Chutes de la Lobe (Cameroun) / Lobe Falls (Cameroon) – afrolegends.com
THERE was a frightful drought. The rivers after a while dried tip and even the springs gave no water. The animals wandered around seeking drink, but to no avail. Nowhere was water to be found. A great gathering of animals was held: Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Jackal, Elephant, all of them came together. What was to be done? That was the question. One had this plan, and another had that; but no plan seemed of value.
Finally one of them suggested: “Come, let all of us go to the dry river bed and dance; in that way we can tread out the water.”
Good! Everyone was satisfied and ready to begin instantly, excepting Rabbit, who said, “I will not go and dance. All of you are mad to attempt to get water from the ground by dancing.”
Rabbit
The other animals danced and danced, and ultimately danced the water to the surface. How glad they were. Everyone drank as much as he could, but Rabbit did not dance with them. So it was decided that Rabbit should have no water.
He laughed at them: “I will nevertheless drink some of your water.”
That evening he proceeded leisurely to the river bed where the dance had been, and drank as much as he wanted. The following morning the animals saw the footprints of Rabbit in the ground, and Rabbit shouted to them: “Aha! I did have some of the water, and it was most refreshing and tasted fine.” Continue reading “The Dance for Water or Rabbit’s Triumph”→
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I would like to talk about one of Africa’s great love songs, ‘AMI O‘. Many songs have made the entire continent shake, but few have had the dimensions of ‘AMI O‘ of Ebanda Manfred. ‘AMI O‘ is to Cameroonian and African music what ‘Guantanamera‘ is to Cuban and Latin music: a world classic. But ‘AMI O‘, ‘AMIO‘, ‘AMIE OH’, or ‘AMI OH’, or ‘AMIYO‘ is first and foremost a love song. It is a declaration of love, a love anthem. It has been reprised by over 20 world class artists among which, Bébé Manga, Papa Wemba, Francis Bebey, Angelique Kidjo, Manu Dibango, Monique Séka, Bisso Na Bisso, Nayanka Bell, Jacky Biho, Naima, Henri Salvador, AndréAstasié, and so many more.
Ebanda Manfred
Where did it all start? In 1960, 24-years old Ebanda Manfred fell head over heels in love with a teenage single mother from Yaoundé, Cameroon. The girl, Amié Essomba Brigitte, had to quit school to take care of her child. Madly in love, Ebanda Manfred told her of his feelings, but she told him that she could not start a love relationship until her child was weaned. Finding the wait too long, especially since he had to return to Douala the following year, Ebanda Manfred sang his despair and asked: “Amié, njika bunya so mo, oa mo o ma dubè no, na mba na tondi oa?”. Translation: “Amié, when will you finally believe in my love?” Thus the song “Amié ” was born. It became an instant hit when it came out in 1962. A year later, it was reprised by Francis Bebey. In 1980, the great Bébé Manga made an adaptation which brought her to the international stage, as she won the “Golden Maracas.” The song will be reprised by artists around the world, from the Carribbean to Latin America, and Europe.
Bebe Manga
In celebration of Valentine’s day, I live you with this great African love song. In Bébé Manga’s English version, the song clearly states “Amie (friend) oh, you are all I ever hoped for, everything I ever dreamt of,…” So tomorrow, don’t forget to sing AMI O to that special one, that one you longed for, and dreamt of, that special one in your life.
What comes to mind when I say Casablanca? If your thoughts went to the 1942 Hollywood romantic movie ‘Casablanca‘ which starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, you are not the only one; even Google makes the same mistake. However, I will be talking about the city that inspired the movie, the Moroccan city of Casablanca.
Casablanca in 1572, still called Anfa on this painting
Have you ever wondered where the name Casablanca came from? Why would a Moroccan city not have an Arabic name, but a Spanish name? Why is there the color white in its name? Were all the houses painted in white when its name was chosen? After all, a literal translation of Casablanca is ‘Casa‘ and ‘Blanca‘ or ‘white house’ in Spanish. Was Casablanca a Spanish conquest? In reality, the modern name of the city comes from the Portuguese ‘Casabranca‘ or ‘white house’ which turned into Casablanca when the Portuguese kingdom was integrated into the Spanish kingdom.
