A blog about African history, and heritage, through audio and video files.
Author: Dr. Y.
I am an African in love with the history of the world, and particularly that of Africa. I am a child of love, an artist, a scientist, a lover, a friend, a human.
I am in love with nature and beautiful things, art, history, geography, travel, dance, food, science, and technology, and much more.
Un bambou tendre ne peut pas être ardemment désiré (pour la construction). – Un homme qui essaie de bâtir un mariage solide tout en courant après d’autres femmes est comme celui qui utilise des pousses de bambou pour construire une hutte. (Proverbe Chewa – Malawi, Mozambique, Zambie.)
A tender bamboo cannot be eagerly desired (for building). – A man trying to build up a strong marriage while going after other women is like one who uses bamboo shoots to make a hut. (Chewa proverb – Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia.)
We have seen that there were quite a few African kings who forbade the sale of liquor by Europeans on their territories: Gungunyane of the kingdom of Gaza in Mozambique, Mirambo: the Black Napoleon, king of the Nyamwezi people in Tanzania, and now the Almanny (which means leader) cited during Wadstrom report to the British Committee in 1790s (Royal Resistance to Slavery: the Case of an Almany of West Africa in 1780s). Just like Gungunyane, Mirambo thought that alcohol weakened societies. There are quite a few other African leaders throughout history. Why would they prohibit the sale of alcohol on their territories? In history, we have seen this tactic used by the Europeans in the Americas where they gave cheap liquor to the Native Americans turning them drunkards, violent, in order to dispossess them of their lands. Below is an account by the abbey Gregoire who clearly saw alcohol as a tool used to destabilize African societies during slavery times. It is good to note that history repeats itself: today in many African countries, the main breweries are owned by European companies, and particularly in countries with a lot of resources, the people have been slowly turned into drunkards (this will be a story for another day) while their resources get siphoned out.
Mirambo, towards the end of his life
Abbe Gregoire, for his part, emphasizes that Barrow attributes: “…the current barbarity of some parts of Africa to the slave trade. To obtain it, the Europeans created it, and they perpetuate the usual state of war; they poisoned these regions with their strong liquors, by the accumulation of all kinds of debauchery, seduction, rapacity, cruelty. Is there a single vice whose example they do not daily reproduce before the eyes of the Negroes brought to Europe, or transported to our colonies? I am not surprised to read in Beaver, certainly a friend of the Negroes, and who in his African memoranda is full of praise for their native virtues and their talents: “I would rather carry thither a rattlesnake than a Negro who would have lived in London “.
Bwemba Bong, Quand l’Africain etait l’or noir de l’Europe. L’Afrique: actrice ou victime de la traite des noirs? MedouNeter (2022), p. 165; Barrow, African memoranda, relative to an attempt to establish a British settlement in the Island of Boulam, by Phylips Beaver, in 4, London 1805. I would rather carry thither a rattle snake, etc., p. 397, cited by abbey Gregoire, p. 43-44.
The Swede abolitionist and explorer Carl Bernhard Wadström (Charles Berns Wadström) once described his travels in West Africa from October 1787-1788 with fellow Swede Anders Sparrman and Carl Axel Arrhenius. They were sent by King Gustav III of Sweden, with the official goal of making new discoveries in natural sciences, history, and of course the non-official goal to help with the king’s colonial ambitions. The scientific expedition was quickly aborted when they were in Senegal, where they then witnessed diverse aspects of the transatlantic slave trade. As we saw earlier, Wadström was later called in 1790, to testify in front of the British Government Select Committee; published in a report entitled “Minutes of the evidence taken before a Committee of the House of Commons, being a Select Committee, appointed to take the Examination of Witnesses respecting the African Slave Trade.” Wadström described the advanced industries found in that part of Africa, ranging from textile, indigo, soap, leather, and gold… he even noted that he had never seen such advanced work in Europe! Accompanied by his doctor friend Sparrman and chemist Arrhenius, they were dumbfounded to realize that Africans had a large materia medica which listed over 3000 plants.
View from Joal on the coast of Guinea, 14° and an idea of the kidnapping of slaves there
The Select Committee on the Slave Trade was keen to know about the quality of culture in that part of Africa. They asked Wadström: “Have they any manufactures amongst them?”
Mr Wadström’s reply was most edifying: “I have been surprised to see with what industrythey manufacturetheir cottons, their indigo, and other dying articles, as well as several sorts of manufacture in wood; they make soap; they tan leather, and work it exceedingly well, and even with good taste … they work bar iron … into several articles, as for instance,lances, instruments for tillage, poniards, &c.; they work in goldvery ingeniously, and so well, that I never have seen better made articles of that kind in Europe; a great number of articles for ornaments of gold, silver, brass, leather, &c.”
Wadström further stated that: “Their clothand their leatherthey manufacturewith uncommon neatness; and I have samples with me to shew [sic] in case it should be desired.”
