Ce n’est pas le jour du combat, qu’on aiguise sa lance (Proverbe Toma – Guinée Conakry).
It is not on the day of the battle, that one sharpens his spear (Toma Proverb – Guinea Conakry).
8 March celebrates the International Women’s Day. I thought of sharing with you, this poem by the great panafricanist Marcus Garvey published on February 28, 1927. To Garvey, the African Woman is the Mother of all Women, the Mother of Beauty, the Mother of Health, the Mother of Wisdom. All can refer to her as “Mother.” And she is the African Man’s Wife. Enjoy!!!
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The Black Woman
By Marcus Garvey
Black queen of beauty, thou hast given color to the world!
Among other women thou art royal and the fairest!
Like the brightest of jewels in the regal diadem,
Shin’st thou, Goddess of Africa, Nature’s purest emblem!
Black men worship at thy virginal shrine of truest love,
Because in thine eyes are virtue’s steady and holy mark,
As we see in no other, clothed in silk or fine linen,
From ancient Venus, the Goddess, to mythical Helen.
When Africa stood at the head of the elder nations,
The Gods used to travel from foreign lands to look at thee
On couch of costly Eastern materials, all perfumed,
Reclined thee, as in thy path flow’rs were strewn-sweetest that bloomed.
Thy transcendent marvelous beauty made the whole world mad,
Bringing Solomon to tears as he viewed thy comeliness;
Anthony and the elder Ceasars wept at thy royal feet,
Preferring death than to leave thy presence, their foes to meet.
You, in all ages, have attracted the adoring world,
And caused many a bloody banner to be unfurled
You have sat upon exalted and lofty eminence,
To see a world fight in your ancient African defense.
Today you have been dethroned, through the weakness of your men,
While, in frenzy, those who of yore craved your smiles and your hand-
Those who were all monsters and could not with love approach you-
Have insulted your pride and now attack your good virtue.
Because of disunion you became mother of the world,
Giving tinge of robust color to five continents,
Making a greater world of millions of colored races,
Whose claim to beauty is reflected through our black faces.
From the handsome Indian to European brunette,
There is a claim for that credit of their sunny beauty
That no one can e’er to take from thee, 0 Queen of all women
Who have borne trials and troubles and racial burden.
Once more we shall, in Africa, fight and conquer for you,
Restoring the pearly crown that proud Queen Sheba did wear
Yea, it may mean blood, it may mean death; but still we shall fight,
Bearing our banners to Vict’ry, men of Africa’s might.
Superior Angels look like you in Heaven above,
For thou art fairest, queen of the seasons, queen of our love
No condition shall make us ever in life desert thee,
Sweet Goddess of the ever green land and placid blue sea.
I couldn’t help but notice the number of Africans or actors of African origin represented at this year’s Academy Awards. So I decided to give you an overview, before Sunday March 2nd. I think this is the most we have ever had Africans nominated in such key roles, and who could possibly win key awards.
For starters, in the ‘Best actor’ category, our Nigerian-British brother Chiwetel Ejiofor has been nominated for his outstanding performance as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave, for which he won a Golden Globe nomination, and a BAFTA award for best actor. Ejiofor faces fierce competition against Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Christian Bale (American Hustle), and Bruce Dern (Nebraska) in the Best Actor category. Whatever the outcome, I am extremely proud for this actor I have seen growing on screen since his first big appearance in the Steven Spielberg movie Amistad, to his great performance in Spike Lee‘s Inside Man playing alongside Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster.
In the ‘Best actor in a supporting role’ category, Somali-American actor Barkhad Abdi has been nominated for his performance in Captain Phillips, which is his first cinematic work. His performance as a ship hijacker and pirate leader won him several nominations from the Screen Guild, and Golden Globe awards; he has also won a BAFTA award for best supporting actor for this performance. We wish him the very best against Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street), and Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club).
In the ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’ category comes the stunning Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o nominated for her portrayal of Patsey in 12 Years a Slave. A Yale graduate, and a Kenyan actress (in the Kenyan series Shuga) and producer (of a documentary on the albino population in Kenya), 12 Years a Slave is Lupita’s first American film debut, and has already garnered her a Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Lupita won the Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for this performance. Imagine my joy when I will see a pure African beauty walk the red carpet on Sunday! No matter the outcome, I am just so proud of this gorgeous sister who will face fierce competition from Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Julia Roberts (August: Osage County), and June Squibb (Nebraska) on Sunday. I must admit that she just reminds of a pure Luo (or Massai) beauty when she wears her hair really short!
Other Africans represented are Egyptians director Jehane Noujaim and producer Karim Amer for the documentary The Square on the manifestations at Tahrir Square. This film was released on Netflix, thereby giving Netflix its first Oscar nomination.
