The Kanvô, the Cloth of the Dahomey Kings

On By Dr. Y.In Great ArtLeave a comment
King Behanzin wearing Kanvo, in 1895

Today, we will talk about another African textile, the Kanvô of Benin. The Kanvô, which means “woven cloth” in the Fon language of modern-day Benin, is a prestigious cloth once worn only by kings from the Dahomey Kingdom, including the great King Behanzin. It is said to have been introduced to Benin by King Agonglo, one of the kings of the Dahomey who reigned at the end of the 18th century. Legend has it that, during one of his conquests in Yoruba lands in modern-day Nigeria, King Agonglo came across a young weaver whose work impressed him; he was so astounded that he asked the young man to follow him to his kingdom to become his personal tailor, and thus was born the Kanvô. Later, King Ghezo popularized it by giving rise to large families of weavers throughout the kingdom. The Kanvô used to be worn by kings on great occasions, and is woven from threads of cotton, linen, or hemp fabric. The origin story of the Kanvo is also different whether you are in the south or the north of the country; as we saw in the south, the cloth was introduced by King Agonglo, while in the north, legend has it that the Gurma people of Burkina Faso brought it into the country, that is why there is some resemblance to the Faso Dan Fani of Burkina Faso.

Kanvô (Source: Universcultureletartistique.wordpress.com)

In its original form, the Kanvô is very heavy and not so easy to work with as a tailor. Thus, today, a new generation of tailors has worked to make the woven cloth more malleable and lighter for general consumption, mixing it with other fabrics such as silk, cotton, etc to appeal to the modern palate.

Check out UniversCulturelEtArtistique who wrote a really good article on the Kanvô, or RFI which interviewed some young generations of Beninese fashion designers who are modernizing the Kanvô.

Africans at the Paris Paralympics 2024

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Paris Paralympics 2024 (Source: Paralympic.org/paris-2024)

This is the first year that I have watched the Paralympics long enough. I was particularly moved by the Brazilian Gabriel Araujo who won 3 gold medals in swimming; Araujo was born with short legs and no arms, yet he made swimming backstroke seem like a second nature. Watching the Paralympics was a real exercise of humility.  Why humility? We are sometimes so busy with our lives, our problems, and our problems seem so insurmountable that we crumble under their weight. Watching the Paralympics and the joy on the faces of these athletes who for some don’t even have hands or legs, make one realize that, 1) there is no mountain so high that we cannot climb it; 2) appreciate every little thing; 3) life might be hard, but make the best of it; 4) we might be going through a storm now, but like palm trees during a storm, we should choose to bend and not fall; 5) there are always worse problems out there, just make the best of today. I love this quote by Nigeria’s para-powerlifting silver medalist Esther Nworgu who issued a rallying cry for people with disabilities, which applies to all of us, “Sports will build you mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, … Sports is like an X-ray. It brings you out and shows you what you are inside. Where there is disability, there is ability. I see it as strength.”

Africa shone at the Paralympics, winning 64 medals, with Morocco getting the most medals with 15 medals, but Algeria topped the continent’s medal table thanks to its 6 gold medals vs. 3 gold for Morocco. Most medals were won in para-athletics and para-powerlifting disciplines.

Below are some highlights:

Raoua Tlili (Source: Outlook India)

Raoua Tlili of Tunisia cemented her place as a legend in the F41 discus throw and shot put, winning 2 gold medals this year. With 8 gold medals under her belt, she holds the national records for the most Paralympic gold and total medals at the games. She started at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics where she won gold in Discus Throw F40. Since then, she has been ever-present at the Paralympics, winning gold in London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now Paris 2024. At these games, she opened the winning streak by offering the very first African medal of the games. She is a true legend!

Yovanni Philippe gave Mauritius its first medal ever by securing a bronze medal in the men’s T20 400m.

Mariam Eniola Bolaji (Source: APR News)

Nigeria’s Mariam Eniola Bolaji became the first African to win an Olympic or Paralympic medal in Badminton with her golden victory in the women’s SL3 singles category.

Annaba native of Algeria, Brahim Guendouz won gold in para-canoeing’s KL3 class over 200m, giving Algeria its first ever medal in a discipline outside of para-athletics, para-judo, and para-powerlifting.

Algerian runner Skander Djamil Athmani also won 2 gold medals in the T13 class over 100m and 400m.

Below is the list of the medals per country at the Paralympics 2024

Flag of Morocco

Algeria : 6 Gold and 5 Bronze

Tunisia: 5 Gold and 3 silver, and 3 Bronze

Morocco: 3 Gold, 6 silver, 6 bronze

Nigeria: 2 Gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze

Egypt: 2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze

Ethiopia: 2 gold, 1 silver

South Africa: 2 Gold, 4 bronze

Namibia: 1 gold, 1 silver

Kenya: 1 silver

Mauritius: 1 bronze

The motto is simple, let Africans and Africa prepare to shine at the next Paralympics in LA, by investing now building on today’s victories, to make tomorrow even sweeter. 

