African Singers: P-square

P-Square are a Nigerien  R&B duo composed of identical twin brothers Peter and Paul Okoye. They produce and release their albums through Square Records. In December 2011, they were also signed to Akon''s konvict Music label. In May 2012, they signed a record distribution deal with universal Music South Africa. 

In 1999, Peter and Paul returned to music school to develop their skills on keyboard, drums, bass and rhythm guitar. Their work includes the soundtracks for a number of films likeTobi, Mama Sunday, Moment of Bitterness and Evas River. years later, they applied to the University of Abuja to study Business Administration. 

In 2001, "P-Square" won the "Grab Da Mic" competition, and hence Benson & Hedges sponsored their debut album, titled Last Nite, which was released under Timbuk2 music label. P-Square was also nominated as "Most Promising African Group" in the Kora Awards three months after the release of their debut album. They eventually won the 2003 Amen Award for "Best R&B Group".

In 2005, P Square released their second album, Get Squared under their own label, Square Records. This album was marketed nationwide by TJoe Enterprises, although they were still managed by Howie T of Adrot Nigeria Limited. 

They have an ever growing fan base across South Africa with a particular stronghold of diehard fans in Cape Town. The group has performed alongside the following international artists like Ginuwine, Sean Paul, Akon and Busola Keshiro. The members of P Square are now located in Lagos.

Late in 2007, they released their best selling album so far, Game Over. They are also known for the close resemblance which the twins have to American R&B Superstar, Usher Raymond.

On 4 April 2010, P-Square was named the Artist of the Year at the KORA All Africa Music Awards in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso while they were in London for a Concert at the Troxy, and they will receive a whopping sum of $1 Million Dollars as the Award Winners, in Ebebiyin City.

Here are some songs from them:

Ousmane Sembene

Ousmane Sembène (January 1, 1923 – June 9, 2007) was a senegalese film director, producer and writer. The Los Angeles Times considered him one of the greatest authors of Africa and has often been called the "father of African film". Descended from a Serer family through his mother from the line of Matar Sène, Ousmane Sembène was particularly drawn to serer religious festivals especially the Tuur festival. 

After working as a mechanic and bricklayer, he joined the Free French forces in 1942, serving in Africa and France. In 1946, he returned to Dakar, where he participated in the great railway strike of 1947. The next year he returned to France, where he worked in a Citröen factory in Paris, and then, for ten years, on the dock in Marseilles. During this time Sembene became very active in trade union struggles and began an extraordinarily successful writing career. His first novel, "Le Docker Noir", was published in 1956 to critical acclaim. Since then, he has produced a number of works which have placed him in the foreground of the international literary scene. Long an avid filmgoer, Sembene became aware that to reach a mass audience of workers and preliterate Africans outside urban centers, cinema was a more effective vehicle than the written word. In 1961, he traveled to Moscow to study film at VGIK and then to work at the Gorky Studios. Upon his return to Senegal, Sembene turned his attention to filmmaking and, after two short films, he wrote and directed his first feature, Black Girl (1966). Received with great enthusiasm at a number of international film festivals, it also won the prestigious Jean Vigo Prize for its director. Shot in a simple, quasi-documentary style probably influenced by the French New Wave, BLACK GIRL tells the tragic story of a young Senegalese woman working as a maid for an affluent French family on the Riviera, focusing on her sense of isolation and growing despair. Her country may have been decolonized, but she is still a colonial -- a non-person in the colonizers' world. Sembene's next film, Mandabi (1968) which is Money Order in english marked a sharp departure. Based on his novel of the same name and shot in color in two language versions--French and Wolof, the main dialect of Senegal--THE MONEY ORDER is a trenchant and often delightfully witty satire of the new bourgeoisie, torn between outmoded patriarchal traditions and an uncaring, rapacious and inefficient bureaucracy. Emitaï (1971) records the struggle of the Diola people of the Casamance region of Senegal (where Sembene grew up) against the French authorities during WWII. Shot in Diola dialect and French from an original script, EMITAI offers a respectful but unromanticized depiction of an ancient tribal culture, while highlighting the role of women in the struggle against colonialist oppression. In Xala (1975), Sembene again takes on the native bourgeoisie, this time in the person of a rich, partially Westernized Muslim businessman afflicted by "xala" (impotence) on the night of his wedding to a much younger third wife. Ceddo (1977), considered by many to be Sembene's masterpiece, departs from the director's customary realist approach, documenting the struggle over the last centuries of an unspecified African society against the incursions of Islam and European colonialism. Featuring a strong female central character, CEDDO is a powerful evocation of the African experience. 

topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/.../s/ousmane_sembene/index.html

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/sgadjigo/

Quotes from Nelson Mandela

In my previous blog, I talked about one of the greatest man in the history of the world: Nelson Mandela. As you learned a little bit about him, I would like to share with you some of his sayings.