I am just extremely proud of our brothers and sisters who are raising the African flag high at this year’s academy awards. Our prayers go with them, and we wish them the very best. We, Africans, have actors and actresses worthy of the greatest cinematographic accolade in the world!!!
L’eau d’en aval ne retourne pas en amont (Proverbe Mongo – République Démocratique du Congo). – Ce qui est fait reste fait.
Downstream water will never go back upstream (Mongo Proverb – Democratic Republic of Congo). – What is done stays done.
LION and Jackal, it is said, were one day lying in wait for Eland. Lion shot (with a bow) and missed, but Jackal hit and sang out, “Hah! hah!”
Lion said, “No, you did not shoot anything. It was I who hit.”
Jackal answered, “Yea, my father, thou hast hit.”
Then they went home in order to return when the eland was dead, and cut it up. Jackal, however, turned back, unknown to Lion, hit his nose so that the blood ran on the spoor of the eland, and followed their track thus, in order to cheat Lion. When he had gone some distance, he returned by another way to the dead eland, and creeping into its carcass, cut out all the fat. Meanwhile Lion followed the blood-stained spoor of Jackal, thinking that it was eland blood, and only when he had gone some distance did he find out that he had been deceived. He then returned on Jackal’s spoor, and reached the dead eland, where, finding Jackal in its carcass, he seized him by his tail and drew him out with a swing.
Lion upbraided Jackal with these words: “Why do you cheat me?”
Jackal answered: “No, my father, I do not cheat you; you may know it, I think. I prepared this fat for you, father.”
Lion said: “Then take the fat and carry it to your mother ” (the Lioness) ; and he gave him the lungs to take to his own wife and children.
When Jackal arrived, he did not give the fat to Lion’s wife, but to his own wife and children; he gave, however, the lungs to Lion’s wife, and he pelted Lion’s little children with the lungs, saying: “You children of the big-pawed one! You big-pawed ones!”
He said to Lioness, “I go to help my father (the Lion);” but he went far away with his wife and children.
South African Folktales, J.A. Honey, 1910, Baker and Taylor Company.
Même si l’éléphant est maigre, il reste le roi de la forêt (Proverbe Douala – Cameroun). Il faut respecter les chefs malgré tout.
Even if an elephant is thin, he still remains the king of the jungle (Duala Proverb – Cameroon). Kings should be respected despite all.
What comes to mind when you hear the name of the country Liberia? … Liberty, freedom?
Exactly, the colony of Liberia was started by the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1820 which repatriated free slaves from the United States to Liberia. Why exactly was that territory chosen versus any other is a mystery. I suspect that it was just a replica of what the British were doing, as they had started repatriating free slaves from Nova Scotia (Canada) to Sierra Leone as early as 1792. It is therefore no surprise that Liberia is a neighboring country to Sierra Leone. On July 26, 1847, the free slave settlers issued a Declaration of independence (modeled after that of the US), and created the Republic of Liberia, with its capital Monrovia named after the American president James Monroe, one of the supporters of the ACS.
However, before the arrival of the 500+ free slaves from America, modern-day Liberia was located in an area known as the Pepper Coast or Grain Coast (La côte des graines) or Melegueta Coast in honor of the grains of paradise or melegueta pepper, a very common in West African cuisines. The Portuguese actually named it Costa da Pimenta, meaning Pepper Coast, in the 1500s. The area was inhabited by Mende people, Dei, Bassa (not to be confused with the Bassa people of Cameroon), Kru, Gola, and Kissi people. The Pepper Coast has been inhabited at least as far back as the 12th century and perhaps earlier.
There was actually a clash between the free African Americans who came to identify themselves as Americo-Liberian, and the local indigenous people. The Americo-Liberians developed a culture based around American notions of superiority and racial supremacy: they felt superior to the indigenous people. This was probably at the root of the Liberian civil wars which lasted several years. As Liberia struggles to heal the wounds of war, it is making big steps toward democracy, peace, and freedom. It was also the first country in Africa to elect a woman president: Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Today, as you enjoy the video below on Liberia, I would like to ask a question: with all the wars and political instabilities seen in Liberia, has the country’s name affected its history or destiny? Has its name been a curse or a blessing?
