Fierce Historical Ladies post: Ngola Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba pt.

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historicity-was-already-taken: Some terminology before I begin: The Ngola ruled over Ndongo where the Mbundu people resided. Later, as a result of war with Portuguese invaders, the ruler of Ndongo came to rule over Matamba as well; however, the culture remained that of the Mbundu people. To the Portuguese, these lands were called Angola. Queen Njinga (also known/spelled as: Nzinga, Dona Ana de Souza, Ana de Souza, Zhinga, NZhinga, Jinga, and Ngola Ana Nzinga Mbande) of Ndongo and Matamba was born in 1582 and died in 1663. In Portuguese historiography, she is alternatively remembered as a hero, a collaborator, a heretic, and an enemy; in West African historiography (particularly within the Angolan Liberation Movement), she is remembered as a hero and a liberator who shielded the interior of Western Africa from Portuguese penetration for decades. In reality, what emerges from the life and times of Njinga is a female ruler rivaling the likes of Dowager Empress Cixi in complexity (not to set up a false dichotomy of fierceness, of course).

Portrait of Queen Njinga (clearly side-eyeing the Portuguese); source unknown (let me know if you are familiar with the artist/owner of this portrait) Njinga was born to the Ngola Kiluanji and his consort Kangela in 1583, 168 years after the Portuguese first arrived on the West Coast of Africa. The coast and interior of

Western Africa would become the base from which Portugal would launch their overseas empire, to be supported by the labor of the human capital wrested from the interior of Western Africa. By the late sixteenth centuryaround the time of Njingas birththe Portuguese had occupied the island of Luanda, establishing it as a slave post and using it as staging grounds for their religious and political incursions into Ndongo land. This threatened Ndongo sovereignty, and disrupted the economy as their incursions threatened the Ndongo monopoly on trade and slave routes. In the course of these invasions, the Portuguese heard the word Ngola and mistook it as the name of the land, rather than the title of the ruler. They thus called the land by the name Angola. Tradition holds that Njinga was born against this backdrop of Portuguese incursion with the umbilical cord still wrapped around her neck. This was taken as a sign that this daughter would grow into a proud and haughty woman. In deference to this omen, she was named Njinga after the Kimbundu verb kujinga meaning to twist or turn. These traitsthough unfortunately viewed as negative ones in a womanwould serve Njinga well later in her life. Though she recalls that she was her fathers favorite child, this favoritism altered neither the succession nor the cultural attitudes which kept women from the throne. In 1617, Njingas half-brother Mbande ascended the throne and immediately had all of his rivals (including Njingas son) assassinated. However, he had overlooked the most dangerous of these rivals: Njinga herself. Njinga viewed herself as far more of a capable ruler than her brother, and as far more worthy of the throne. She recognized that she would need Portuguese support if she were to claim the throne for herself. Thus, she planned an ambassadorial visit to Luanda. The official reason for this trip was to form a treaty with the Portuguese governor aimed at having a Portuguese fortress removed from Ndongo land, to have the Portuguese return certain individuals they had seized from Ndongo territory, and to force the Imbangala mercenary group to cease their constant raids into Ndongo land. She also showed the Portuguese goodwill by agreeing to allow Portuguese slavers and missionaries into Ndongo territory. Njingas efforts were successful, the only remaining point of disagreement being over whether or not Ndongo would accept the status of vassal. However, her primary motivation for this meeting was to show the Portuguese governor, Joo Correia de Souza, that she would be a strong, dependable queen. To further push this agenda, she allowed herself to baptized. She took the Christian name Ana, and assumed the governors surname: de Souza. It was clear that at least, in the time of her meeting with de Souza, Njinga held the high ground. Of this a famous story has emerged. According to this story, de Souza neglected to offer Njinga a chair when she arrived to their meeting. This deliberate action was intended to show Njinga that she was subordinate to the power represented by the governor. Understanding this and refusing to partake in de Souzas charade, Njinga order one of

her servants to get down on all fours. She conducted the meeting seated on the back of her servant, cementing her refusal to be anything but the governors equal.

Queen Njinga of Ndongo Presented to the Portuguese Governor engraving by Fortunato da Alemandini after a 1687 water color by Giovanni Cavazzi However, once Njinga had returned to Ndongo it became clear that the Portuguese did not intend to honor the treaty. They did not remove the fortress, return the individuals, or restrain the Imbangala. In 1624, Njingas brother, the Ngola Mbande, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Some believe that it was murder, and others that it was suicide caused by his continued loss of power to the Portuguese. Regardless of the truth of the matter, many believed that Njinga was responsible. After his death, Nijnga assumed power as regent to Mbandes son. Though she was technically a regent, both the Portuguese and the Mbundu understood that she had declared herself queen in all but name. As previously noted, the idea of a female ruler violated Mbundu cultural norms. But it went deeper than that. In Mbundu political theory, legitimate rulers could only be descended from the previous ruler. The claim of a rulers siblingassuming that that sibling had been born to the same parent as the rulerwas shaky at best. Njinga, as Ngola Mbandes half sister by a consort of his father, had a claim to the throne illegitimate in the minds of the Mbundu people. Her chief support was among those involved in matters of statethe general Mbundu people most likely did not accept her as queen. And neither did Portugal. In fact, the Portuguese intentionally spread rumors claiming that Njinga had murdered her brother in order to further de-legitimize her rule. The Portuguese then went even further and selected a rival claimant to the throne as the

recipient of their support. This person had lineage which met Portuguese approval, and had demonstrated that they would prove amenable to Portuguese colonial interests. In response to this betrayal, Njinga renounced her Christianity, ceased to pretend that she was simply acting in the stead of her nephew, and formally asserted herself as queen.

View image only Bruno Barbey INDONESIA. 1989. Amanamkai. Asmat men dressed for the Pokombu dance which celebrates the launching of a new canoe. The Asmat is a tribe that lives in south-eastern Irian Jaya, between the Barai and Trikom rivers. Approximately 70.000 Asmats live in

100 villages. Until recently families used to live together in houses 28 metres long, called "Yeus". Today families occupy separate dwellings built of pilings.

felixinclusis: nonexistiental: fuckyeahethnicwomen: Tuareg woman (by Helga) Tuareg gender customs may refute Western preconceptions: Among the Tuareg, the men are veiled and the women are not. The society is largely matrilineal. They dont fit into the nice bundles that art historians or anthropologists like to have. The Tuareg defy stereotypes of Islam, Africa and social relationshipsin other ways: The Tuareg are Islamic, but not in any comprehensive sense, its mixed with a heavy dose of pre-existing pagan beliefs in the evil eye and the world of spirits, or jinn.

frica es un continente abundante en soadores, leyendas, tradicin y sabidura, una tierra mgica. A menudo pensamos que slo es un continente vasto y vaco, sin historia y totalmente dependiente de los avances occidentales. Son ideas que se repiten y que se nutren de otras preconcebidas. Pero saban ustedes que frica lleg a ser la mxima potencia de todos los tiempos gracias a la ciencia de los egipcios? Saba que el Imperio de Mal lleg a ser uno de los ms ricos jams conocidos y que uno de sus dirigentes trat de cruzar el ocano Atlntico doscientos aos antes de que lo hiciera Cristbal Coln? Alguien le coment alguna vez que el Imperio de Songhai lleg a ser ms grande y prspero que el de Alejandro Magno o que la Etiopa de Menelik II siempre permaneci libre pese a la presin colonialista de Italia?

The 10 best contemporary African books

From a reinterpreted Heart of Darkness to a barstool in Congo The Memory of Love Aminatta Forna (2010) Fornas memoir, The Devil That Danced on the Water, was a daughters search for the truth of a murdered fathers last days, and for a country Sierra Leone lost to civil war. In this, her second novel, she takes the reader to Freetown in peacetime in 1969 and the present day. An English psychologist, Adrian Lockheart, hears the confessions of a dying man, Elias Cole. What unfolds is an unforgettable love story, a tale of complicity, betrayal and trauma that perhaps does more to tell us about this bitter conflict and to make that telling stick than any work of non-fiction can Zoo City Lauren Beukes (2010) The winner of the 2011 Arthur C Clarke award, this urban fantasy-noir thriller merges visions of dystopia with faultless plotting and Shona cosmology, bringing the spirit possession of traditional religion to a near-future Johannesburg. Zinzi December finds things, even when she doesnt want to. When shes hired to find a missing teenage pop star, its almost certain that her shavi (a compulsion or talent with a bitter cost) will bring disaster. There is rhyme and reason to this imagined future and its a believable and engrossing vision Lyrics Alley Leila Aboulela (2010) Set in mid-50s, pre-independence Sudan, Aboulelas third novel takes us on a journey to Egypt and postwar Britain as we follow the life of Nur, the cosmopolitan son of a powerful businessman, who finds his dreams dashed following an accident. This is also the story of the conflict between Nurs traditional mother and the city-bred Egyptian cowife whose arrival threatens the stability of the family. Though set mostly in the world of the northern Sudanese, Aboulelas gentle, poetic prose is a perfect counterpoint to the time of turmoil and upheaval she chronicles The Hairdresser of Harare Tendai Huchu (2010) This glorious book defies classification with its astute sociopolitical commentary nestling inside the appealing, often comic story of a young woman who will not accept defeat. With a light touch and real skill, Huchu takes us through the life-sapping economic realities of contemporary Harare via the story of Vimbai, the hairdresser, as she struggles to make a home for herself and her young son. Shes lost a beloved brother to the diaspora and when a new (male) stylist joins the salon, it looks as if she will soon lose her best clients, maybe even her job