- “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”
- “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

- “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

- “I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

- "A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”

- “It always seems impossible until it's done.”

- “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

- “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

- “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

- “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”

- “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

- “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”

- “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

- “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

- “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

- “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

- “As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”

- “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”

- “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela's campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life's work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation's National Chairperson.

http://www.biography.com/people/nelson-mandela-9397017

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/361645/Nelson-Mandela

Languages

There are thousands of languages spoken in Africa. However, some of those languages are used in different countries. This is the case for languages such as Afrikaans and Fulani.

AFRIKAANS:
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It originates from 17th century Dutch dialects spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it began to develop independently. Hence, historically, it is a daughter language of Dutch, and was previously referred to as "Cape Dutch" or 'kitchen Dutch'. Although Afrikaans adopted words from languages such as Malay, Portuguese, the Bantu languages, and the Khoisan languages, an estimated 90 to 95 percent of Afrikaans vocabulary is ultimately of Dutch origin. Therefore, differences with Dutch often lie in a more regular morphology, grammar, and spelling of Afrikaans. There is a large degree of mutual intelligibility between the two languages—especially in written form. Estimates of the total number of Afrikaans-speakers range between 15 and 23 million.

Afrikaans Dutch English German
ek was (present: is) ik was I was ich war
ek kon (present: kan) ik kon I could ich konnte
ek moes (present: moet) ik moest I must have ich musste
ek wou (present: wil) ik wilde/wou I wanted to ich wollte
ek sou (present: sal) ik zou I would ich sollte

FULANI
The Fula or Fulani language (Fula: Fulfulde, Pulaar, Pular; French: Peul) is a language of West Africa. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken as a first language by the Fulɓe (Fula or Fulani people) and related groups (such as the Tukulor in the Senegal River Valley) from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan. It is also spoken as a second language by people in the region. While there are numerous varieties of Fula, it is typically regarded as a single language. However, it has been found that nine different translations are needed to make the Bible comprehensible for all Fula speakers, and it treats these varieties as separate languages.

Example
lootude, to wash (something)
lootaade, to wash (oneself)
looteede, to be washed

South Africa

Hey guys,
For this week posts, I decided to share with you some information about South Africa since my project is based on that country.
According to Wikipedia:
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometers of coastline.To the north lie the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world by area and the 24th most populous country with over 51 million people.
South Africa is a multi-ethnic nation and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic.
About 80% of the South African population is of black African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status. South Africa also contains the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa. South Africa is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. It has the largest economy in Africa, and the 28th-largest in the world. By purchasing power parity, South Africa has the 5th highest per capita income in Africa. It is considered a newly industrialized country. However, about a quarter of the population is unemployed and lives on less than US $1.25 a day.

Here are some sites of interest you could check out on the internet of if you are thinking of visiting the country one day:
- Kruger National Park
- Table Mountain
- Gold Reef City
- Cradle of Humankind
- Two Oceans Aquarium
- Lion Park
- Johannesburg Zoo
- Blyde River Canyon
- Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

Skin

Skin is a British-South African 2008 biographical film directed by Anthony Fabian, about Sandra Laing, a South African woman born to white parents who was classified as "Coloured" during the apartheid era, due to a genetic case of Atavism.

History of Apartheid in South Africa:
Racial segregation in South Africa began in colonial times under Dutch and British rule. However, apartheid as an official policy was introduced following the general election of 1948. New legislation classified inhabitants into four racial groups :"native", "white", "colored", and "Asian", Residential areas were segregated, sometimes by means of forced removals. Non-white political representation was completely abolished in 1970, and starting in that year black people were deprived of their citizenship, legally becoming citizens of one of ten tribally based self-governing homelands called bantustans, four of which became nominally independent states. The government segregated education, medical care, beaches, and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of white people.

