychelles and wanted to take possession of the islands, they placed the stone at La Poudrière on November 1, 1756. It was brought to Seychelles by Captain Nicholas Morphey. It signifies the act of possession by the French over the Seychelles islands. The stone itself has carvings depicting its French colonial ancestry,” explained Ms Rose.

“Indeed, the stone of Possession is the oldest object in the museum. I make it a special point to enlighten visitors about our culture, tradition and heritage. We have a Creole culture section that exhibits the panorama of our Creole way of life. It encompasses the traditional Seychellois cuisine, dances and games, blacksmith, herbal medicine, costumes of long ago and even sorcery and witchcraft. I also explained to them about the arrival of slavery on our shores and how this is the origin of the Seychellois people. I tell them about the great avalanche of 1862 that practically destroyed our capital town. I entertain them a lot with stories from our history,” she added.

With 37 years’ worth of knowledge, it is undoubtable that Ms Rose is among the knowledge-rich Seychellois when it comes to the history and culture of the people of Seychelles.

Contributed