Looking for Transwonderland Noo Saro-Wiwa (2012) With this memoir, Noo Saro-Wiwa, daughter of the murdered environmental and political activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, establishes herself as a pioneer in contemporary travel writing Africa as seen by Africans. Travelling from the mayhem of Lagos across Nigeria, she brings family history and the sometimes conflicted eye of an African raised away from the motherland to look at this vast, fascinating land. Only one who calls the country home could write such an honest account of contemporary Nigeria Broken Glass Alain Mabanckou (2009) Iconoclastic, packed with literary and cultural references from across the globe, scatological humour and a biting wit, Mabanckous writing demands a strong stomach. In this urban novel written from the heart of Africa (Congo), our narrator sits on a stool in a bar called Credit Gone West and scribbles the stories of the convicts, conmen, cuckolds and the dispossessed who drink beside him. All the while, he nurses his own secret heartbreak, disappointment and thwarted ambition. Mabanckou is one of the continents greatest writers and hes getting better with each book African Metropolitan Architecture David Adjaye (2011) With a mix of photographs and text about buildings, and the spaces and lives around them, this is an arresting visual introduction to cities across the continent. Part of a seven-volume work, African Metropolitan Architecture features 53 conurbations grouped by terrain. Focusing on how cities grow the colonial legacy, the natural environment, the social and political structures supporting them this is emphatically not a coffee-table book but, rather, a learned journey into the vibrant, beating heart of contemporary African life Beneath the Lions Gaze Maaza Mengiste (2010) Set in the years of the red terror (the period of upheaval following the violent communist revolution in Ethiopia) in the 1970s, Mengistes novel follows the lives of two brothers and their father: Dawit, the student revolutionary, his elder brother, Yonas, who seeks solace in tradition and prayer, and their father, Hailu, a surgeon who is summoned to save the life of a young woman who has been horrifically tortured by the secret police. His task is to heal her just enough to send her back to prison. The choices he makes will change the course of the familys life Heart of Darkness David Zane Mairowitz, Joseph Conrad and Catherine Anyango (2010) What is lost in the adaptation of the text of Conrads novel is more than redeemed by the illustrations of Catherine Anyango, an artist of Swedish and Kenyan parentage. The exquisitely rendered drawings are dark and often harrowing, articulating the moral dilemmas of colonialism. Whether or not one is a fan of the original, the intelligence and political awareness of this endeavour and of Anyangos illustrations in particular are a brilliant example of the power of the imagination in forging new interpretations of stories we all thought we knew so well Mama Miti Donna Jo Napoli/Kadir Nelson (2010) In this beautifully illustrated tribute to the Kenyan Nobel laureate and environmentalist, the late Wangari Maathai, Napoli and Nelson provide modern morality tales of our relationship with the natural world. In poetic prose, the book tells of women who bring their problems to Mama Miti: we have no firewood; the cows are sick; the water is

polluted. Instead of advising how to get NGO grants, Mama Miti reveals a bush whose leaves can heal livestock, a species of tree whose roots will purify the water and another that will meet their needs for fuel

PreviousNext collective-history: There are aesthetic, religious, and social reasons for scarification. For example, scarification has been widely used by many West African tribes to mark milestone stages in both men and womens lives, such as puberty and marriage. It is also used to transmit complex messages about identity; such permanent body markings may emphasize fixed social, political, and religious roles. Scarring on the abdomen of women in many tribes is used to denote a willingness to be a mother. Her ability to tolerate the pain of scarring was an indication of her emotional maturity and readiness to bear children. Some groups in Northern Ghana like the Dagomba use scarification to treat certain ailments such as convulsions, measles, pneumonia, stomach pains, and so on. It is believed that these sicknesses originate in the blood, so the skin is cut by a traditional healer and powder or potion is then applied to the wound so that it may travel directly to the bloodstream. Most people in certain regions of Africa who have markings can be identified as belonging to a specific tribe or ethnic group. Some of the tribes in Northern Ghana who use the markings are the Gonjas, Nanumbas, Dagombas, Frafras and Mamprusis. Photos courtesy of Gallery Ezakwantu

nok-ind: Africas Oldest Known Boat 8000 years ago, in the region now known as Nigeria. Africas oldest known boat the Dufuna Canoe was discovered near the region of the River Yobe. The Canoe was discovered by a Fulani herdsman in May 1987, in Dufuna Village while digging a well. The canoes almost black wood, said to be African mahogany, as entirely an organic material. Various Radio-Carbon tests conducted in laboratories of reputable Universities in Europe and America indicate that the Canoe is over 8000 years old, thus making it the oldest in Africa and 3rd oldest in the World. Little is known of the period to which the boat belongs, in archaeological terms it is described as an early phase of the Later Stone Age, which began rather more than 12,000 years ago and ended with the appearance of pottery. The lab results redefined the pre-history of African water transport, ranking the Dufuna canoe as the worlds third oldest known dugout. Older than it are the dugouts from Pesse, Netherlands, and Noyen-sur-Seine, France. But evidence of an 8,000-year-old tradition of boat building in Africa throws cold water on the assumption that maritime transport developed much later there in comparison with Europe. Peter Breunig of the University of Frankfurt, Germany, an archaeologist involved in the project, says the canoes age forces a reconsideration of Africas role in the history of water transport. It shows, he adds, that the cultural history of Africa was not determined by Near Eastern and European influences but took its own, in many cases parallel, course. Breunig, adding that it even outranks in style European finds of similar age. According

to him, The bow and stern are both carefully worked to points, giving the boat a notably more elegant form, compared to the dugout made of conifer wood from Pesse in the Netherlands, whose blunt ends and thick sides seem crude. To go by its stylistic sophistication, he reasons, It is highly probable that the Dufuna boat does not represent the beginning of a tradition, but had already undergone a long development, and that the origins of water transport in Africa lie even further back in time. Egypts oldest known boat is 5000 years old. P. Breunig, The 8000-year-old dugout canoe from Dufuna (NE Nigeria), G. Pwiti and R. Soper (eds.), Aspects of African Archaeology. Papers from the 10th Congress of the PanAfrican Association for Prehistory and related Studies. University of Zimbabwe Publications (Harare 1996) 461-468.

aenorlemusae: Magic scroll Ethiopia Early 19th century 2180 x 180 mm, manuscript on vellum, 3 pieces stitched together. The top of the scroll is damaged and a small piece is now missing. 2 columns of text framed and separated

by ornamented margins of a chevron motif on the outside and semicircles down the centre, coloured in faded red and yellow.Written in black with the usual rubrics in an uneven and angular rqiq hand. There are 4 talismanic paintings with faded red and yellow colouring. A lavishly illuminated magic scroll with four talismanic paintings in a highly distinctive and evocative style, rendered in a dark palette of redish brown, black, yellow and white. This is one of a group of scrolls which also includes a scroll in Paris Bibliothque Nationale (Ethiopien dAbbadie 192 A, Jacques Mercier, Ethiopian Magic Scrolls, New York (1979, pl. 9). There is a powerful image at the top of the scroll of a fearsome angel figure holding a sword with an open mouth bearing its white teeth, these are set off against the dark coloured face. In the centre there is a face within an eight-pointed star. This is a common and characteristic motif in Ethiopian scrolls. It takes its model from the ancient world particularly in Islamic culture, as an ornament or as a talisman and it is said to have been the engraving or diamond in Solomons ring. In Ethiopia it is also known as Solomons Seal (see Mercier, 1979, p. 56). Seldom found in magic scrolls, is the third painting showing a supplicant figure identified by text as Tsfa Mikal, between two angels. Above the prostrate figure of the supplicant and between the two angels is a design of concentric circles. Beneath this scene is a representation of a head or human headed serpent between a bird and a goat.