Michael Jackson once asked in his great song “Will You Be There?” Well, Ghanaian author Michael Dei Anang replied by his poem: ” I’ll be with thee.” The poem is truly about deep and everlasting love, the one that will always be there shine or freeze, no matter what happens in life. So, whether you are in a relationship or not, whether you are thinking about love the Valentine’s way, or just looking for a friendship, think of this poem as what you should aspire to be for that other person: always there! Enjoy! Since I could not find the original English version, I translated it to English to share with all (French version from Anthologie Négro-Africaine by L. Kesteloot, P. 264, Edicef 1987; English translation by Dr. Y. Afrolegends.com).
| Je serai avec toi
Quand les étoiles scintillent dans le ciel, Et que la lune baigne la Mer Du flux d’argent de sa lumière Je serai avec toi Je serai avec toi Qu’il fasse jour ou nuit; Que les cieux Soient déchirés en deux Et que les larmes embrument nos yeux Je serai avec toi Quand les orages soulèvent les vagues Et ploient le seuil jusqu’au sol Je serai avec toi Dans la fournaise ou dans la tornade Je serai avec toi Qu’il fasse clair ou sombre, Le jour ou la nuit, Quand s’appesantit l’angoisse Que tu sois loin, Ou que tu sois près , je serai avec toi. Quoique nous soyons séparés Pour des jours, Ou que nous allions Ne laisses pas les peines de la vie Mordre ton cœur. Je serai avec toi. A travers la gloire ou la calomnie Je serai avec toi Lorsque le dernier souffle de vie S’échappera de mon corps, vieille carcasse Condamnée à pourrir après un mortel combat; Quand nous aurons fini notre temps Et traversé la rivière de la vie Laissant derrière nous notre or et notre argent Parents, amis et regrets, Pour rejoindre le souterrain bercail Je t’attendrai encore Je serai avec toi. |
I’ll Be With Thee
When the stars twinkle in the sky, And the moon bathes the Sea The flow of money from its light I’ll be with thee I’ll be with thee Day or night; Whether the skies are torn in two And tears fog our eyes I’ll be with thee When storms Raise waves And bend and break up the soil I’ll be with thee In the furnace or in the tornado I’ll be with thee Whether light or dark Day or night When dwells anxiety Whether you are far, Or whether you are near, I’ll be with thee. Though we are apart For days, Wherever we go Do not let life’s troubles Bite your heart. I’ll be with thee. Through glory or slander I’ll be with thee When the last breath of life Will escape my body, old carcass Condemned to rot after a deadly combat; When we will have ended our times And crossed the river of life Leaving behind us our gold and our silver Parents, friends, and regrets, To join the underground fold I’ll wait again for you I’ll be with thee. |
Il ne fait jamais nuit là où on s’aime (Proverbe du Burundi).
It never gets dark where there is love (Burundi Proverb).
Today happens to be the Cameroonian National Youth Day. I have been thinking about the true meaning of a youth day. For as long as I can remember, it has always been a speech from the President, and marches/parades from children across the nation. But is that really what the National Youth Day is all about? Well, for starters, I must admit that growing up, I was always really proud of marching on that day. It was as if somehow, I suddenly mattered to the country… as if, from my child’s world, I could somehow influence changes in my country: bring clean water, stop the electricity cuts, build bridges, make better roads, build airports, etc. It was as if, by marching, I had a say in the direction of my country, I was important; I mattered! 11 February was not just a day off to watch the parade on TV, it was a special day, a day dedicated to me, to my needs as a youth, to my well-being, to my inner desires, and to my potentials.
As a teenager, the thought started to thaw a little bit, was 11 February only about the President’s speech? was it just a time to cajole me as a youngster into thinking that I was important? that there was light at the end of the tunnel? that I was the future of the country, when around me, adults were feeling like the future had been beaten out of them? How was I supposed to make changes, when looking at big brothers ahead, I could only see unemployment looming in the horizon? How was I supposed to concentrate into doing well in school or achieving all these great things I was asked to, when the future looked so grim? What was the future going to look like with me in the picture?
Today, I see that it was actually necessary to acquire all this education, to read, and to focus, because in reality, even if the president’s speeches were empty words… I have the obligation, no the duty, to think of my elders: Ruben Um Nyobe, Felix Moumié, Abel Kingué, Osendé Afana (who was Cameroon’s first PhD in economics), Ernest Ouandié, and countless others who sacrificed themselves so that I could be better. Yes… it sounds so easy, but to think about it should bring fire, no, rage into our hearts. Just thinking about all the great minds we have, all this great potentials, talented musicians who influence the world (like Ekambi Brillant who produced Angélique Kidjo who is now a world star), footballers, writers (Mongo Beti), comedians, doctors, scientists, journalists (Pius Njawe), who live and die like paupers, should give extra, ten times, 100 times more fire into our hearts, and really make us realize that we are the indeed the future of our country, and nobody else will build it for us, not even 80 years-old ministers. I live you here with K’naan hymn to the youth which was sung during the 2010 FIFA World Cup: “Out of the darkness, I came the farthest, … Learn from these streets, it can be bleak. Accept no defeat, surrender, retreat. So we struggling, fighting to eat, And we wondering when we’ll be free ... we patiently wait for that fateful day… it is not far away… when I get older, I will be stronger, they’ll call me freedom just like a waving flag“.
African Heritage 