Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey "Only the best is good enough for Africa."
Kwame Nkrumah "The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa."
BASTIEN RENOUIL, ELODIE COUSIN, OLIVIA BIZOT Dotting East Africa’s Swahili coast, Zanzibar, Lamu and Mombasa are synonymous with pristine waters and white sandy beaches. But many tourists are unaware that these UNESCO World Heritage Sites were the scene of a gruesome chapter in history. For centuries, the Swahili coast was central to the slave trade. […]
KAHWIT TELA How do I describe my cultural identity: African American or American African? As someone grew up in a Congolese family in Nashville, Tennessee, this is a question I often asked myself. Despite being born and raised in the U.S., I felt as if I belonged to my parent’s home country of the Democratic […]
The colors, styles, and designs of fabrics are key indicators of a person’s identity and the community that the person belongs to. Fashion, as a function of society is therefore an integral part by which the strengths, standards, and weaknesses of a community can be measured. This observation was made by Ms. Beatrice “Bee” Arthur, […]
KOFI AYIM NAME MEANING AKAN/GHANA 1 Adam the feminine source; of the red earth Odame (red as in akoko dame) 2 Asar or Asir (Greek’s Osiris) bird bennu asar, mythical tree Asare 3 Asari a god of the Sumerians in Babylon which means “the strong one” Asare 4 Nti out of Nti 5 Sefa inundation […]
EMMANUEL AKINWOTU Bruce Onobrakpeya’s home and studio, partly shielded by trees, sits discreetly along a frenetic side street in Mushin — a working-class neighborhood of Lagos, dense with small manufacturing businesses, artisanal workshops and old detached houses. But on a generous plot, his three-story, concrete modernist home where he’s lived since 1976 is a quiet […]
Ancient Africans believed in the existence of an unseen superpower that manifested itself through daylight and nighttime, lightning and thunder, earthquakes and seasonal changes, as affirmations of its omnipresence. They acknowledged and sought his protection in every function and facet of life through prayers. Libation, utilizing liquid as an offering for invocation, is the most […]
YIRGA GELAW WOLDEYES A large number of artifacts held in Western museums and libraries are known to have been appropriated over the ages through conquest and colonialism. The looting of African objects anthropologists, curators and private collectors took place in war as well as in peaceful times. It was justified as an act of benevolence; […]
A comment by SJAAK VAN dcr GEEST, University of Amsterdam The act of libation contains a rich mixture of religious, social and cultural ingredients. It is a prayer to the ancestors and gods for their blessing; it is a social ritual binding together the members of the audience by emphasizing their common roots; it is […]
The African practice of libation had a significant impact on setting forth our understanding of hospitality, tokens of fellowship and respect, for family living and dead, continuity and contact. WILLIAM E. FLIPPIN, Jr. I have always been fascinated by the practice of libation. I first saw this done in a movie over twenty years ago […]
FRANK NTARINDWA Nigeria’s Afrofusion sensation and Grammy-winning Damini Ogulu, commonly known as Burna Boy, among many more Africans celebrities have secured spots on Time magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people 2024. The ‘Twice as Tall’ crooner was honored in the icons category for his significant impact on the music industry. Legendary Beninese singer […]