omgthatartifact: Axe Songye, 19th-20th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art This magnificent axe was originally one of several chiefly accoutrements owned and displayed by a Songye ruler in what is today southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its complex form and construction indicate that it was made by a master smith. The artisan worked with hot, malleable iron to create the axe heads overall form-its angular corners, curving blade, and twisting metal struts. Once it had cooled, he used a hammer and chisel to decorate the blade surface with incised lines and circles. The faces that appear on both sides of the axe head were produced using this technique. They may be miniature depictions of kifwebe masks, a type of face mask danced by members of the bwadi bwa kifwebe society. This association was charged with enforcing and expanding the political and supernatural strength of the ruling class, and was intimately linked to displays of chiefly power. The appearance of this emblematic mask form on royal prestige objects indicated the rulers control over the association and, in turn, the associations support of his leadership. The axes massive handle matches the blades solidity and scale. Its flared base and bulbous apex echo the blades spreading curves, while the striking opulence of the copper sheeting counterbalances the visual complexity of the iron blade. A precious metal originating far to the south at the headwaters of the Zambezi River, copper was an expensive and rare material. Its extensive use in this piece not only beautifies it, but also indicates the rulers participation in and mastery over long-distance commerce. Axes were employed as symbols of royal power throughout present-day southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola. Elaborate versions of this functional tool were created as royal scepters that were potent symbols of civilization and cultural achievement. They represented the body of esoteric skills and knowledge associated with ironworking, an activity rich in practical as well as supernatural significance. Indigenous rulers often traced their ancestry back to culture heroes credited with the discovery of ironworking, and these metal implements reinforced those dynastic connections and suggested the leaders control over potent processes of creation and transformation. The wooden handles of royal axes were often highly decorated, covered with exquisitely carved motifs or encased in precious metals or animal hides.

frenchhistory: Femme mangbetu Nobosodnu Fonds Haardt Mission Citron Centre-Afrique - Croisire Noire (C) RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Gilles Berizzi @credits The Black Cruise (la Croisire noire), a mix of colonial adventure, long-distance car rally and publicity campaign, was born from the will and determination of one famous industrialist, Andr Citron. He decided to finance grand intercontinental expeditions to increase the brand-awareness of his automobiles. During the ten month period from October 1924 to June 1925, the Black Cruise, also known as the Citron-CentreAfrique expedition, went from Colomb-Bchar, through the Ahaggar Mountains and

Chad, to Antananarivo. Citron dreamed up the ambitious project of going right across the black continent using his half-tracks. It would also be a mission with real scientific objectives. During the expedition, 8 half-tracks covered 28,000 km across Africa. Seventeen members took part in the mission which was directed by GeorgesMarie Haardt with Louis Audouin-Dubreuil as his assistant. The expeditions participants did not return to Paris until the autumn of 1925, when they were received in triumph in France. Various exhibitions were organized. Thanks to this expedition, 300 botanical illustrations were made, 15 books of sketches were completed, specimens of over 300 mammals, 800 birds and 1,500 insects, mostly never before inventoried, were collected, 9.27 km of film was shot and 6,000 photographs were taken. The 70 minute long, silent film of the expedition, which was released on 26 March 1926, enjoyed enormous success, as did the expedition as a whole.
Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa

By David Livingstone (1857) 1 This magnificent account of the first crossing of sub-Saharan Africa by a European is preceded by David Livingstone's description of his Scottish childhood and his decade as a missionary in Botswana. There he made no lasting converts (though he doesn't say so) and was attacked by a lion that "crunched the bone [of his left arm] into splinters." But he was a born survivor. At one point during his great journey, gun-toting Chiboque surrounded him, and one warrior "made a charge at [his] head from behind," but Livingstone "quickly [brought] round the muzzle of my gun to his mouth," forcing his retreat. In contrast, delighted Batoka men greeted him by rolling energetically on their backs and shouting. Because they were naked, Livingstone implored them to stop. "But imagining I was dissatisfied they only tumbled about more furiously." A chief had generously lent him carriers for his journey. Livingstone considered him and most Africans "more intelligent than our [Britain's] uneducated peasantry." Brave, pious and apparently modest (though he wasn't), Livingstoneat least as he presented himself in his bookembodied all the virtues that the Victorians wished to possess
Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile

By John H. Speke (1863) 2 Speke was the first European to travel to the kingdom of Buganda, within what is now Uganda. He found a feudal world unchanged for four centuries. The king, or kabaka, of Buganda shocked him by handing to a page a gun that Speke had just given him and ordering the boy "to go out and shoot a man [any man] in the outer court." Royal whims apart, everything in Buganda was well-ordered. Huts were "thatched as neatly as so many heads dressed by a London barber"; the courtyards were clean, the plantations well-tended and hunger unknown. Speke's publisher cut every mention of the author's love affair with a former kabaka's wife, along with his praise for "the natural . . . naked state" in which Africans lived "before the forced state of civilization subverted it." But this little-read book is still riveting. After four months in Buganda, Speke eventually located the source of the White Nilean achievement only recognized a dozen years later, after his death.
The Albert N'yanza

By Samuel W. Baker (1866) 3 In the late 1850s the Englishman Samuel Baker was a widower with four teenage daughters and an inappropriate longing to explore Africa. Yet thanks to an unmarried sister, who agreed to care for his children, and thanks to his personal wealth, he soon became the first European to reach the White Nile's second great reservoir, which he named Albert N'yanza. In his tremendous book about this feat, Baker describes ascending the Nile with a woman named Florence, who was not his wife, as he wrote, but his teenage mistress, whom in 1859 he had bought or abducted from a Bulgarian slave market. (They would marry in secret on their return to England.) In Africa, the sight of Florence combing her blonde tresses caused, as Baker put it, as great a stir as a gorilla would have on a London street. While crossing a river, she sank through the bridging web of aquatic plants. After Baker dragged her out, she was unconscious for four days. He had dug her grave before she unexpectedly revived. Opinionated and witty, Baker could even turn Africans roasting a boar's head into a literary tour de force: As the skull heated up, the resident "maggots rushed from the ears and nostrils like people escaping from a theatre on fire."
No Mercy: A Journey Into the Heart of the Congo

By Redmond O'Hanlon (1996) 4 If you love books by famous explorers and have a masochistic yearning to write up your own historic trek, it's tough now that there is so little left to discover. But a book about a great journey is still possible if you possess the skills of an outstanding travel writer and a major novelist, along with the courage of a red-blooded Victorian. Redmond O'Hanlon has all the above and erudition too. His tragicomic masterpiece, "No Mercy," brilliantly chronicles his predictably doomed quest to locate not a river's source but a leftover dinosaur allegedly living in a remote Congolese lake. After hypnotic portrayals of his traveling companions and endangered animals, including the infant gorilla he adopts and falls in love with ("his dark brown eyes were milky-white at the edges, the black skin in the middle of his low forehead was furrowed with three vertically curved worry lines"), Mr. O'Hanlon, by then ill and disoriented, dramatizes the struggle in his head between different versions of reality (Western science versus the African sorcerer's "logic of a dream"). He describes his own near breakdown in the jungle among rats, driver ants and sweat-drinking bees as he clutches his fetish: a piece of monkey fur wrapped around a child's finger bone.
Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman

By Marjorie Shostak (1981) 5 In the 1970s the anthropologist Marjorie Shostak set out to present a rounded and readable portrait of a hunter-gatherer woman from the Kalahari in her own words. In so doing, she journeyed into the mind and culture of someone whose daily life was superficially as different from her own as could be imagined but that mirrored the way our ancestors lived for 90% of human history. The reader feels with Nisa as she gives birth alone in the bush for the first time, gathers mongongo nuts and caterpillars, is beaten by her husband for infidelity, and sees three of her four children sicken and die. That's not alla surviving adult daughter is murdered by her husband for refusing to

have sex. But Nisa endures, remaining brave and humorous, with an amazing capacity for enjoying life whatever its trials and sorrows. "Nisa" is a humbling and inspiring book. A version of this article appeared September 8, 2012, on page C10 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Tim Jeal. No Mungo Park? Whatever, I'm going to have to buy all of those books. Recommend

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15 days ago Nancy Eckert Wrote:

While misrepresented in Barbara Kingsolvers The Poisonwood Bible, David Livingstone is largely responsible for ending the East African slave trade where slaves were bought and exported to the Arab countries. The account of his expeditions and the massacres in the African interior to bring African villagers to the Arab slave markets in East Africa enlightened those in England and throughout the world. While it is true he did not have many Christian converts in his time, except an African chief, his call to serve God was strong to travel into Africas interior to win Africans to Christ. He created a unique example for Christian missionaries to explore new regions to reach people rather than remain in one place in relative comfort. He also believed in training African converts so they could lead their own people. This was due to his ability to reach Africans on a personal level and try to speak their language. His personal impact on Africa can be understood from Henry Drummonds 1874 treatise on love in The Greatest Thing in the World: It is the man who is the missionary, it is not his words. His character is his message. In the heart of Africa, among the great Lakes, I have come across black men and women who remembered the only white man they ever saw beforeDavid Livingstone; and as you cross his footsteps in that dark continent, mens faces light up as they speak of the kind doctor who passed there years ago. They could not understand him; but they felt the love that beat in his heart. They knew that it was love, although he spoke no word. Moreover, I was thrilled to read of Dr. Livingstones impact on the Scottish people and Christians around the world to inspire many great missionaries: Mary Slessor serving Nigeria, Amy Carmichael serving India, Gladys Aylward serving China, Eric Liddell

serving China, William Booth serving the dark continent of Englands slums by starting the Salvation Army. Dr. David Livingstones work is still not finished, as I do not doubt that his life will continue to impact Christians to serve in dangerous circumstances to further the Gospel so that all people will come to know the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Recommend