As we saw earlier, the king who was called Dalmanny was a well educated man; he had held the position of Grand Marabout before becoming King. His subjects were very honest and hospitableand showed Wadström “all civility and kindness.” In addition, they had “an extraordinary genius for commerce.” Interestingly, they also had a “Materia Medica” of “about 2,000 or nearer 3,000” plants.
An African King who was called King of Almamany [Dalmanny] “had entirely prohibited the Slave trade throughout his whole Kingdom, so that they could no longer contact the French slave traders anchored in the mouth of the Senegal [river].” He also banned the sale of alcohol. However, the Senegal Company [Compagnie du Sénégal], a French company which administered the territories of Saint-Louis and Gorée island as part of French Senegal, initially attempted to bribe the King to change his policy on the trade in people, but he refused their presents. Consequently, the Senegal Company resorted to bribing the lighter-skinned Moors to attack and kidnap Dalmanny’s subjects. The Company supplied the Moors with the necessary arms, gunpowder and ammunition to carry out the raids [does it not remind of something today in West Africa with all these jihadists? History repeats itself]. Many of his subjects were made prisoners and taken into slavery. Wadstrom himself had seen a few in the enclosures. They were chained two by two by the ankles; wounded in combat, they did not receive any kind of care. There were also individual kidnappings. Wardstrom said that “Negroes never venture to go out into the fields unless very well armed.”
From Bwemba Bong, Quand l’Africain etait l’or noir de l’Europe. L’Afrique: actrice ou victime de la traite des noirs? MedouNeter (2022), p. 165; George Kay, La Traite des Noirs, Robert Laffont (1968) p.129
Mbanza Kongo, capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, in 1745
History repeats itself! It is extremely important to know our history. We have already shown that the narrative that states that African kings sold “their” own into slavery was very flawed and was made up to shift the blame of slavery from the European merchants and their powers (kings and queens, the Catholic church with the papal bull, and much more) to the Africans themselves (the victims). How many times in modern day have we seen how the blame is placed on the victim rather than the aggressor? As we read here another account of an African king who hated slavery, it is important to note the similitude with modern days: the king did not want slavery, therefore attempts were made on his life; does it not remind you of Patrice Lumumba, Sylvanus Olympio, Amilcar Cabral, Ruben Um Nyobé, and so many… when African leaders opposed the narrative being played, they were eliminated! And this behavior spans centuries! Below is the account of an attempt made on King Afonso I [King Nzinga Mbemba] on his life; this is the same Kongo king who wrote to the King of Portugal against Slavery.
“The hatred devoted by Affonso I [King Nzinga Mbemba] to the overseas slave trade and the vigilance he maintained so as not to see his authority erode earned him the animosity of some of the Portuguese merchants living in the capital. On Easter Sunday 1540, eight of them tried to make an attempt on his life while he was attending mass. He escaped, a bullet having simply passed through the fringe of his royal tunic, but one of the nobles of his court was killed and two others wounded.“
For the past few days, I have received several messages about Iwájú, the first pan-African series to premiere on Disney+. I congratulate the authors, and send them encouraging messages to keep up the great work.
Video on demand service Disney+ has collaborated with pan–African studio Kugali Media for a innovative animated series set in futuristic Lagos – Nigeria.
…
The series which is expected to premiere globally on February 28 explores themes of class and defiance. …
Iwájú’s casted Nigerian vocal talents Simisola Gbadamosi as Tola, a young girl from the wealthy island, and Siji Soetan as her best friend Kole, a self-taught tech expert.
The duo explore the dangerous tapestry of a neo-futuristic Lagos filled with greed and corruption alongside voice actors Femi Branch, Dayo Okeniyi, and Weruche Opia.
The soundtrack, out March 1st, will feature African-influenced music by renowned Nigerian composer Ré Olunuga. “I rarely bring my own emotions into writing a score. In this case, it couldn’t be avoided,” Olunuga said in a press release.
“In addition to Tola’s adventurous spirit, Kole’s ingenuity, and the many other fun and beautiful emotional threads explored in Iwájú – the score is steeped in my own very deep love for Lagos and its multiplicitous layers.”
Below is ‘Ma vie est une chanson‘ or ‘My Life is a Song‘, a love poem by Cameroonian author Francis Bebey, a poem celebrating his love for the African woman, in this case for his lover. As we remember that Francis Bebey was multi-talented as a journalist, writer, sculptor and musician, it is no surprise that the title of his poem is “My Life is a Song”. He even headed the UNESCO music department researching and documenting traditional African music. In the poem, he highlights that he was born from the love of the earth with the sun, thus a birth that was very celebrated and a life full of love. As we read the poem, Bebey’s love for his country is abundantly clear as he dreams of taking his lover there, and not only that, but lets her know that his country is where to find the love between the earth and the sun; it is almost as if he was telling all that he was born on the equator. Moreover, let’s face it, the link between the earth and the sun is undeniable, unbreakable, unavoidable, constant, and forever omnipresent. He is so taken by the love so much so that his life is a song that he will sing everyday to his precious one. Wouldn’t you all like to be loved like that? Enjoy!