Kaylia Nemour : At Ease on Uneven Bars and giving Algeria/Africa its First Olympic Gold in Gymnastics

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great PeopleLeave a comment
Kaylia Nemour celebrates with the Algerian flag (Source: Reuters / Independent)

As the Paralympics 2024 are currently under way in Paris, and as paralympians show us that there is so much beauty in life, today, we will focus on yet another African athlete who gave her country the highest honors at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The athlete of our focus today is Algerian Kaylia Nemour, the gold medalist in gymnastics in Women’s uneven bars. Born in France of an Algerian father and a French mother, Nemour was representing France until last year when she switched her country to represent that of her father, Algeria. The switch came as a result of a rift between her and the French Gymnastics Federation which did not clear her to resume training after a knee surgery despite the fact that she had been cleared by her surgeon, and which also wanted Nemour to leave her club and train in Paris under their supervision instead, but she did not want to, and opted instead to switch to representing Algeria. She still lives and trains in France, at her club Avoine Beaumont Gymnastique whose director is her mother.

Kaylia Nemour in action during the uneven bars final (Source: EPA / Independent.co.uk)

Since Nemour opted to represent Algeria, she has been on fire. At last year’s world championships, she won a silver medal on uneven bars, the first World medal ever by a gymnast representing an African nation. She is also an African all-around champion and has an element named after her in the Code of Points (The Nemour). This year at the Paris 2024 Olympics, she handed Algeria and Africa as a whole, its very first gold medal in gymnastics. She also got the best score of her life in the event, with a score of 15.700. Her victory is reminiscent of the victory of the great Algerian Hassiba Boulmerka who won the gold medal at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics in the Women’s 1500m, thus handing her country its very first Olympic gold medal ever.

Flag of Algeria

We are proud of Kaylia’s choice to represent Algeria, it must not have been an easy choice, and we are also happy that the Algerian federation has been supportive of her. Her coach, Marc Tcherlinko, said, “It [representing Algeria] was not in the plan, but life serves you some curves, some rivers you must cross. For two years she stayed focused on her goal – the Olympics. What she’s achieved is amazing.” Nemour is considered by many as one of the best gymnasts of her generation on uneven bars. As a result of her Olympic victory, she has been decorated with the Ahid National Order of Merit of Algeria presented by the nation’s president. Just after her win, she said: “I am very, very, very happy with what I was able to do today. … It was my ultimate dream, years of work and hard work, details. … I am really honored to have been able to win this medal, first for me and for Algeria too.” I am sure Nemour has set an example for countless Algerian and African little girls. The future is bright for Nemour and promising for Algeria and the continent as a whole in gymnastics.

Letsile Tebogo : “Africans can be Sprinters, too!”

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Letsile Tebogo after winning gold in 200m (Source: Onuaonline)

Since Frankie Fredericks of Namibia, who used to always win silver at the Olympics in the 1990s, no African has gotten close to the gold medal in the 100-200 m distances until Letsile Tebogo of Botswana who won the first African gold in the Men’s 200 m discipline ever, at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He also helped Botswana and an African country land silver in 4 x 400 m Men’s relay. By winning the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Tebogo became the first Olympic gold medal winner from Botswana and the first runner from Africa to win the 200m final at the Olympic Games. He set a new African record by shaving off 0.04 seconds off his previous best to clock 19.46 s. “Africans can be sprinters, too,” he said in an interview to NBC Sports.

Letsile Tebogo (Source: SportNewsAfrica)

Tebogo started with a strong love for football (soccer). At the age of six, Tebogo was already a well-rounded footballer and sprinter. His teachers encouraged him to practice both sports, but injuries hampered his football career so he opted to focus solely on track. As he explained in an interview with Runblogrun.com., “I used to run past people and won medals. I also played football. Every time though I went to play football I was being benched.” “[This] made me frustrated…and prompted my decision to go back to athletics as I saw [that] I am able to put food on the table for my family from that,” added the runner whose single mother Seratiwa Tebogo struggled to raise him and his younger sibling. His mother, who was his pillar, passed away this past May and did not get to see her son achieve this great accomplishment, but there is no doubt that she would be very proud of her son. Tebogo dedicated his 200m gold medal win to her, and held up his shoe to the camera after the race, which featured his mother’s birthdate on it. He also painted her initials on his nails. … ” I’ve had such a huge blow that affected me deeply so I’m still trying to get the confidence back into the body. It’s not about injuries, it is all about my mum.” Reflecting on his Paris Olympic victory, Tebogo shared, “It was a truly memorable race. Heading into the final, my coach told me his job was done and the rest was up to me—to finish the race healthy, medal or not. I’m glad I could finish stronger than before, carrying the memory of my mother with every stride. She’s watching from above, and I know she’s proud. I chose not to mark the date of her death on my shoe because it’s too emotional.”