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11 days ago Herbert Bowsher Replied:

I'll second that. But even a word to non-Christians: Missionary biographies & diaries are fascinating. Give them a try. But I'd go with Dr. Livingston's age or earlier. African Queens Exert from Max Dashus Womens Power dvd, from the suppressed Histories Archives Africa is rich in positive female history and famous for its queens. Queen Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Nzingha, Queen Hapersheput, Queen Nefetari and Queen Cleopatra. adapted from a post originally from afrodesiac:

Fetichismo - El corazn de Livingstone

Artculos - Curiosidades - Lugares Cuando los britnicos pidieron su cuerpo - el exporador muri el 1 de mayo de 1873 por causa de la malaria en un pequeo poblado del lago Bangweulu, en Zambia - sus amigos africanos Chuma, Suza Mniasere y Vchopere le arrancaron el corazn y dijeron: "Su corazn pertenece a frica". El cadver David Livingstone haba sido conservado en sal y trasladado hasta llegar a Bagamoyo en la costa del ndico. De all viajo sin corazn a Inglaterra, a la Abada de Westminster, donde descansan sus restos mortales.

Pero su corazn se qued en Africa, bajo un rbol mvula, cerca del lugar donde muri. Ahora y desde 1902 es el Livingstone Memorial.

omgthatartifact: Brass Helmet Mask for the Oduda Ritual Benin Empire, 18th century The British Museum In addition to his executive powers and duties, the Oba (king) of Benin also performed a number of rituals throughout the year. Guilds of specialists such as drummers, shieldbearers, carvers, brass-casters and weavers provided regalia and ritual objects. The cycle of ceremonies coincides with the agricultural cycle, but they are also concerned with the strengthening of the kingdom. The first festival of the year is the Ikhurhe which is performed to purify the land in preparation for planting. This is followed by the Bead Festival, Ugie Ivie, in remembrance of ancestral warrior kings. The two most important rituals are the Ugie

Erha Oba, in honour of the kings deceased father, and the Igue which strengthens the kings mystical powers. Igue includes the presentation of gifts by the Oba to his chiefs, dances in ceremonial costumes, animal sacrifices to the king, and the application of magical substances onto his body. On the last day children carry torches to drive away evil spirits from the town and gather ewere leaves or leaves of joy on the outskirts of the town which are then taken home as symbols of hope and happiness. This brass helmet is used in the Ododua ritual, in honour of the father of Oranmiyan, the legendary founder of the ruling dynasty. The dance is performed by seven masqueraders who wear brass helmets and carry ceremonial swords to signify their high status. They dance back and forth before the Oba seven times as a sign of their commitment and loyalty.

omgthatartifact: Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba Benin Empire, 16th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art This ivory pendant mask is one of a pair of nearly identical works; its counterpart is in the British Museum in London. Although images of women are rare in Benins courtly

tradition, these two works have come to symbolize the legacy of a dynasty that continues to the present day. The pendant mask is believed to have been produced in the early sixteenth century for the King or Oba Esigie, the king of Benin, to honor his mother, Idia. The Oba may have worn it at rites commemorating his mother, although today such pendants are worn at annual ceremonies of spiritual renewal and purification. In Benin, ivory is related to the color white, a symbol of ritual purity that is associated with Olokun, god of the sea. As the source of extraordinary wealth and fertility, Olokun is the spiritual counterpart of the oba. Ivory is central to the constellation of symbols surrounding Olokun and the oba. Not only is it white, but it is itself Benins principle commercial commodity and it helped attract the Portuguese traders who also brought wealth to Benin. The mask is a sensitive, idealized portrait, depicting its subject with softly modeled features, bearing inlaid metal and carved scarification marks on the forehead, and wearing bands of coral beads below the chin. In the openwork tiara and collar are carved stylized mudfish and the bearded faces of Portuguese. Because they live both on land and in the water, mudfish represent the kings dual nature as human and divine. Having come from across the seas, the Portuguese were considered denizens of the spirit realm who brought wealth and power to the oba.

omgthatartifact: Plaque (Oba with Attendants) Benin Empire, 16th century The British Museum The plaques show aspects of Benin court life in the sixteenth century, shortly after Europes first contact with West Africa. Benin society was highly structured with a King (Oba) who was believed to be a direct descendant of Oranmiyan, the legendary founder of the dynasty. The Oba was also the head of government, collecting taxes, controlling trade and was the owner of all land in the country. He had two classes of chiefs, Palace and Town Chiefs who were responsible for the administration of the kingdom. The Palace Chiefs were from rich families and belonged to three associations: Iwebo, who looked after the Obas regalia, organized the guilds of craftsmen, and conducted negotiations with Europeans; Ibiwe, who were responsible for the Obas

family, and Iweguae, who provided the domestic staff of officials and servants for the palace. This plaque shows an Oba surrounded by his attendants, two of whom are depicted holding up their shields in a formal protective stance. Only the Oba was allowed to be shaded in this way within the city.

omgthatartifact: Bracelets Benin Empire, 17th-19th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art The oba and chiefs of Benin wear pairs of ornate bracelets at palace festivals. Long and cylindrical, these cufflike ornaments may be made of either ivory or brass and display imagery reflecting the exalted status of their bearers. The spiral bands of incised, crosshatched half-ovals and dotted lines, set within raised, striated borders, terminate at either end in elongated crocodile heads. The artist has taken great care to evoke the appearance and character of these animals. Perpendicular lines along the snouts, as well as rows of bumps on the forehead, suggest the distinctive texture of crocodile skin, while the close-set eyes with contrasting pupils evoke the watchful gaze of this dangerous animal. The depictions of crocodiles, as with other forms of aquatic imagery, associates the ruler with Olokun, god of the sea. The ocean

was conceived of as a major source of wealth and prosperity for the Benin kingdom, which benefited from overseas trade with Portugal and other European powers. A realm of unfathomable depths, it also served as a metaphor for the vast, hidden powers of the ruler.

omgthatartifact:

Double Bell (Egogo) Benin Empire, 16th century The Brooklyn Museum This is one of the oldest surviving African ivory sculptures; only six of these ivory gongs are known. Double gongs were used by the oba (king) during the Emobo ceremony to drive away evil spirits. The carving here depicts theoba, supported by his military commander and his heir.

omgthatartifact: Armlet Benin Empire, 15th-16th century

The British Museum This ivory armlet is worn by the Oba (king) of Benin in ceremonies in which he wears a coral costume, dances with a ceremonial sword and carries a gong. The armlet helps to prevent the coral beads from becoming entangled during the Obas dance.

Ivory formed an important part of the accessories worn at ritual ceremonies by the Oba. One of the series of annual rituals is the Bead Festival (Ugie Ivie) created by Oba Esigie, a great warrior-king of the sixteenth century, in remembrance of his military successes. The Bead Festival commemorates the struggle between Oba Esigie and his brother, Arhuaran of Udo, over the possession of the royal coral beads, used in a ceremony to announce the capital city of the kingdom. During the ceremony all the beads of the king, his wives and chiefs are placed upon the altar of Oba Ewuare, who first brought coral beads into Benin, and over them are poured the blood of a cow. The sacrificial blood imbues the beads with the mystical powers required for the remaining ceremonies.

The Oba is represented on the armlet with mudfish legs and his hands raised to the sky, thus linking him with the great god Olokun, ruler of the sea. The mudfish has symbolic significance among the Edo people as it can live on land and sea. Similarly, the Oba is invested with divine powers from the spiritual world above and the secular world below. I met John in Burma a few years ago. He is a photographer and successful businessman who has founded companies which develop software for digital media and the entertainment industry. He has also devoted a tremendous amount of time, energy, and financial assistance to the work of Omo Child.

John Rowe and friends Lale was born into the Kara Tribe in the Omo River Valley. He was one of the first of his tribe to receive a formal education. That opportunity led him to realize the critical importance of ending the tribal ritual of Mingi. Lale lost two sisters to Mingi. Outlawing and stopping this devastating practice of Mingi is his lifes mission.