Summary of the movie:
The year is 1965, and 10 year-old Sandra and her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white Afrikaaners. They are shopkeepers in a remote area of the Eastern Transvaal and, despite Sandra's mixed-race appearance, have lovingly brought her up as their white little girl. Sandra is sent to a boarding school in the neighbouring town of Piet Retief, where her (white) brother Leon is also studying, but parents and teachers complain that she does not belong. She is examined by State officials, reclassified as coloured, and expelled from the school. Sandra's parents are shocked, but Abraham fights through the courts to have the classification reversed. The story becomes an international scandal and media pressure forces the law to change, so that Sandra becomes officially white again.
By the time she is 17, Sandra realises she is never going to be accepted by the white community. She falls in love with Petrus, a black man and the local vegetable seller, and begins an illicit love affair. Abraham threatens to shoot Petrus and disown Sandra. Sannie is torn between her husband's rage and her daughter's predicament. Sandra elopes with Petrus to Swaziland. Abraham alerts the police, and has them arrested and put in prison for the illegal border crossing. Sandra is released by the local magistrate to return home with her parents, but she instead decides to return to Petrus, prompting her father to disown her.
Now Sandra must live her life as a black woman in South Africa for the first time, with no running water, no sanitation and little income. Although she feels more at home in this community, she desperately misses her parents and yearns for a reunion. She and her mother make attempts to communicate, but are consistently thwarted by Sandra's father. Late in his life, when he is too sick to act on his own, he reconsiders and asks his wife to take him to visit Sandra. Sandra's mother, angry that his newfound guilt had surfaced only after he had for 10 years stubbornly ignored her own emotional torment and longing for a reunion, refuses his request and says that neither of them deserves Sandra's forgiveness.
Eventually, Sandra's marriage to Petrus deteriorates and she leaves him, taking their two children with her, when he becomes physically abusive. She looks for her parents at that time, but finds they had since moved from her childhood home. Not knowing where they are, she continues on with her life, raising her children by herself. When the county's apartheid government comes to an end, there is renewed media interest in her story. Sandra's mother sees Sandra interviewed on television and writes to her to inform her of her father's death two years earlier. The letter provides no return address nor any other clue as to Sannie's whereabouts, but receiving it prompts Sandra to renew her search. Eventually, she finds her mother residing in a nursing home and the two are happily reunited.
An epilogue informs the viewer that Sandra's mother died in 2001, while her two brothers continue to refuse to see her.

This movie is a great way to learn more about what happened in South Africa during the Apartheid era. Hope that you will take the time to watch it and share with others.

Perception of Men by Oprah Winfrey

Hi all
At the beginning of the class, I decided to make this blog about African culture. However, while I was on Facebook yesterday, I came to read these ideas of Oprah on my friend's wall. At that moment, I knew that I had to share it with the world. By doing this, I hope that relationships would be saved, and more importantly, women would know that they are all beautiful in different ways, smart, strong and capable of taking care of themselves.

So, be yourself ladies because anyone who wants you,will love you for who you are with the good and bad not for who he or she wants you to be.

Be ambitious: whatever you want to do, Do It. You want to be a President, create a party, study politics. You want to be an engineer, be it. You want to be a housewife, stay home then. Just be whatever you want to be because there is nothing painful more then regret.

Love yourself more than you love him: It is good to be selfish sometimes.

Learn to forgive but Know your limit: enough is enough.

Have some self esteem: You are better than he thinks.

More importantly, let be women: what is the purpose of being equal to men when we know that we are stronger. Just because they have physically more strength than women or that most of them do not cry does not mean that they are stronger. Being strong is not only physically but also emotionally and mentally. We are for all 3. We are their rock. So, do not let them break you.


Here are some advices to women from Oprah :

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behaviour.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.

Slower is better.

Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't 'be friends'. A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle.

If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is
Don't stay because you think 'it will get better'
You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.

He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything.* He will use it against you later.

You cannot change a man's behaviour.* Change comes from within.

Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...
Even if he has more education or in a better job.

Do not make him into a quasi-god.
He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.

All men are NOT dogs.

You should not be the one doing all the bending...
Compromise is two way street.

You need time to heal between relationships...
There is nothing cute about baggage...
Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship

You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...
A relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals...
Look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.

Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.

Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him - he takes it for granted

Never move into his mother's house. Never co-sign for a man.

Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.*
Keep him in your radar but get to know others.

Scared of being alone is what makes a lot of women stay in relationships that are abusive or hurtful.

You should know that:
You're the best thing that could ever happen to anyone and if a man mistreats you, he'll miss out on a good thing. If he was attracted to you in the 1st place, just know that he's not the only one.

They're all watching you, so you have a lot of choices.
Make the right one.

Ladies take care of your own hearts....