Flag of Botswana

He “didn’t take sprints seriously until 2019” when he raced his first major 100m in 10.68s and clocked 21.12s in the 200m. “For a while, I didn’t pay more attention to athletics until about 2018-2019 when I realized I could go professional with it,” Tebogo said. “The motivation to get into athletics was from watching the big guys like Isaac Makwala, Karabo Sibanda and Nijel Amos,” explained Tebogo. “However, I just really wanted some change in the country, so I had to do something different from the big guys, that’s why I opted to compete in the 100m and 200m.”

Like so many track and field athletes in the sprint distances, he looks up to Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world and 8-times Olympic champion, and dreams of running faster and faster. “It’s time for Africa to take charge over the sprints and every event,” he said in the interview with Runblogrun.com.

Since his Olympic triumphant victory in Paris, he has been taking charge by winning 2 other games so far. Keep an eye out for Tebogo tonight at the Diamond League event in Rome, Italy.

Patrice Lumumba, the Flag and the Symbol

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Patrice Lumumba

Thomas Kanza was a Congolese diplomat who served as Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC))’s first ambassador to the United Nations from 1960 to 1962. He also served as a minister of foreign affairs at some point. He wrote a memoir entitled, The Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba: Conflict in the Congo, which covered his own personal experiences as the Congo became independent, and his interactions with Patrice Emery Lumumba. He said, about Lumumba in an interview to Jeune Afrique:

“Patrice Lumumba represents for Congo what Fidel Castro represents for Cuba, Nasser for Egypt, N’krumah for Ghana, Mao Zedong for China, and Lenin for the Soviet Union.

Despite his short political life and his tragic end, perhaps because of them, Patrice-Emery Lumumba has entered history through the front door : that of heroism and martyrdom.

He is at once the flag and the symbol. He is all. He embodies everything : the struggle, the courage, even temerity, the suffering, the action and the perseverance. He lived as a free man, as an independent thinker : his writings, his words, his acts were those of the responsible man, conscious of his vocation as a liberator.”

(Lumumba et le lumumbisme, Jeune Afrique, nº 268, 13 Février 1966) Translated to English by Dr. Y., Afrolegends.com

Faith Kipyegon : Making History All the Way

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Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)

This week, we will talk about Faith Kipyegon, our Kenyan sister who made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics as the first African athlete to earn a gold medal in the same discipline three times in a row: Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now Paris 2024. This is a remarkable feat never achieved before by an African, and only a select few athletes in the world can claim such in any Olympic discipline. She said, “It’s a big, big achievement. I was really looking forward to defending my title. I had a dream, I completed it. … I managed to make history, to win the gold medal in the 1500. It was my key target. I’m so, so grateful.” And Faith went further by setting a new Olympic record in the event with a time of 3:51.29. She is considered one of the greatest 1,500m athletes the world has ever seen, and has dominated the field for the past 7 years. Moreover, she has a gracious presence which makes her endearing to her fellow competitors. She is nicknamed the “smiling destroyer.”

Faith Kipyegon winning historic 3rd gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics (source: Kelly Ayodi for Olympics Kenya – EastleighVoice.co.ke)

She posted on X,
“Track History Made in Kenya 
Three successive Olympic titles in women’s 1500m : Rio-2016, Tokyo-2020, Paris-2024

It has taken DISCIPLINE, HARD WORK, DEDICATION, CONSISTENCY and FAITH

Praise be to God Thanks for the love“

Flag of Kenya

Born in 1994 on a rural Kenyan farm in Nakuru County in the Rift Valley, Kipyegon, like so many Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners, walked and jogged many miles to and from school. She grew up exposed to a culture of running in her family (her elder sister Beatrice Mutai is a 10km and half marathon specialist, her dad Samuel Kipyegon Koech was a 400m and 800m runner, whole her mother was also in athletics) and community. Her talent was identified early on by her physical education (P.E.) teacher. By the time she was 16, she had already placed 4th in the World Cross Country championships. She trains in Kaptagat and shares the same coach, Patrick Sang, as another great Eliud Kipchoge. She is also a mother of a beautiful daughter, and on the year she came back from maternity in 2019, she won at the Diamond League in Oregon. She owes her success to, as she says, hard work, discipline, dedication, consistency and faith, but also to the great Kenya’s athletics training system which has given us phenomenal distance runners over the years.