Lale Labuko, founder of OMO Child Mingi is the ritualistic killing of infants and children who are mingi because they are considered impure or cursed. A child can be mingi for many reasons, but once they are mingi they are left alone in the desert without food and water or drowned in a river. The Omo River Valley is located in Southwest Ethiopia, Africa. It has been called the last frontier in Africa. There are nine main tribes that occupy the Omo River Valley, with a population of approximately 225,000 tribal peoples. The majority of the people living in the Omo River Valley live without clean drinking water and without medical care.

Mingi
Mingi is defined as being impure or cursed in certain African tribes in the Omo River Valley in Ethiopia, including the Kara and Hamar tribes. Unfortunately, these tribes participate in the tribal ritual of killing children that are declared Mingi. A child can be declared Mingi for the following reasons Teeth Mingi, Girl Mingi, Woman Mingi and Twin Mingi just to name a few. Being declared Mingi almost always means death of the child. The tribe will leave the child alone in the desert without food and water or will drown the child in the river.

Our mission at Omo Child is to stop the tribal practice of Mingi. We believe that we can achieve this by providing education and humanitarian support to the rescued children and their tribes. TYPES OF MINGI
GIRL MINGI
Babies born out of wedlock are also labeled Mingi by tribal elders. Expensive dowries are required to marry which leaves many couples unable to afford marriage. Once their babies are born they may be declared Mingi.

WOMAN MINGI
When couples are married but do not have their pregnancy approved, their babies could be declared Mingi.

TEETH MINGI
Children that get their top teeth before their bottom teeth, or they have chipped a baby tooth, may be declared Mingi by tribal elders.

TWIN MINGI
The birth of twins is perceived as a curse and both babies may be declared Mingi.

Ghana. En busca del primer Imperio Africano

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Texto de Marcos Uy Esteban/Ms all de las fronteras A partir del s.VII de nuestra era, en el noreste africano, comienza una verdadera expansin del Islam, algunas culturas se islamizaron, y otras siguieron bajo dominio cristiano. Pocas permanecieron fieles a sus tradiciones, entre ellas, la rica regin de Wagad, que llegara a convertirse en el primer Imperio Africano del que tenemos noticias.

Africa en la Edad Media

Entre los siglos VII y XI, se desarrolla el Imperio africano de Wagad-Ghana.

Los reyes Ghanas tenian poderes absolutos, toleraron la difusin del Islam pero nunca se convirtieron. Desde el siglo VIII, Ghana adquiri fama de tierra rica en oro y hasta el siglo XII el imperio fue una especie de meca comercial para buscar fortuna. La prosperidad del reino se bas en la extraccin y exportacin de oro.

El reino de Ghana comienza con la era cristiana, llegando a su apogeo entre los aos 950 y 1050 ocupando el sudeste de Mauritania, el sudoeste de Mal y el norte de Senegal.

Pero hacia el ao 1240 desaparece de la historia. Las fructferas transacciones comerciales que se pagaban con oro, llevaron a los reyes de Ghana a la conquista de pequeos estados vecinos y a crear un Imperio
La extraordinaria riqueza del reino de Ghana
LOS ORGENES

Las primeras alusiones a este imperio, las conocemos a travs de los informadores rabes como Ibn Hawhal. Un siglo despus Al-Bakri, un escritor rabe de la Crdoba andalus, gracias a su Descripcin del frica septentrional de 1087, nos proporciona destalles precisos sobre el reino de Ghana.

Ghana, que podra derivar de la deformacin de la palabra rabe ghani y que equivale a riqueza; constituy uno de los depsitos aluviales ms importantes de oro, no slo de la zona, sino de toda frica, adems de considerarse como la regin de los Wagadu, que literalmente significa pas de los rebaos. El control del oro estaba en manos del Rey, para evitar as las posibilidades de inflacin. Los orgenes de Ghana son oscuros y todava confusos.

Existen algunas teorias de los orgenes del Imperio, como la del antroplogo noruego Barth afirm que hacia el ao 300 de nuestra era, comenz a fraguarse esta monarqua siendo fundada por gente de raza blanca, los fulb, idea que comparte otro autor, Delafosse, cuando atribuye la fundacin a semitas judeo-sirios. LA EXTENSIN DEL REINO DE GHANA EN EL FRICA MEDIEVAL Uno de aquellos jefes de emigrantes llegados a tierras africanas, organiz el nuevo Estado hasta que, en el siglo VII, surgi otra dinasta, la sonink, cuyo primer soberano fue Kaya-Magan, considerado como el verdadero fundador del Imperio.

Los sucesores de

ste, fueron lo que se encargaron de extender los dominios del futuro Imperio, llegando hasta Tangant al oeste, Tumbuct, al este y casi hasta Bamako, al sur. Ya hacia el 990, tomaron Awdaghost, que en aquel momento perteneca a los bereberes, convirtindose en el nuevo centro econmico del Imperio, rebosante de actividades econmicas , y de un mercado tan animado que las transacciones se pagan en polvo de oro abundante en la zona.

EL REINO DE GHANA

Los viajeros rabes quedaron impresionados por la prosperidad y seguridad del Imperio. El soberano era absoluto, y la corona se transmita por lnea matrilineal, es decir, que al rey le suceda el hijo de su hermana. Los ltimos reyes de Ghana llevaban el ttulo de tunka, ejerciendo a la vez los poderes polticos y religiosos.

El control del oro era tarea personal e intransferible del Rey, evitando as las posibilidades de inflacin. El poder personal del Rey era total

El rey, se serva de un consejo, conocido como el Gran Consejo del Rey, compuesto por altos dignatarios, algunos de los cuales eran ex esclavos o musulmanes, ya que a stos ltimos, manifestaba gran tolerancia hacia ellos. El soberano, a caballo, daba una vuelta por la capital tanto por la maana como por la tarde, escuchando las quejas de sus sbditos ms humildes, y acto seguido, ordenaba que se hiciera justicia. Econmicamente, la principal riqueza del Estado provena del comercio y el oro, que llegaba de las regiones meridionales como Galam, Bambuk o Bure, por medio de ciertos mercaderes llamados wangara. El rey tena el monopolio que consista en la apropiacin de todas las pepitas descubiertas, para restringir la cantidad en circulacin y evitar su devaluacin. Lo que circulaba era polvo de oro que serva para todo tipo de transacciones e intercambios. Existe la creencia de que, al parecer, una nobleza dominante convenci a la poblacin de que el oro era malfico, y que slo los poderes religiosos del monarca podan conjurarlo, por lo que deba ser extrado y enviado al rey, para que lo purificara con las ceremonias oportunas. De todos modos, la principal actividad de esta ingenua poblacin era la agricultura y la ganadera.

La mayora de los sbditos, al igual que el rey de Ghana, eran animistas, y el principal culto era el del dios-serpiente de Wagadu llamada Bida, y segn la leyenda, el dios sala de su guarida el da de la entronizacin del rey y reciba anualmente el sacrificio de la ms bella mujer del pas.

Actividades comerciales
La regin de Wagad tuvo un clima hmedo que favoreca la cra de ganado y la agricultura. Las actividades comerciales principales eran las agrcolas para los productos de las huertas donde abundaban los pepinos, de los vergeles llenos de datileras e higueras, o bien ganaderas, con la cra de

carneros y de bueyes.

Adems, su situacin geogrfica, en contacto con dos zonas, la magrebina y la sudnica, hacan que las caravanas comerciales pasaran por la zona, dirigindose hacia la zona del Mgreb, atravesando Awdaghost o Walata hasta llegar a Sidchilmasa, capital de los bereberes, situada al sur de Marruecos.

La capital del Imperio

Kumbi Saleh fue fundada en el siglo III como enclave de rutas caravaneras. Fue la capital del Imperio de Ghana que domin la regin y se convirti en la primera organizacin poltica que se conoce al sur del Sahara.

No obstante, la capital del Imperio, con reservas fue Kumbi, ya que slo contamos con el testimonio de Al-Bakri, aunque las excavaciones arqueolgicas parecen confirmarlo. Segn se las descripciones del escritor cordobs, la ciudad debi ser de considerable extensin y se divida en dos partes. La residencia real se compona de un castillo y de varios edificios de techo redondeado. Ambas ciudades quedaban unidas por una amplia avenida bordeada de casas de piedra y madera de acacia.