The poem ‘Ma vie est une chanson‘ by Francis Bebey, was published in Anthologie africaine: poésie, Jacques Chevrier, Collection Monde Noir Poche, Hatier 1988. Translated to English by Dr. Y. Afrolegends.com.
Ma vie est une chansonOn me demande parfois d’où je viens
Et je reponds “je n’en sais rien
Depuis longtemps je suis sur le chemin
Qui me conduit jusqu’ici
Mais je sais que je suis né de l’amour
De la terre avec le soleil”
Toute ma vie est une chanson
Que je chante pour dire combien je t’aime
Toute ma vie est une chanson
Que je fredonne auprès de toi
Ce soir il a plu, la route est mouillée
Mais je veux rester près de toi
Et t’emmener au pays d’où je viens
Ou j’ai caché mon secret
Et toi aussi tu naîtras de l’amour de la terre avec le soleil
Toute ma vie est une chanson
Que je chante pour dire combien je t’aime
Toute ma vie est une chanson
Que je fredonne auprès de toi.
My Life is a SongI am sometimes asked where I come from
And I answer “I don’t know
For a long time I have been on the way
That leads me here
But I know that I was born from the love
between the land and the sun”
My whole life is a song
That I sing to tell you how much I love you
My whole life is a song
That I hum next to you
Tonight it has rained, the road is wet
But I want to stay close to you
And take you to the land where I come from
Where I hid my secret
And you too will be born from the love of the earth with the sun
The Elephants are winners of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 (Source: CAFonline.com)
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations or Coupe d’Afrique des Nations CAN2023 has ended with a new champion: the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, the host country, which took home the trophy for the third time in its history, defeating the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-1. The Elephants have really given us a thrill from being redeemed in the knockout stage with 2 defeats (among which a 4-0 loss against Equatorial Guinea) that left them open to elimination, and a redemption that came from being one of the four best 3rd-placed team, a coach sacking, and a coach change. The change in coach, and the redemption really made the Elephants more serious. The Ivorians add to their previous Nations Cup wins in 1992 and 2015 (Côte d’Ivoire wins the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations) and become the first tournament hosts to triumph since Egypt lifted the trophy in 2006. The Elephants pick up $7m (£5.54m) in prize money, while the Super Eagles get $4m by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The Bafana Bafana of South Africa took home the third place after defeating the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Akwaba, the elephant welcomes you to Cote d’Ivoire (Source: COCAN2023.ci)
This year’s mascot, the elephant, named “Akwaba“, which means “Welcome” in Baoulé language, has been a testimony to the welcome and legendary Ivorian hospitality felt by teams and visitors throughout the tournament. There were quite a few upsets in the competition’s group stage, Algeria, Tunisia, and Ghana were the big ones, getting knocked out in the first round. The cup also allowed us to see or reveal some strong teams like Cape Verde, Mali, Angola, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, and Democratic Republic of Congo. It was a tournament that uncovered some great teams and plays.
Elephants celebrating their win (Source: Eurosport.com)
Ivory Coast’s unlikely progression through the knockout stage as it overcame setback after setback convinced many devout Ivorians that God was on the team’s side. As the naming goes, the team inherited the nickname “Zombies” as they really came from behind to win, never giving up, to triumph as the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. Interim coach Emerse Faé, who took the head of the team after the French coach was sacked due to the very poor results in the group stage knockout, rightfully said, “It was an extraordinary tournament.” Indeed, it was an extraordinary tournament, and we salute all the teams that made us vibrate for the whole month, and ultimately congratulate the Elephants on their win.
A few weeks ago, the Namibian government then represented by President Hage Geingob issued one of the strongest expressions of solidarity to the Palestinians facing the blows of Israel’s ongoing destruction of Gaza on January 13, in support of South Africa’s case bringing the charge of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice. It issued the following statement in response to the German government’s decision to officially support Israel’s denial of these charges [Namibia criticizes Germany]:
Namibia rejects Germany’s support of the genocidal intent of the racist Israeli state against innocent civilians in Gaza. Germany committed the first genocide of the twentieth century in 1904–1908, in which tens of thousands of innocent Namibians died in the most inhumane and brutal conditions . . . President [Hage] Geingob appeals to the German Government to reconsider its untimely decision to intervene as a third-party in defense and support of the genocidal acts of Israel before the International Court of Justice.
The German Government is yet to fully atone for the genocide it committed on Namibian soil…
Below is ‘
African Heritage 