TwitterFacebookInstagram

Culture

Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months

Uganda. Ngabi Clan the King’s Massage Therapists and Herd’s men.

Buganda Kingdom is found in Central Uganda and it’s the largest and oldest traditional kingdom in Uganda today. This kingdom is made up of 52 clans that make up the tribe of the Baganda People. Each clan has roles and duties in the Kabaka’s Place. We look at the Ngabi clan. The Ngabi (Antelope) Clan…

Read more

Sudan. Art against war.

Marked by decades of political instability and conflict, Sudanese artists narrate the complex reality of their country through works that reflect their identity, originality and resilience. Riahiem Shadad is an art curator. He owned an art gallery in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, called Downtown Gallery, where nine artists from his country were represented. However,…

Read more

Herbs & Plants. Combretum molle. A source of medicinal mumuye gum.

It has been used in traditional medicine since time immemorial for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Indeed, almost every part of this plant (roots, leaves, seeds, twigs, and stem bark) has been used in African traditional medicine for the treatment of  various ailments  and diseases. Combretum molle is commonly referred to as…

Read more

Music. Apple Music’s list no African artists.

Apple Music’s latest list of the 100 greatest albums of all time has excluded any contributions from Africa. The musical richness of the continent continues has been ignored. The exclusion of African music from Apple Music’s recent list of the 100 best albums of all time is disconcerting but at the same time not a…

Read more

Herbs & Plants. Bridelia micrantha. A robust medicinal plant.

It is a small to medium semi-deciduous to deciduous tree up to 20m in height with a dense rounded crown.  The plant is traditionally used in tropical Africa to treat a wide range of human diseases. The bark on young branches is grey-brown and smooth while on older branches, the stems are dark brown and…

Read more

Literature.Three women talk about their Sudan, bitter and divided.

In A Mouth Full of Salt, Sudanese writer Reem Gaafar traces the country’s recent history from a female perspective, shedding light on decades of suffering and abuse. Rather than news stories, it is often novels that enter into the historical perspectives that help us understand societies better. The tragedies and weaknesses of these societies. This…

Read more

Music. Tiken Jah Fakoly. The star of African reggae.

With his latest work the Ivorian artist, who has lived in Mali for years also for political reasons, gives new voice to 13 flagships of his career. A path that took him to the top of the continental reggae scene. Emerging in the 1960s, reggae was welcomed promptly and with great enthusiasm throughout Africa. But…

Read more

The Sahara. In the Shade of the Tent.

The tents of the desert inhabitants are a concentration of technologies, the use of materials and design particularly suited to the environment – which is why they have varied typologies – and to the way of life of those who are always ready to get back on the road “The first tea is as bitter…

Read more

Herbs & Plants. Ageratum conyzoides. A remedy for myriads of disease conditions.

It is an erect, branching, soft, slightly aromatic, annual herb with shallow fibrous roots. The plant has a goat-like smell and hence the common name “goat weed”. The genus name Ageratum is derived from the Greek words ‘a geras’, meaning non-aging, referring to the longevity of the whole plant. Ageratum conyzoides (Family Asteraceae) is a…

Read more

Musica. Indonesia. Ngartini and her guzheng.

A dreamy and very sweet sound which immediately evokes Asian panoramas and tranquillity. Music that fascinates and excites. All this emerges from the performances and recordings of a great artist, Ngartini Huang. Indonesia is a land about which very little is known here in the West, despite having more than 275 million inhabitants spread across…

Read more

The Jacaranda. Floral Magic

When southern spring blooms, the streets of Harare and Pretoria are tinged with purple and lilac. In Zimbabwe and South Africa, during the spring season, which in the southern hemisphere begins in September, the large cities are coloured by the flowering of thousands of jacaranda trees (imported from South America at the end of the…

Read more

The importance of African Names.

In many African cultures, one cannot call directly the name of a person whose rank is higher than one’s own. Father, mother, uncle, aunt, sister and brother… is all you will hear in some families. Moreover, in Africa, names are not given casually. They are given solemnly in a naming ceremony. There are sometimes cases…

Read more

Advocacy

Burkina Faso. Maimouna Ba. The “Mother of Sahel”.

In Burkina Faso, the ‘Mother of the Sahel’ brings education and hope to forcibly displaced children. As conflict forced thousands of children to flee to the…

Read more

Baobab

Mexico. An Aztec Legend. The Princess of the Night.

As the sun sets over the stony plateau of Mexico, a beautiful white flower opens its corolla among the blade-like thorns of the Cereus Nycticalis: it…

Read more

Youth & Mission

The African Youth. Innovations & Creativity.

With the highest percentage of her population made up of youth, Africa is a bed of opportunities for growth and prosperity. The African youth are a…

Read more