El declive
El declive del Imperio de Ghana comenz en el siglo XI. A pesar de contar con un eminente ejrcito compuesto por 200 mil hombres de los cuales 40 mil eran arqueros y caballera, no pudo resistir el avance del Islam llevado a cabo por los almorvides. Yusuf ibn Tashfn, fundador de Marrakech en el 1062, toma en 1076 la capital, Kumbi, a la que siguieron conversiones forzadas, aunque el soberano del momento, Menin, pudo conservar su poder a cambio de pagar un altsimo tributo. Despus de este rey, los soberanos fueron de origen musulmn y nunca ms se restableci el Imperio de Ghana, que qued reducido en diversos pequeos estados. Bibliografa:

Ki-Zerbo, J.: Historia del frica negra: 1. De los orgenes al siglo XIX. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1980. Letvizion, N.: Ancient Ghana and Mal. London, 1973.

centuriespast: Stool ARTIST:Chokwe DATE:19th century

Many African cultures, including the Chokwe, believe death is not an end, but merely a transition to the spirit world. Departed ancestors continue to play an active role in the life of the living, providing protection and guidance. The living try to ensure the good favor of their ancestors by respecting traditions and providing offerings of food and drink. The figure in these Chokwe stools is an ancestor holding her head in sorrow. She

is worried that her descendents are not honoring her as they should and fears that they may be punished for their misdeeds. The brass tacks embellishing these stools signify that they were once owned by a king. The figure of the female ancestor carved in the stool symbolically supports the king, protecting his authority. Immense spiritual strength is accredited to women in African society and female figures are common in their art. This power comes from their ability to bear children, and thus ensure the continuance of their bloodline and culture.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts Ancient West African Megacities Recent Archeological findings have discovered ancient west African Mega cities dating back to 500 BC possibly rivaling other early urban civilizations such as Mesopotamia. Long before the coming of Islam and the days of the Songhay, Mali and Ghana Empires. The Archeologists state they have not seen any signs of war & waring, therefore it seems like they lived in relative peace. Some of the cities were twice the size of Timbuktu (Medieval Timbuktu was twice the size of London). What is most interesting about this information that it emphasizes how little we know of ancient Africas past.

PreviousNext fyeahblackhistory: Ruins of Gedi Kenya Mombasa The ruins of Gedi in the depths of the great Arabuko Sokoke forest Kenya. Is a place of great mystery, an archaeological puzzle that continues to engender debate among historians. built during the 14th century AD, and later abandoned in the early 16th century. From the 13th or 14th to 17th centuries, Gedi was a thriving community along the jungle coast of East Africa. Although no written record exists of this town, excavations between 1948 and 1958 revealed that the inhabitants traded with people from all over the world. Some of the findings included beads from Venice, coins and a Ming vase from China, an iron lamp from India, and scissors from Spain. The population was estimated to exceed at least 2500 people. These items can be found in the museum in the complex which was opened in 2000. To this day, despite extensive research and exploration, nobody is really sure what happened to the town of Gedi and its peoples. This once great civilization was a powerful and complex Swahili settlement with a population of over 2500, built during

the 13th century. The ruins of Gedi include many houses, mansions, mosques and elaborate tombs and cemeteries. These houses were complex for their time, with bathrooms with drains and overhead basins to flush toilets. The citys streets were laid out at right angles and had drainage gutters. There are also wells which supplied water to the community. The material used to construct the buildings was made from coral reef from the nearby ocean. Despite the size and complexity of this large (at least 45 acre) settlement, it is never mentioned in any historic writings or local recorded history. Abd El-Kader ibn Muhieddine (6 September 1808 near Mascara 26 May 1883 Damascus), (Arabic: Abd al-Qdir ibn Muyiddn) known as Emr Abd al-Qdir or Abd al-Qdir al-Jazir) was an Algerian Islamic scholar, Sufi, political and military leader who led a struggle against the French invasion in the mid-19th century. In 1830, Algeria was invaded by France; French colonial domination over Algeria supplanted what had been domination in name only by the Ottoman Empire. Within two years, Abd al-Qdir was made an amir and with the loyalty of a number of tribes began a rebellion against the French. He was effective at using guerrilla warfare and for a decade, up until 1842, scored many victories. He often signed tactical truces with the French, but these did not last. His power base was in the western part of Algeria, where he was successful in uniting the tribes against the French. He was noted for his chivalry; on one occasion he released his French captives simply because he had insufficient food to feed them. Throughout this period Abd al-Qdir demonstrated political and military leadership, and acted as a capable administrator and a persuasive orator. His fervent faith in the doctrines of Islam was unquestioned. Until the beginning of 1842 the struggle went in his favor; however, the resistance was put down by Marshal Bugeaud. In 1837, Abd al-Qdir signed the Treaty of Tafna with Bugeaud, in which he recognized Frances sovereignty in Oran and Algiers, while France recognized his control over the remaining two-thirds of the country, mainly the interior. When French troops marched through a mountain pass in territory Abd alQdir claimed as his in open defiance of that claim, he renewed the resistance on October 15, 1839. Abd Al-Qdir was ultimately forced to surrender. The French armies grew large, and brutally suppressed the native population and practiced a scorched-earth policy. Abd Al-Qdirs failure to get support from eastern tribes, apart from the Berbers of western Kabylie, also contributed to the quelling of the rebellion. On December 21, 1847, after being denied refuge in Morocco because of French diplomatic and military pressure on its leaders, Abd al-Qdir surrendered to General Louis de Lamoricire in exchange for the promise that he would be allowed to go to Alexandria or Acre. Two days later, his surrender was made official to the French Governor-General of Algeria, Henri dOrlans, duc dAumale. The French government refused to honour Lamoricires promise and Abd Al-Qdir was exiled to France.

omgthatartifact: Figure of a Ruler Asante, 19th-20th century

The Metropolitan Museum of Art This impressive image of a ruler was created by an Akan sculptor in what is today Ghana. The attention devoted to describing the chiefly regalia reflects the great emphasis placed on the courtly arts in this area. The Akan peoples were organized into several states of varying size and influence that were situated in a region rich in gold and ideally located for both overland and maritime trade. The Asante kingdom was the most important of these and at the height of its power controlled an area roughly corresponding to that of modern Ghana. An Akan rulers appearance was thought to reflect the stability and well-being of his kingdom. Here, the figures striated neck, softly bulging physique, and vigorous gesture suggest good health, while an abundance of accoutrements indicates the wealth and power of his court. These include a headband holding square ornaments, most likely of gilded wood, and a necklace, probably of cast gold. He is seated on a distinctive, fivelegged stool whose arrangement symbolically evokes the organization of the kingdom: a central column, the king, is surrounded by four legs representing chiefs. In his hand he holds an afena, a curved sword with a spherical, gold-covered hilt and pommel carried by high-ranking officials of the court. The cloth wrapper that covers the ruler from the chest to his ankles likely represents kente, a brightly patterned cloth woven from imported silk. Finally, sandals cover the soles of the rulers feet. According to Akan political practice, once a ruler was enthroned he could never touch the ground with his bare feet; to do so was said to pollute the earth and lead to famine and sickness within the kingdom. Wooden representations of male chiefs are relatively uncommon in Akan art, and it is not entirely certain for what context this work was created. The white clay, or kaolin, that coats the sculpture may associate it with spiritual practices during which the skin is whitened to indicate reverence and devotion. Similarly, carved figures of spiritual practitioners are frequently painted white to demonstrate their close links to the supernatural.

omgthatartifact: Chair Asante, early 20th century The British Museum The traditional form of seating in many parts of Africa is a wooden stool. Among the Asante the stool is both a domestic piece of furniture, as well as being imbued with some spiritual qualities associated with its owner. Europeans took chairs into Africa for personal use and not for trade, though they may have been copied by local leaders or given as gifts. During the nineteenth century wooden chairs were made that were based on European styles, but exclusively for the lite of Asante society.

This chair is made of wood and has a hide seat. The back is decorated with roundheaded brass nails adorned with large, semi-spherical brass castings. In design it is based on seventeenth- or early eighteenth-century European styles called farthingale or upholsterers chairs. Chairs of this type are calledasipim and are used by senior Asante chiefs when they meet to discuss important matters.Asipim translates as I stand firm and alludes both to the stability of the chair and the authority of the chief. They are kept in the palaces of senior chiefs and tilted forward against a wall when not in use. These chairs may be paraded with other important items of regalia but have no special links with former owners. Although highly prestigious objects, these chairs do not have the spritual significance which the Asante give to their traditional wooden stools.

omgthatartifact: Soul Disk Pendante Asante, 19th century The Cleveland Museum of Art Shared by different Akan and Akan-related peoples, including the Asante and Baule, gold ornaments indicate status and wealth and are worn at public festivals by titleholders, chiefs, and kings. Most pectoral disks are suspended over the chest by a

white, pineapple-fiber cord. They are owned by the okra, a young official who purifies the chiefs soulhence, the name akrafokonmu, meaning soul-washers badges or soul disks.

