Lion and Baboon

On August 18, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Legends & TalesLeave a comment

BABOON, it is said, once worked bamboos, sitting on the edge of a precipice, and Lion stole upon him. Baboon, however, had fixed some round, glistening, eyelike plates on the back of his head. When, therefore, Lion crept upon him, he thought, when Baboon was looking at him, that he sat with his back towards him, and crept with all his might upon him. When, however, Baboon turned his back towards him, Lion thought that he was seen, and bid himself. Thus, when Baboon looked at him, he crept upon him.* When he was near him Baboon looked up, and Lion continued to creep upon him. Baboon said (aside), “Whilst I am looking at him he steals upon me, whilst my hollow eyes are on him.”
When at last Lion sprung at him, he lay (quickly) down upon his face, and Lion jumped over him, falling down the precipice, and was dashed to pieces.

*Whilst Baboon did this, Lion came close upon him.

South African Folk Tales, by James A. Honey, 1910, Baker & Taylor Company.

Proverbe Wolof sur le Travail / Wolof Proverb on Work

On August 17, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great WisdomLeave a comment

Celui qui veut le miel, doit avoir le courage d’affronter les abeilles (Proverbe Wolof – Sénégal).

Whoever wants honey, should have to courage to face the bees (Wolof Proverb – Senegal)

Fasilides Castle: a Pure Gem of Ethiopia’s Rich History

On August 12, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Civilizations, Great People4 Comments

Throughout human history, every great empire has had great builders and phenomenal architectural fits: The Romans with Emperor Titus who built the Colosseum, the Inca builders of Machu Picchu, the Egyptian pharaohs with the great sphinx of Giza and the great pyramids, the first emperor of China and the Ming dynasty with the Great Wall of China. However, few today know of the Abyssinian builder Fasilides and his work.

Ethiopian Emperor Fasilides is one of most remarkable rulers of Abyssinia, the ancient name of Ethiopia. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, emperor Fasilides ruled over Abyssinia from 1632 to 1667. He founded the city of Gondar in 1636 which became the capital of Abyssinia, in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. He was known as Alam Sagad or ‘To whom the world bows.’ Today, thousands bow to his work, and his footprints have marked the history of Ethiopia forever.

Among the buildings he constructed there are the beginnings of the complex later known as Fasil Ghebbi, as well as some of the earliest of Gondar’s famous 44 churches: Adababay Iyasus, Adababay Tekle Haymanot, Atatami Mikael, Gimjabet Maryam, Fit Mikael, and Fit Abbo. Fasilides is also credited with building seven stone bridges in Ethiopia. Sebara Dildiy (broken bridge in Amharic) was one of two stone bridges built over the Blue Nile River during Fasilides reign. Sebara Dildiy was later repaired during Emperor Menelik II‘s reign in 1901. Emperor Fasilides also built the Cathedral Church of St Mary of Zion at Axum. Fasilides’ church is known today as the “Old Cathedral” and stands next to a newer cathedral built by Emperor Haile Selassie.

When King Fasilides made Gondar the seat of his empire in 1636, he constructed a palace that would eventually sprawl into a large complex, as succeessors added their own buildings to the compound. Set in the heart of what is now one of Ethiopia’s largest cities, the palace complex is a mixture of beautifully-preserved period architecture with European and Moorish influences, and rambling ruins. Interestingly, Fasilides’ Castle itself is the best-preserved, with its lower halls, reservoirs and steam-baths, remains of kitchens and stables, and even enclosures for leopards and lions that used to grace the grounds. The castle is located near the city center. Its structure is purely made of stone. Today, Fasilides baths are used for baptism during the Timkat festival, the epiphany, in late January; they are only filled with water for the festival. The castle can be found in Gondar, Amhara region. Fasilides’ Castle is definitely a representation of Ethiopia’s great and rich history.

Proverbe Congolais sur l’Ingratitude / Congolese Proverbe on Ingratitude

On August 8, 2014August 8, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Wisdom3 Comments

On ne lave pas la figure du singe, c’est dangereux (Proverbe Mongo/Bangala – Republique Democratique du Congo (RDC)). – N’aidez pas les ingrats.

Do not wash the monkey’s face, it is dangerous (Mongo/Bangala proverb – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)). – Do not help ingrates.

Rudyard Kipling ‘If’

On August 6, 2014August 6, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great LiteratureLeave a comment

I know Rudyard Kipling is not an African, but I always liked his poem ‘If‘. I first read it in secondary school, and to me it has always represented a way of living life without being too frazzled. This symbolizes a way of living, that we should all aspire to. Kipling apparently wrote it as advice to his son. There is so much stoicism in it. Enjoy!!