Hotel Rwanda

Ten years ago some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda--and in an era of high-speed communication and round the clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages. Hotel Rwanda is a movie that shows the differences between the ethnics groups in Africa and how Africans feel about these differences.

Amadou Hampathe Bah

Amadou Hampâté Bah was a Malian writer and ethnologist. He was born to an aristocratic Fula family in Bandiagara, the largest city in Dogon territory and the capital of the precolonial Masina Empire. After his father's death, he was adopted by his mother's second husband, Tidjani Amadou Ali Thiam of the Toucouleur ethnic group. He first attended the Qur'an school run by Tierno Bokar, a dignitary of the Tijaniyyah brotherhood, then transferred to a French school at Bandiagara, then to one at Djenné. In 1915, he ran away from school and rejoined his mother at Kati, where he resumed his studies.

In 1921, he turned down entry into the école normale in Gorée. As a punishment, the governor appointed him to Ouagadougou with the role he later described as that of "an essentially precarious and revocable temporary writer". From 1922 to 1932, he filled several posts in the colonial administration in Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso and from 1932 to 1942 in Bamako. In 1933, he took a six month leave to visit Tierno Bokar, his spiritual leader.(see also:Sufi studies)

In 1942, he was appointed to the Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (IFAN, French Institute of Black Africa) in Dakar thanks to the benevolence of Théodore Monod, its director. At IFAN, he made ethnological surveys and collected traditions. 

For 15 years he devoted himself to research, which would later lead to the publication of his work L'Empire peul de Macina (The Fula Empire of Macina). In 1951, he obtained a UNESCO grant, allowing him to travel to Paris and meet with intellectuals from Africanist circles, notably Marcel Griaule. With Mali's independence in 1960, Bâ founded the Institute of Human Sciences in Bamako, and represented his country at the UNESCO general conferences. In 1962, he was elected to UNESCO's executive council, and in 1966 he helped establish a unified system for the

 transcription of African languages.

www.worldwisdom.com/public/authors/Amadou-Hampate-Ba.aspx

African Poem

Sweet mom

It began with a kiss of love
graduated to nine months of
mixed feelings which ended
in hours of horrible pains and
regrets.
In the sight of your babe came a
sincere smile of success.
You didn't know how strong you
were Mom.
No shock absorber could have been better.
You stayed strong like a giant Iroko tree
in the midst of turbulent winds of life
You are my hero mama.
You patiently carried on the tedious
job of nursing regardless of burdens
and pains,
Denied yourself comfort to make me happy.
Your baby I will always be.
Mummy you are sweet, tender
and loving.
You are indeed a blissful bridge to the paradise
I know.
Sweet mom.
© 1997, Chidi A. Okoye

African Proverbs

One thing I respect deeply about Africa is the treasure of wisdom our ancestors have handed down to us. While some of our leaders may have forgotten them, the rest of us don’t need to. From prudent sayings on wisdom itself, to judicious encouragements, warnings and even quirky advice on learning, patience, unity, wealth, poverty, community, family, love and marriage, these quotes will inspire you to be the best you can possibly be.

Wisdom is wealth. ~ Swahili
Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. ~ Akan proverb
The fool speaks, the wise man listens. ~ Ethiopian proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom. ~ African proverb
Nobody is born wise. ~ African proverb
A leader who does not take advice is not a leader. ~ Kenyan proverb

Unity is strength, division is weakness. ~ Swahili proverb
It takes a village to raise a child. ~ African proverb
Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won’t eat you. ~ African proverb
Where there are many, nothing goes wrong. ~ Swahili proverb
If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ~ African proverb

It’s much easier to fall in love than to stay in love. ~ African proverb
If you are ugly you must either learn to dance or make love. ~ Zimbabwean Proverb
A happy man marries the girl he loves, but a happier man loves the girl he marries. ~ African proverb
If you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains as is. ~ Egyptian proverb
Love never gets lost it’s only kept. ~ African proverb
Love has to be shown by deeds not words. ~ Swahili proverb

One who plants grapes by the road side, and one who marries a pretty woman, share the same problem. ~Ethiopian Proverb
Ugliness with a good character is better than beauty. ~Nigerian proverb
If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness. ~Nigerian Proverb
You are beautiful, but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty. ~Congolese Proverb
The one who loves an unsightly person is the one who makes him beautiful. ~Ganda Proverb
Having beauty doesn’t mean understanding the perseverance of marriage. ~African Proverb
A beautiful thing is never perfect. ~Egyptian Proverb
Judge not your beauty by the number of people who look at you, but rather by the number of people who smile at you. ~African Proverb

Poem for the all the Women in the World.