omgthatartifact: Fertility Figure (Akua Ba) Asante, 19th-20th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Disk-headed akuaba figures remain one of the most recognizable forms in African art. Akua ba are used in a variety of contexts; primarily, however, they are consecrated by priests and carried by women who hope to conceive a child. The flat, disklike head is a strongly exaggerated convention of the Akan ideal of beauty: a high, oval forehead, slightly flattened in actual practice by gentle modeling of an infants soft cranial bones. The flattened shape of the sculpture also serves a practical purpose, since women carry the figures against their backs wrapped in their skirt, evoking the manner that infants are carried. The rings on the figures neck are a standard convention for rolls of fat, a sign of beauty, health, and prosperity in Akan culture. The delicate mouth of the figure is small and set low on the face. The small scars just discernible below the eyes of this figure refer to a local medical practice as protection against convulsions. Most akua ba have abstracted horizontal arms and a cylindrical torso with simple indications of the breasts and navel; the torso ends in a base as opposed to human legs. The style of this sculpture is rare among other extant examples of akua ba due to its miniaturized naturalistic body, arms, and legs. Full-bodied figures such as this are believed to be a recent twentieth-century innovation within the akua ba sculptural tradition. The name akua ba comes from the Akan legend of a woman named Akua who was barren, but like all Akan women, she desired most of all to bear children. She consulted a priest who instructed her to commission the carving of a small wooden child and to carry the surrogate child on her back as if it were real. Akua cared for the figure as she would a living baby, even giving it gifts of beads and other trinkets. She was laughed at and teased by fellow villagers, who began to call the wooden figure Akua ba, or Akuas child. Eventually though, Akua conceived a child and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Soon thereafter, even her detractors began adopting the same practice to overcome barrenness. All genuine akua ba are female images, primarily because Akuas first child was a girl but also because Akan society is matrilineal, so women prefer female children who will perpetuate the family line. Girls will also assist in all household chores, including the care of any smaller children in the family. After influencing pregnancy, akua ba are often returned to shrines as offerings to the spirits who responded to the appeals for a child. A collection of figures becomes an advertisement for the spirits ability to help women conceive. Families also keep akua ba as memorials to a child or children. The figures become family heirlooms and are appreciated not for their spiritual associations, but rather because they are beautiful images that call to mind a loved one. My favorite professor ever has one of these in her office, since shes an expert in African History. I went to look at it and ask her what it was and she quite quickly snatched me back and told me Dont touch it! since apparently every colleague/student who has touched it in the last 20 years either became pregnant or had a partner who became pregnant within a few weeks of touching the figure.

sunsetchasingsunsets: fuckyeahethnicwomen: Tuareg woman (by Helga) Tuareg gender customs may refute Western preconceptions: Among the Tuareg, the men are veiled and the women are not. The society is largely matrilineal. They dont fit into the nice bundles that art historians or anthropologists like to have. The Tuareg defy stereotypesof Islam, Africa and social relationshipsin other ways: The Tuareg are Islamic, but not in any comprehensive sense, its mixed with a heavy dose of preexisting pagan beliefs in the evil eye and the world of spirits, or jinn.

PreviousNext fyeahblackhistory: Kimpa Vita (Dona Beatriz) (16841706) Saint of Kongo

One of the first African women to fight against European dominance in Africa during the colonial period & expose the racism and misogyny in the Catholic church. The founder of the first black Christian movement in Sub-Saharan Africa. She fought all forms of slavery, and tried to reconcile Christianity with African religions and beliefs, teaching people that black saints mingled with white saints in paradise. This was revolutionary, since Catholic priests in the area (Capuchins) taught that ONLY white saints could be found in heaven While still in her teens, she started a non-violent anti Colonial movement to liberate the Kingdom of Kongo and return it to its former glory. Led thousands of her people to rebuild and repopulate Mbanza Kongo, the capital of the once glorious unified Kingdom of Kongo. She was burned at the stake as a which for heresy.

Early Life Kimpa Vita was born near Mount Kibangu in the Kingdom of Kongo soon after the death of King Antnio I(166165), It is believed that she was connected to King Antnio I who died at the battle of Mbwila (Ulanga) a battle orientated around the removal the Portuguese from his region. Following Antnio I death was a time of internal strife, political unrest and civil war. As was the centuries old tradition with Kongolese nobles, she was baptised into the Roman Catholic church at birth. She was shaped by two things: 1. African Spirituality & Christianity As a child Kimpa Vita had gifts, she constantly saw visions and dreamt of playing with angels. Due to her innate spirituality, Kimpa Vita was trained as a (Shaman) Nganga marinda, a individual who consults the supernatural world to solve problems within the community. As could be expected, the European missionaries did not like the

existence of the Nganga marinda nor did they like the fact that the Kongolese widely accepted them as legitimate (this despite two centuries of Catholicism). 2. Decline of the Kingdom of Kongo The kingdom of Kongo (now a part of modern Angola and Congo.), the wealthiest and most powerful state in the Atlantic region of Central Africa during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, began to dissolve in the seventeenth century under internal and external pressures. Portuguese military aggression emanating from the Angola colony to the south spurred the kingdoms disintegration, notably at the battle of Mbwila in 1665 at which Portuguese troops killed the Kongo ruler Antonio I. The kingdom was plagued by devastating civil wars which fed the ravenous atlantic slave trade. By the turn of the eighteenth century there was an immense political and cultural vacuum, the Kongo capital Mbanza Kongo (also known as So Salvador) had been abandoned and the kingdom had broken up into small territories ruled by warlords and members of the old Kongo nobility. Memories of Kongos past glory remained, however, and a series of popular movements developed out of the Kongo peoples desire to restore the kingdom to its former greatness. Mission With her training as a shaman and her identification as a Christian, Kimpa Vita began to be recognized as a prophetess. In 1704 at the age of 20 she had a near death experience when she appeared to die of a fever. When she had been resuscitated she believed that she now spoke with the voice of the patron saint of Kongo, and also incidentally the patron saint of Portugal, St. Anthony of Padua she believed Saint Anthony became incarnate in her body and so she became the physical manifestation of the saint, who addressed the kingdoms problems through her. Compelled by the Christian God to announce his word to restore the kingdom through adherence to a vision of Catholicism that was set firmly within Kongo history and geography. She also wanted to restore the former Kongo capital San Salvador. She concerned herself with the restoration, spiritually and politically, of the Kongo Kingdom. Kimpa Vitas religious ideology came as an answer to the prayers of many Kongolese people. In her message She combined traditional Kongolese beliefs with Catholicism. Creating her own her own Christian movement, known as Antonianism. She wanted a religious system that was set firmly within Kongo history and geography. From her visions she believed Kongo must reunite under a new king & Antonianism was a way of doing this. Much to the dismay of the Catholic Church, Kimpa Vita quickly attracted a large following of common people, as well as some nobility who flocked to the city, which Kimpa identified as the biblical Bethlehem. Rejecting missionary domination over Christianity, she preached that;

K Kongo was the Holy Land described in the Bible The Kongolese capital, Mbanza Kongo (also known as Sao Salvador) was the r real site of Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Mbanza Kongo and baptized not at Nazareth but in the northern province of Nsundi.

Jesus Christ and the other saints were black Africans Mary was a slave of a Kongo marquis. H Heaven was for also for Africans. The European church was not beneficial to Kongolese.

Kimpa Vita claimed all this had been divulged to her by God. She died every Friday and went to spend the weekend in heaven where she met God personally and discussed such topics as Kongo politics. Indeed, Kimpa Vitas ideology may seem radical but not if you look at the history of Catholicism and Christianity in the Kingdom of Kongo and examine how the people learnt to adapt a foreign religion with their local traditions. They felt that the Christian missionaries were corrupt and unsympathetic to the spiritual needs of Kongolese Catholics. The History Catholicism in Congo The Kingdom of Kongo had been Catholic for two centuries by the time Kimpa Vita was born. In 1491 Nzinga a Nukwu, the king of Kongo at that time, was the first royal to be baptised. However, Nzinga a Nukwu ended up changing his mind and leaving his newly adopted religion after some years, it was his son Afonso I who surely established the church in Kongo and attempted to make the country a Catholic one. Afonso I went further by creating schools that taught European education and Christianity to the nobility. He also had members of the noble class sent to Portugal to further their education and worked with both educated Kongolese and Portuguese priests in his government. This tradition continued with Afonsos son, Henrique becoming the first bishop from sub-saharan Africa in 1518. Christianity grew further in the 16th century particularly under the reigns of Kings Alvaro I and Alvaro II who gave nobles titles such as Count, Duke and Marquis in the European manner. They also brought in relics such as bones of martyrs from Europe and established an embassy in Rome. The Kongolese had formed their own brand of Christianity even before Kimpa Vita arrived. At a point in the kingdoms history, the royalty wanted to create their own bishops and clergy which didnt go well with the Pope and the Portuguese clergy. All attempts by foreign missionaries to purge local elements from the Kongolese Catholicism were met with resistance and ultimately failed (the same thing happened when the Dutch Calvinists tried to preach their faith). The issue may have been that though the Kongolese believed they were worshiping an African God, they were not vocal about it. Missionaries taught the opposite of what Kimpa Vita (and most of the Kongolese population) believed, arguing that heaven was for whites only and that Jesus and all saints were white. Kimpa Vita vocally opposed such ideas and turned them upside down. She fought against the Europeanization of Christianity and Kongo. . However Kimpa Vita was not only trying to spread a purely African version of Christianity, at the same time she was also trying to bring an end to the civil wars that were weakening the Kingdom of Kongo. Kimpa Vita fought against slavery which was a thriving industry thanks to those numerous wars.