Streets of Casablanca in 1930
The real name of the city was Anfa, founded as part of the Berber Kingdom of Barghawata in 744 AD. It is believed to have been one of the most prosperous cities on the Atlantic coast because of its fertile land. After the Portuguese wiped out the entire city in 1468, they used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515, and later renamed the city Casabranca. I wonder how many African cities were wiped out that way by Europeans; this is so reminiscent of the majestic Benin City which was burnt to the grounds by British soldiers in 1897.
The port of Casablanca in 1915
Between 1580 and 1640, the Crown of Portugal was integrated into the Crown of Spain, and the area was renamed Casablanca, even though it was still under an autonomous Portuguese administration. As Portugal broke ties with Spain in 1640, Casablanca came under full Portuguese control again. The Europeans abandoned the area completely in 1755 following an earthquake which destroyed most of the town, probably leaving the locals to fend for themselves.
Casablanca in 2012
The town was finally reconstructed by SultanMohammed ben Abdallah (1756–1790), the grandson of Moulay Ismail, with the help of Spaniards from the nearby emporium. The town was called الدار البيضاءad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ, the Arabic translation of the Spanish Casa Blanca, meaning “white house”. The city came under French occupation at the beginning of the 20th century, as Morocco became a French protectorate.
Since Morocco gained independence from France in 1956, the city has become the economic and business center of the country. Located in the Chawiya plain, its very fertile lands have made it the breadbasket of Morocco. One of its most important exports is phosphate. Among other industries, there is also a big fishing and fish canning industry: who has not heard of the delicious Moroccan Sardines?
Hassan II Mosque with its world tallest Minaret
Apart from being the biggest city in the Maghreb, and being so modern with a twist of Hispano-Mauresque, and French architectures, Casablanca is also home to the Hassan II Mosque, with the world’s tallest Minaret. Locals affectionately call it ‘Casa‘, and it is a beautiful city to visit, with a very modern architecture. Enjoy the video below.
Cote d’Ivoire wins the African Cup of Nations 2015 (Source: BBC)
Yesterday’s final was the culmination of years of hard work for the so-called golden generation of Ivorian footballers. Yes, yesterday, Cote d’Ivoire defeated Ghana in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in penalty kicks. The Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire had been a strong team on the African continent for many years, and this generation was meant to win at some point. This was the last chance for many members of the Elephants team. So sad that Didier Drogba, one of its key players for so many years, could not be amongst his teammates to raise that trophy as well, for he made us proud for so long. My hat goes out to Yaya Touré, Kolo Touré, Gervinho, Boubacar Barry, Wilfried Bony, and all the other team players. The hero of the game for Côte d’Ivoire, was their goalkeeper Boubacar Barry who had replaced the regular keeper, was in pain throughout, but scored the winning penalty after making a crucial save from the Ghanaian keeper.
African Cup of Nations’ Trophy
Truly, Ghana was the better of both teams for the first 120 minutes with more chances of scoring, but penalty kicks decided otherwise. It was actually quite a disappointing final to watch: no real outstanding moments from both sides. However, we raise our hats to all members of the Ghanaian squad, and hope to see them again at the next CAN, and in the finals. Thanks for a good cup.
If Ghana wins, this will be their fifth trophy, and they will be the second most titled winner of the CAN, after Egypt; right now, they are tied with Cameroon having won the trophy 4 times since its creation. If Côte d’Ivoire wins, this will be their second win in the history of the cup. Will Sunday’s final be a remake of 1992? Or will the Black Stars of Asamoah Gyan and the two Ayew brothers claim victory over the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire?
There will be some Brazzaville–Kinshasa rivalry as the two Congos are set to face each other in the first quarter final on Saturday, while the host Equatorial Guinea will take on Tunisia. Ghana and Guinea will face each other in the third quarter final, while Côte d’Ivoire will meet Algeria in the last one.