As you all konw, Friday, March 8th was the international Day of Women. For that I dedicate this poem to all women. May God bless you all.


From Leoppold senghor.

Nude woman, black woman,

Clothed in your color which is life, your form which is beauty!

I grew in your shadow, the sweetness of your hands bandaged my eyes

And here in the heart of summer and of noon, I discover you, promised land from the height of a burnt mountain,

And your beauty strikes my heart, like the lightning of an eagle.

Nude woman, dark woman,

Ripe fruit of the dark flesh, somber ecstasies of black wine, mouth that causes my mouth to sing;

Savanna of pure horizons, savanna trembling under the fervent caresses of the East wind,

Carved tom-tom, tense tom-tom, grumbling under the fingers of the conqueror,

Your low contralto voice is the song of the lover.

Nude woman, dark woman,

Oil unwrinkled by winds, oil smooth on athletes' thighs, on the thighs of the princes of Mali,

Delightful play of the spirit, image of red gold on your flaming skin.

In the shadow of your hair, my anguish is relieved by the nearby suns of your eyes.

Nude woman, black woman,

I sing your passing beauty, fixing your form in eternity,

Before a jealous fate turns you to ashes to feed the roots of life.

Enjoy All!!!!!!!

Salif Keita

Salif Keïta (born August 25, 1949) is an afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the "Golden Voice of Africa" but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, sundiata Keita. This royal heritage meant that under the Malian caste system, he should never have become a singer, which was deemed to be a griot’s role. Keita was born in the village of Djoliba. He was cast out by his family and ostracized by the community because of his albinism, a sign of bad luck in Mandinka culture.  He left Djoliba for bamako in 1967, where he joined the government sponsored super Rail band de Bamako. In 1973 Keita joined the group, Les Ambassadeurs. Keita and Les Ambassadeurs fled political unrest in Mali during the mid-1970s for Abidjan, Cote d'ivoire and subsequently changed the group's name to "Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux". The reputation of Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux rose to the international level in the 1970s, and in 1977 Keita received a National Order award from the president of Guinea, sekou Toure.

Keita moved to Paris in 1984 to reach a larger audience. His music combines traditional West African music styles with influences from both Europe and America. Musical instruments that are commonly featured in Keita's work include balafons, djembe, guitars, kora, organs, saxophones, and synthesizers. Keita found success in Europe as one of the African stars of world music, but his work was sometimes criticised for the gloss of its production and for the occasional haphazard quality. However, shortly after the turn of the Millennium he returned to Bamako in Mali to live and record. His first work after going home, 2002's Moffou was hailed as his best album in many years and Keita was inspired to build a recording studio in Bamako, which he used for his album M'Bemba, released in October 2005.

www.salifkeita.net/en/

Clothing!!!

Africa is a vast continent in which thousands of different tribes live. Each of these tribes has its own unique language, culture, faith, tradition, and way of life. Similarly, the way the people of these numerous tribes dress up varies a great deal too. So when we talk of traditional African clothing, it can mean anything, right from dresses made of grass to loincloths to intricately designed kaftans.
Here are some examples that I hope you guys might like.
These clothes are from Ghana, Guinea, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Cost, Zambia, Namibia, Djibouti, Algeria, Libya, Congo, Morocco and Mauritania.

Traditional African Weddings

Traditional African Weddings

Hey guys,
Today, I am all about African Weddings. Hope you all love them because I do. As you all know, the African society is a mixture of culturally diverse traditions and rituals. After doing some research, I learned that there are certain similarities that can be drawn between some weddings but also that each country, region, or tribe that exist in Africa has its own way of celebrating weddings. As a whole, African weddings are known to be family affairs, and are often not only dependent on the relationship between the man and woman, but on family input and approval as well. Marriages in Africa are strongly dictated by religious influences. Many Northern African marriages are decided by their Muslim faith, while other regions follow the traditions set by their ancestors. Another similar tradition in many parts of Africa, is the paying of a dowry prior to marriage. In South Africa, for instance, this is referred to as lobola and is a gift of cattle or money given to the father of the bride. Wedding celebrations can last for as little as a few hours up to several weeks. The types of foods served during these occasions differ from region to region, depending mainly on local food trends. Another main feature of marriage celebrations in Africa is the enjoyment of music and dance. There is so much to tell about African Weddings that I could write a whole book on the subject.
But I am going to stick to some examples:

Ghanaian Wedding:
In Ghana, the influence of family and religion is apparent in the wedding ceremonies performed. There are three distinct steps involved in the wedding ceremony which can last from one day up to one month. In the first step, a prospective groom and elder male members of his family must first go the bride's home and perform what is called the “knocking”. During this visit they bring alcohol, that is used for the libation, and money is presented to the brides' family along with the intentions of the groom. If the family approves of the proposal, they will then accept the gift and request another visit to interview the groom. This next step is often referred to as the interview. If the groom is unknown to the family, they will use the interview as an opportunity to learn more about the groom and his family. They will also prepare a list of gifts that the groom and his family are required to complete prior to the wedding, or engagement. The final stage of the wedding ceremony is the engagement which is the actual wedding ceremony. Before invited guests, the two families will go through introduction and prayer and the requested gifts are submitted for approval. During this process, the groom does not speak and the bride is hidden from view. If the list has been met, the bride will be revealed and she must consent to marry the groom when asked three times by her father. With her approval the groom may give her his ring, there are prayers and the pair is presented with a Bible as a symbol of the importance of religion in marriage. Although this is the ending of the traditional ceremony, in today's society, often times this ceremony is followed by a westernized church wedding. During the engagement ceremony, the wedding party will wear traditional outfits of kente cloth with the bride wearing a headwrap or crown, boubou, or a fitted skirt with a buba top and the groom in a Grand boubou or dashiki. The wedding attire, just like the ceremonies, differ from region to region and can include garments made of aso-oke and Adinkra cloth.

Senegal:
Traditional Wolof wedding ceremonies, the parents of the groom-to-be sends elders to the girl’s
parents with kola nuts and money to ask for her hand in marriage. The girl’s parents consult their
daughter and either consent to or reject the proposal. If accepted, the parents of the bride to be distribute the kola nuts among the family and neighbors. This distribution is an informal way of announcing the impending wedding. In more traditional practices, the groom to be’s family paid the girl’s bride price in the form of money. This tradition, has been modernized and dowry is paid in money, cars or even houses. After the completion of the groom’s obligations, the two families set a wedding day. Before the wedding day, the groom’s family gives a party to welcome their daughter-in-law and to prepare her to live with her new family. The imam and elders advise the groom with the presence of the some representatives of the bride’s parents. Weddings traditionally take place at the groom's home. Parents receive guests with food and drink (but not alcohol), while guests bring gifts of money, rice, drinks, ships, sugar, or spices. After the ceremony people feast and dance with guests hiring a griot (praise-singer) and giving further gifts to the groom’s parents. The girl moves to the husband's (or his parent's) home or compound, bringing utensils for cooking which she buys with the money from the bride price.

Here are some link if you wants to learn more about the subject:
http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/africanmarriageritual.html
https://www.facebook.com/AfricanWeddingPlus
http://www.weddingdetails.com/lore-tradition/africa/

Here are some pictures;

Guinea: Sites Touristic

Guinea is a country situated in West Africa. The land that is now Guinea belonged to a series of African empires until France colonized it in the 1890s, and made it part of French West Africa. Guinea declared its independence from France on October 2nd 1958. From independence untilthe presidential election of 2010, Guinea was governed by a number of autocratic rulers, which has contributed to making Guinea one of the poorest countries. However, there are some extraordinary sites to visit. Here are some of them:

The Lady of Mali:
On Mount Loura at 1500 m, a woman of remarkable beauty defies the ages. Shaped into the rock by the wind erosion with all her anatomy visible, "the lady of Mali" is nature's masterpiece. Mali town is 588 km from Conakry, and easy to access.

Beach at Bel Air:
Situated at 225 km from Conakry in the Boffa area, Bel Air beach provides 7 km of white and silver sand. Gentle sea breezes and luxuriant vegetation make it a paradise.

The Dog that Smokes (Bondabom):
Only 42 km from Conakry, on the crest of Mount Kakoulima, is a phenomenal image on the rock face; an enormous silhouette of a dog's head. A sculptor's hands could not do better, and it's even more striking when there's a thick fog, and a wispy smoke seems to come from the animal's mouth.

Slave Road . Located along the coast (Conakry, Forecariah, Dubreka, Boffa and Boke) it's a grim reminder of the Slave Trade. A joint project of UNESCO and OMT, access is partly by asphalt road, local trails or by the river road.