Now onto further victories for Faith, for Kenya, and for Africa as whole. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are around the corner. Let’s keep working hard, consistently, in a discipline manner, and with faith.

Proverbe sur l’adaptation / Proverb on Adaptation

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Tam-tam

Si le rythme du tam-tam change, le pas de danse doit s’y adapter (Proverbe Kossi – Cameroun).

If the rhythm of the tam-tam changes, the dance step must adapt to it (Kossi proverb – Cameroon).

Senegal Launches its First Satellite Marking a Major Technological Milestone

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great Science1 Comment
The Take-off of Transporter-11, on Friday August 16, on which was the first Senegalese satellite (Source: © SpaceX)

This past weekend, Senegal marked a milestone in its history by launching its very first satellite from the SpaceX launchpad in California in the USA. By this action, it has become one of 12 African nations to launch satellites to space.

The satellite, GAINDESAT-1A was built by Senegalese engineers in collaboration with the French Space Centre of Montpellier University (Centre Spatiale Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM)). It is a nanosatellite, launched into orbit with 115 others from different countries. This satellite will focus on collecting data for multiple state agencies including the Directorate for Water Resources Management and Planning (DGPRE) and the National Civil Aviation and Meteorology Agency.

GAINDESAT-1A (Source: Space in Africa)

The country’s president Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the move marks a major step towards Senegal’s “technological sovereignty,” … he said on X, “I would like to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible.” Maram Kaïré, director of Senegal’s space agency, described the launch as “an important step and a historic day in our country’s progress and determination to become a space-faring nation”.

For more, please check out phys.org and Space in Africa.

Tamirat Tola or Making the Best of a Second Chance

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Tamirat Tola wins Men’s Marathon at Paris 2024 Olympics (Source: afrik.com)

There were many awesome stories at Paris 2024 Olympics. Many athletes surpassed themselves, broke new records, and set new firsts. The Olympics are over, but over the next few weeks, we will highlight those whose story may inspire us to get even better at what we do in our day-to-day lives. One athlete whose story particularly touched us was Ethiopian Tamirat Tola. Why?

Abebe Bikila on the podium in 1960 Olympics in Rome
Abebe Bikila on the podium during the 1960 Olympics in Rome, after winning the gold medal in the marathon, and surrounded by Rhadi Ben Abdesselam of Morocco (silver) and Barry Magee of New Zealand (Bronze)

Tamirat Tola is not a stranger to the Olympics: he was a bronze medalist in the Men’s 10,000 m at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He has had many victories since then, more recently winning the 2023 New York City Marathon, and coming 3rd at the 2023 London Marathon. However, his performances this year were not enough for him to make it into the Ethiopian team selected for this year’s Olympics/Marathon. Ethiopia is a powerhouse for long distance runners, producing some of the best runners in the world: there is no secret that since Abebe Bikila: Emperor of the Distance and Running Barefoot, the world of long distance has been partially dominated by Ethiopia (and Kenya). So in a powerhouse team, Tola’s performance this year was not enough to make the cut. This makes it so that some of the best athletes may not make the cut for the team even though they are very good, and would be outstanding for other countries.

Tamirat Tola crosses the finish line at the Paris 2024 Olympics winning the gold medal and setting a new Olympic Record (Source: EthiopiansToday.com)

Two weeks prior to the Men’s Marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tola was added to the team as a substitute for teammate Sisay Lemma, winner of this year’s Boston Marathon, who had been injured. Teams are selected weeks ahead of the Olympics, and Tola was just selected 2 weeks prior. He made the best of this second chance and won the gold medal at the Olympics in a very hilly route billed extremely difficult with inclines as steep as 13%. Tola also set up an Olympic Record in 2 hours 6 minutes 26 seconds. His win also marks Ethiopia’s first gold medal in the event since Sydney 2000. He said, “I was the reserve in the Ethiopian team, but when Sisay had injuries then I had a chance, … I was fully prepared and knew I could fulfil my dream. I am very proud, very happy.” Indeed, it was an opportunity given to him by his teammate, and Tola acknowledged his teammate in his victory. “Sisay told me that it was better for him to drop out and for me to compete. He said, ‘You can do better than me in my condition.’ … It is thanks to him. This victory also belongs to him for giving me this opportunity. … I am happy today because I fulfilled my goal, … I prepared well. I trained hard so I could win. In my life, this is my great achievement.”

Tola’s victory inspired us to remember to always be ready, one never knows when a second chance will come, be ready, stay ready, and make the best of it.

Proverbe sur les tâches multiples / Proverb on Multitasking

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Afi, la souris
Afi, la souris

On ne cuit pas deux rats en même temps (Proverbe Swahili – Kenya, Tanzanie).

You don’t cook two rats at the same time (Swahili proverb – Kenya, Tanzania).