African Cup of Nations’ Trophy
In soccer, all teams have the same chances, but very often, experience and/or good discipline/organization always pays. Algeria, as Africa’s top team in the FIFA world ranking, is a big name this year; even though they did not perform so well in the first round, they are expected to do better. However the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire have the most experience at this stage of the competition. That will be a good game to watch. The same story applies between Ghana and Guinea: Ghana has been the better of the two teams and also has a more experienced squad with Asamoah Gyan at their helm. Between the two Congos, a slight edge is given to DRC with their secret weapon in the person of Yannick Bolasie. Between Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia, any guess is a good one, even though having the host nation advance further in a competition is always a good thing. With this said, which team do you think will advance to the semi-finals, and which team will lift this year’s African Cup of Nations’ trophy?
ONCE there was a man who had an old dog, so old that the man desired to put him aside. The dog had served him very faithfully when he was still young, but ingratitude is the world’s reward, and the man now wanted to dispose of him. The old dumb creature, however, ferreted out the plan of his master, and so at once resolved to go away of his own accord. After he had walked quite a way he met an old bull in the veldt.
“Don’t you want to go with me?” asked the dog.
“Where?” was the reply.
“To the land of the aged,” said the dog, “where troubles don’t disturb you and thanklessness does not deface the deeds of man.”
Bull
“Good,” said the bull, “I am your companion.”
The two now walked on and found a ram. The dog laid the plan before him, and all moved off together, until they afterwards came successively upon a donkey, a cat, a cock, and a goose. These joined their company, and the seven set out on their journey.
Ram
Late one night they came to a house and through the open door they saw a table spread with all kinds of nice food, of which some robbers were having their fill. It would help nothing to ask for admittance, and seeing that they were hungry, they must think of something else. Therefore the donkey climbed up on the bull, the ram. On the donkey, the dog on the ram, the cat on the dog, the goose on the cat, and the cock on the goose, and with one accord they all let out terrible (threatening) noises (crying). Continue reading “The World’s Reward”→
Today, we will be talking about the Papyrus Ebers or Ebers Papyrus, which is among the oldest and mostimportantmedicalpapyri of Ancient Egypt and of the world. This papyrus is a medical papyrus of herbal knowledge, and dates back to c.1550 BC. It is believed to have been copied from earlier texts. It is 110-page scroll, and is about 20 m long. It is among the world’s oldest preserved medical documents.
From c. 33rd century BC until Persian invasion in 525 BC, Egyptian medicine remained one of the world’s most advanced, and was used in some non-invasive surgery, setting of bones, and an extensive set of pharmacopeia. Even Homer of the Odyssey recognized this when he said, “In Egypt, the men are more skilled in medicine than any of human kind” and “the Egyptians were skilled in medicine more than any other art“.
Georg Ebers
The Papyrus Ebers is one of the oldest medical papyri still well-preserved. It was given the name Ebers, after the man who purchased it in Luxor (Thebes) in the winter of 1873-74, Georg Ebers, a German Egyptologist and novelist. It is written in hieratic Egyptian writing and preserves the most voluminous record of ancient Egyptian medicine known. It contains about 700 magical formulas and remedies, for things such as asthma, evacuation of belly, bowels, birth control, guinea worms (this remedy is still the standard practice today, over 3500 years later), and even cancer. There is also a chapter titled Book of Hearts, which deals with mental disorders such as depression and dementia.
Ebers Papyrus – remedy for asthma
One of the most common remedies described in the papyrus is ochre, or medicinal clay, which was prescribed for intestinal and eye complaints. Yellow ochre was prescribed as a remedy for urological complaints.
The Papyrus Ebers is currently kept at the Leipzig University‘s library (Ebers was chair of the Egyptology department there) in Germany. If you are in Leipzig, go visit. Please check out the Ancient Egyptian Medicine website, which talks in details not only about the Ebers Papyrus, but also about other famous Papyri such as the Edwin Smith Papyrus (c. 1600 BC), the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus (c. 1800 BC), and herbal remedies, and nutrition of Ancient Egypt.
African Heritage 