Bride Veil:
A marvel of nature, 146 km from Conakry and 13 km from Kindia on the Mamou road are two waterfalls that create a veil of exceptional beauty and whiteness. The name "Bride Veil" attests to its natural charm. There's a stage for cultural dancing, 10 bungalows, a restaurant and bar.

Les Ballets Africains

Created in France in 1952 by the Guinean poet and choreographer Keita Fodeba, Les Ballets Africains was born in the middle of the fight of the African countries against colonialism. Created to showcase a vision of justice for Africa by giving witness to the humanity of the black man through its choreography, Les Ballets Africains was a model of African art & culture, illustrating the authentic personality of the continent of Africa.

The troupe was initially called Les Ballets Africains of Keita Fodeba. When the Republic of Guinea, an ancient colony of France, became independent in 1959, the name was changed by the first president, Ahmad Sekou Toure, to Les Ballets Africains, the National Ensemble of the Republic of Guinea, and endowed with the mission to be the “Ambassadors of Culture.”

During the past 50 years, Les Ballets Africains has experienced world-wide success & recognition, offering an artistic expression of the rich cultural traditions of Africa. It has been led by such visionaries as Amadou Cissoko, Samuel M’Carthy, Sekou Seacho, Frankis Magloire Camara, Hamidou Bangoura, and by Italo Zambo since 1988, who is currently a member of the World Forum of Arts.  The amazing ability of this troupe has made it one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world. The passion & beauty of the African tradition that has become the hallmark of Les Ballet Africains will again be on display for the 50^th year celebration.

http://www.lesballetsafricains.com/

Storytelling

Hello all, today I am going to tell you about storytelling. When I was a kid, I spent most of my vacations in the village with my grand parents, my cousins, sisters, brothers. During the night, we would sit around a fire and tell stories or play games.

There is no art more ancient than the art of story telling. This was especially true in Africa where a story was usually accompanied by dance and music. Africans love the oral tradition. They had no written language in past times. That is why the griot was, and still is, such an important member of the community. The griot is a highly respected storyteller and musician who is responsible for passing traditions from one generation to the next.

Folktales and myths speak to a unity between ancient and present day peoples. The same emotions which people felt long ago are in us today; joy at birth, grief at death, love of parents, forgiveness, jealousy and so on. We tried to express these emotions by telling stories.

Here are some stories, I found.


“The Wise Fool”: A Folktale from West Africa
A poor peasant woman bore many sons. All except one lived normal, useful lives and did well. Naturally, their mother loved them. But one of them was born a fool, and he was neglected and left to shift for himself as best he could. All day long he worked on a large patch of sandy soil, not far from the village. Everybody laughed at him all the time.

One day the mother went to her garden and there found a baby with very long hair lying on its back under a fig tree. It was crying and kicking. It looked hungry and neglected. The woman fed and nursed it, and soon it fell asleep. She worked all day on the farm and no one came for the baby. When night fell, the woman took the child home with her. Again, the next day, no one came for the baby, so she cut its long hair and took it in.

Soon afterward, a troupe of fairy people came to the village to claim the baby. When they found that its hair had been cut, they demanded that it be put back. This of course, was impossible. They demanded that if the woman could not make the baby’s hair grow, she was to be taken away and killed. The chief of the tribe and the elders did everything in their power to appease the fairies. They offered gold ornaments, slaves, land—but to no avail. The woman was to die!
Then the fool walked up and demanded to be heard. “Listen to me. The fairies say my mother should die, and maybe this is a just punishment. But the fairies walked across my sandy plot of land as they came to the village. I demand that they rub out their footprints before they are allowed to take my mother away!” This seemed a foolish and meaningless demand and everyone said “how simple” and agreed.

At sundown, the fairies were still working on the sandy plot that belonged to the fool. Days went by. Then a week. Then another. Because just as one set of footprints were gone, another set appeared. By the end of the second week, the fairies had covered the entire plot with footprints. At last they gave up and let the woman live.

This is why even today, children who do not do well are not cast out, but treated fairly. Wisdom hides in many places.


TWO SISTERS AND AN OLD MAN:
A long time ago in a little village, there lived a man who had two wives and two daughters – one daughter from each wife. Bisi was the daughter of the first wife and was only a few months older than the second wife’s daughter, Ranti.

The family lived together in the same compound so the girls often played together but Bisi was fond of bullying her younger half-sister just like her mom was fond of being mean to Ranti’s mother. Ranti would go crying to her mother and sometimes she would tell her mother how she wished to hurt Bisi just like Bisi had hurt her. But her mother would tell her “never give bad in return for bad, nothing good comes of that”. So Ranti remained good and continued to show love in return no matter what Bisi did to her.