Death Her involvement in politics that eventually led to her fall, when Pedro Constantinho da Silva, a general to the King Pedro IV & a rival to the throne, saw an ally with Kimpa Vita as a means to the throne. Kimpa was now seen as a enemy to King Pedro IV, because of her influence, her allies and her opposition against the Portuguese, Kimpa Vita was captured near her hometown, was tried under Kongo law as a witch and a heretic and burned at the stake for heresy in the temporary capital of Evululu on July 2, 1706 by forces loyal to Pedro IV under the watchful eyes of the European (Capuchin) missionaries. In 1710, the perpetrators sent a report of their mission to the pope, after having organized the persecution of her followers. The Anthonian prophetic movement outlasted her death. Her followers continued to believe that she was still alive, and it was only when Pedro IVs forces took So Salvador in 1709 that the political force of her movement was broken, and most of her former noble adherents renounced their beliefs and rejoined the church. Conclusion Kongos history is even more fascinating because while the people were staunch Catholics, they disliked the invading Portuguese who had brought the religion to them. The importance of Kimpa Vita is that she was one of the earliest recorded African women who fought against European Imperialism in the colonial era. Her knowledge and understanding of Kongolese Spirituality, history, culture and Christianity allowed her to see her how European religion was being used manipulate Kongo. She used this knowledge to try to reconcile Christianity with African belief systems to unite & restore the Kingdom of Kongo. Legacy The Antonian movement, which Kimpa began, outlasted her. The Kongo king Pedro IV used it to unify and renew his kingdom. Her ideas remained among the peasants, appearing in various messianic cults until, two centuries later, it took new form in the preaching of Simon KIMBANGU. It is thought that In 1739, some of her followers, sold as slaves in America, carried out the revolt well known as the Stono rebellion in South Carolina, and her teachings also may have inspired the action of former Kongo slaves, during the revolt which led to the independence of Haiti in 1804. To those who know of her today Kimpa Vita is regarded as a prophetess and a symbol of non-violent resistance in Africa, inspiring many political and religious leaders in Congo and Angola. The Importance & Interest Of Her Rehabilitation The French people rehabilitated Jeanne d Arc (Joan of Arc) five centuries after her death. She then became Sainte Jeanne d Arc(Saint-Joan of Arc), in spite of the

controversy around her life. Dona Beatrice Kimpa Vita was a victim of the religious intolerance and racism raging in her country and continent. Despite her accomplishments, Pope Paul VI rejected a request for her rehabilitation in 1966. References: R. S. Basi, The Black Hand of God, themarked; 2009, Thornton, John Kelly. The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 16841706. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Online Sources: 1706: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita, the Kongolese Saint Anthony executedtoday.com, http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/07/02/1706-dona-beatriz-kimpa-vita-kongo/ (April 16 2012) Brockman, C, N (1994) Kimpa Vita (Dona Beatrice) (African Biographical Dictionary) [Online] available from: http://www.dacb.org/stories/congo/kimpa_vita.html EccentricYoruba (2011) KIMPA VITA & THE KINGDOM OF KONGO [Online] available from: http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/kimpavita.html kimbangu75 kimbangudiscoveries.com, http://kimbangudiscoveries.com/kimbangu75.html (April 16 2012) Kimpa Vita Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimpa_Vita (April 16 2012) Kimpa Vita Theblackhandofgod.com, http://www.theblackhandofgod.com/history.html (April 16 2012)

MALIK AMBAR: THE LEGACY OF AN ETHIOPIAN RULER IN INDIA

Saturday, 20 August 2011 09:53 administrator 0 Comments By Omar H. Ali (Ph.D.)

Among the tens of thousands of men, women, and children captured in Africa and sold into slavery in the Middle East and India was an Ethiopian of fierce determination: Malik Ambar. Born Chapu in 1548 in Harar, where the Ethiopian highlands meet the dessert stretching to the Red Sea, Ambar (as he was later called) was stripped of his family, his name, and forever taken from his homeland. Nevertheless, half a century later, and halfway around the world, he had transformed himself into a king-maker in Indias Deccan, leading the most powerful military force against Mughal rule. Traveling first by caravan, and then by dhow, the young Ambar was taken across the Red Sea to the port of Mocha in southern Arabia (Yemen). He was re-sold ad sent top Baghadad, where he was educated before finally being sent to India to serve Chengiz

Khan, the Regent Minister of the Sultan of Nizam Shai in Ahmadnagar. For twenty years, the Ethiopian, now a Muslim, Loyally served Khan, an Ethiopian like himself who convert to Islam, but unlike Ambar, was no longer enslaved. Over this period Ambar assumed increasing amounts of responsibility in the Nizams court, where he observed and learned about diplomacy and military strategy and organizationexperiences he carried into the next long period of his life as a free man. Upon his masters death, Ambar was manumitted, launching one of the most formidable carriers in the political history of the Deccan. Initially working as a mercenary in the region, by 1595, he commanded a cavalry force of 150 men, and began amassing a rebel army, which quickly grew into the thousands. By 1600 the African, now a full-fledged mercenary general, emerged as the leading figure in the resistance movement against the spread of northern imperial rule in the Deccan. Defeating in battle the armies of not one, but two Mughal emperors-Akbar and Jahangir-for more than a quarter of a century Ambars armies were the envy and pride of those fighting attempted Mughal occupation in the southern part of India. By 1620, Ambar was at the head of an army of fifty-thousand men-forty thousand Marathas (Hindu warriors) and ten thousand Habshi (fellow Africans).by then he had already installed two young princes to the Nizams throne in succession, each time making himself regent Minister, and, unlike his former master, functioning as de facto ruler. Ambars military genius was unsurpassed. The unusual alliances Ambar forged along Indias western coast with the African-descended sailors-turned rulers of Janjira island, his innovative techniques in guerilla warfare, and his use of British artillery, not only kept the Mughals from pressing into the southern half of India during his lifetime, but endlessly frustrated the empires rulers, who variously referred to their indomitable foe as the rebel of black fortune. In time, Ambar founded a model city, Khadki (the future site of Aurangabad), where he built several palaces, developed an irrigation system, patronized Hindu and Muslim craftsmen and artists (including the great portrait artist Hashim), and married his daughter and son into the families of Indian nobility-thus integrating Africans into elite south Asian society. When Ambar died in 1626, he was known across the Deccan as one of the greatest leaders of the day. His life and legend inspired later rebels against Mughal rule, most notably the Maratha king shivaji, the grandson of Maloji, who had long served as Ambars right-hand man half a century earlier. The extraordinary life of Ambar an Ethiopian slave turned ruler in India forms part of the broader story of forced and free migration among Africans who journeyed to India long before the advent of the much better known transatlantic forced migration of Africans to the Americas. The Migration of Africans across the Indian Ocean world, which began as early as the second century B.C., was greatly enhanced with the rise and spread of Islam after the seventh century, which provided opportunities for upward social mobility for the enslaved and people of African descent, generally. It was in the ever-expanding Muslim world that Ambar could rise from slave to ruler; a phenomenon seldom seen in other parts of the world. Islam allowed for such transformations of status for more than just Ambar, as witnessed by his own master Khan, a Muslim and former slave himself, Africans served as soldiers, as well as sailors, and worked as merchants across the Indian Ocean, and formed part of the societies both on the coasts and the interiors.

The Ethiopians contributions to the making of the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean world are only just beginning to be more widely known, even as pioneering scholars from Jogindra Chowdhuri and Radhey Shyem to Richard Pankhurst and Richard Eaton have been helping to illuminate aspects of the Ethiopian Diaspora for decades. Malik Ambar along with Bilalibn Rabah (Islams first muezzin) and Bava Ghor (a merchant and Sufi mystic) serves as an exemplar of contributions by Ethiopians to the societies, economies, and cultures of the Arabian Peninsula, southern Iraq and Iran, the Indian subcontinent, and beyond. Eds Note: Omar H. Ali, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He wrote the narrative for the exhibit The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World for the Schomburg Centre for research in black culture in New York. The online exhibit may be viewed at http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africansindianocean/index2.php. He can be reached at ohali@uncq.edu.