If—

By Rudyard Kipling

(‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies)

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Source: A Choice of Kipling’s Verse (1943)

Proverbe Libinza sur l’amitie / Libinza Proverb on Friendship

On August 1, 2014August 1, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Wisdom3 Comments

Beaucoup de chenilles, peu d’huile (Proverbe Libinza – République Démocratique du Congo (RDC)). – Trop d’amis, trop peu d’amitié.

Many caterpillars, little oil (Libinza Proverb – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)). – Too many friends, too little friendship.

Habib Benglia and French Theater

On July 29, 2014July 29, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Art, Great PeopleLeave a comment

Today, I would like to talk about Habib Benglia, one of the pioneers of Black theater and cinema in France.

Habib Benglia was an African artist born in Oran, Algeria, on 25 August 1895. He was originally from Mali, and lived in Timbuktu throughout his childhood. He then moved to France for studies. After high school, he wanted to become an agricultural engineer. However, one evening in 1913, at the Café Riche, while describing his love for theater and having fun with his friends reciting prose, he was noticed by Régine Flory who presented him to Cora Lapercie. That same year, she made him star at the Renaissance in Le Minaret of Jacques Richepin, then he went on to play in Aphrodite by Pierre Frondaie, and L’Homme riche of Jean-José Frappa and Dupuy-Mazuel.

Sculpture of Habib Benglia by E. Jonchere (Source: Les Amis du Musee des annees 30)

The first world war of 1914 started, and Benglia joined the French troops as many other skirmishers (tirailleurs). Demobilized just before the end of the war, he resumed theater with Firmin Gémier, in L’Oedipe Roi de Bouhélier. In 1923, he became the first black actor to star in the main role at the national French theater at the age of 27: it was in The Emperor Jones whom Gaston Baty put in scene at the Odéon. Benglia always dreamt of seeing Black theater unveiled in France, which would reveal evidence of an African/Black art. He also wrote a few plays: one of them, Un soir à Bamako (An evening in Bamako) was broadcasted in 1950. He passed away in 1960 after having starred in over hundreds of plays.

Benglia in "Dainah la Metisse" (source: www.filmweb.pl) — Poster of “Dainah la Metisse” (source: filmweb.pl)

Benglia was a versatile and prolific actor, who was confined to secondary and codified roles in colonial cinema, and as a result was largely ignored by critics. This was both the fate of many actors (particularly Black actors in his time), overshadowed by stars, and the result of prejudice and racism. Benglia’s roles were always very traditional. Colonial cinema, both as propaganda or exotic entertainment, made proficient use of his abilities. Originally a conveyor of stereotypes, this genre gradually evolved toward more truth and realism, but never gave Benglia the opportunity to rise to stardom. A few plays where Benglia held the main role was Dainah la Métisse, then Sola, and Les Mystères de Paris, as well as in les Enfants du Paradis.

Proverbe Toucouleur sur la Paresse / Toucouleur Proverb on Laziness

On July 25, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great WisdomLeave a comment

La pauvreté est la fille aînée de la paresse (Proverbe Toucouleur – Sénégal, Mauritanie, Mali).

Poverty is laziness’ first daughter (Toucouleur Proverb – Senegal, Mauritania, Mali).

Blague Algérienne: Gagner la Coupe du Monde / Algerian Joke on Winning the World Cup

On July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Laughter1 Comment

C’est un algérien qui se promène dans le désert et trouve une lampe. Il la frotte et un génie apparaît.

Le genie: Merci de m’avoir libérer. Pour te remercier, tu as le droit à un voeu.

L’algérien: Oh monsieur le génie! Réssussitez ma mère qui est morte l’année dernière! Elle me manque!

Le génie: Ah désolé. Je ne peux pas faire ça. Seul Dieu peut le faire. Demande moi autre chose!

L’algérien: Eh bien… Je voudrais que l’ Algérie gagne la coupe du monde de football!!!

Le génie: Bouge pas, je vais voir ce que je peux faire pour ta mère!

=======

Brazil 2014 World Cup — Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup

An Algerian is roaming through the desert and finds a lamp. He rubs it, and a genie appears.

The genie: Thanks for freeing me. To thank you, I will grant you one wish.

The Algerian: Oh mister genie! Resurrect my mother who died last year! I really miss her!

The genie: Ah, sorry. I cannot do that. Only God can do that. Ask me something else!

The Algerian: Well… I would like Algeria to win the World Cup of football!!!

The genie: Don’t move, I’ll see what I can do for your mother!

Proverbe Bayombe sur la Discrétion / Bayombe Proverb on Discretion

On July 19, 2014 By Dr. Y.In Great Wisdom3 Comments

On répare le trou d’un vêtement, mais pas le trou de la bouche (Proverbe Bayombe – République Démocratique du Congo (RDC)).- Quand on a trop parlé, c’est difficile de réparer.

One can repair the hole on a garment, but not the hole of the mouth (Bayombe Proverb – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)). – When you have talked too much, it is difficult to repair.

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