One cloudy day, Ranti’s mother passed away after a brief illness. Without her mother around, it did not take long for Bisi to crank up her level of meanness towards Ranti. Soon Ranti was doing all of Bisi’s chores while Bisi just lazed around, dressed up, ate, slept or visited friends. Ranti would wake up early in the morning before the cocks crowed, place a large clay water pitcher on her head while carrying another in her arms and walk to the river to fetch water for the family’s use. It required several trips back and forth before the huge water pot in the compound was filled. Then she would sweep the compound with a broom made of dried palm fronds before peeling yams for breakfast. Her list of chores stretched out until dusk by which time she would be exhausted and just collapse to sleep on her raffia mat. She was too busy to even feel sorry for herself. And everyday, this process was repeated.

One morning as she made her daily trip to the river, she saw an old man sitting by the river bank. He appeared to be covered in sores and he looked really pitiful. Ranti went to meet him “Baba, are you alright, can I get you anything?” she asked. He wanted some water which she gave to him then she washed his sores. “My child, you have a wonderful heart and you deserve wonderful things” he told her. He directed her to go to a garden just beyond the river. He told her she would find two trees – one with golden fruit which she was not to touch, and the other one with rotten fruit. He told her to take one of the rotten fruits home and once she gets home, she should break open the fruit.

She did as the old man instructed. When she broke the fruit, riches beyond her wildest imagination appeared, filling every inch of her bedroom. When Bisi discovered this, she insisted that Ranti tell her where she got the riches from.

The following morning, after several cock crows, Bisi got up from bed. She hoped the old man would still be at the river as she picked up a pitcher and headed to the river. Luckily for her, he was there looking exactly as Ranti had described him. She went to him and asked “Baba, which way to the magic garden?”. The old man showed her and he also told her to pick the rotten fruit, not the golden one. Bisi dumped her pitcher and headed to the garden. She saw the tree with the rotten fruit and the one with the golden fruit and she said to herself “That old man must think I’m stupid. These golden fruit are mine!”. She picked a couple of golden fruits, as many as she could carry in her hands and went on her way.

When she got home, she went into her bedroom and closed her doors as she did not want anyone stumbling in to discover her riches. She threw the fruits hard at the floor to break them, but instead of riches, snakes, worms, rodents and all manners of horrible things appeared.

ANANSE AND THE POT OF WISDOM.
..or NO ONE PERSON CAN HAVE ALL THE WISDOM IN THE WORLD

This is a very old story told when the world was young . It is about how Mr.. Ananse the Sly and greedy one among all the animals in the forest outsmarted himself.

As the story goes Ananse, that is still his name , but did you know that his first name was Kweku because he was born on a Wednesday ? One day Ananse collected all the wisdom in the world and decided to keep it all in a large pot for himself. Now he said “I have all the wisdom of the world for myself. At least that was what he thought being such a greedy person.

Kweku Ananse then tied the pot of wisdom around his neck with a strong vine rope and let the pot hang in front of him. But then he was afraid that someone would find the pot of wisdom and steal it.” What shall I do with my pot of wisdom” He thought and thought and at last he said,” I shall hide the pot on top of the the tallest tree in the forest.” So he searched the forest until he found the tallest tree which happened to be the thorny silk cotton tree and brought the pot of wisdom to the tree. While Ananse was trying to climb the thorny silk cotton tree his son was watching him.” Father,” he said,” "What are you doing" "Well" said Ananse , I have in this clay pot all the wisdom of the world and I am going to hang it on the top of the tallest tree away from everybody , then I will be the wisest in the whole wide world." "I have an idea." said his son " Why not hang the pot behind you instead of in front of you. Then you will be able to climb the tree”. Well the sly one Ananse hung the pot behind him and to his surprise; he was able to climb to the top of the tree with his pot.

Finally Ananse sat on a branch of the tree holding the pot of wisdom. “I thought I had all the wisdom in the world” He thought to himself.

“I thought I had it all in my pot but my own son has wisdom that is not in my pot.” Then he made a statement that we still use today.” No one-person can have all the wisdom in the world.”On his way down he dropped the pot and it smashed into many pieces and scatted all the wisdom all over the world.

If you want to read more folk tales here is a link you could check out.
http://www.allfolktales.com/folktales.php