Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months
Young Senegalese artist Ina Tiam takes fashion shoots in places covered with rubbish and plastic around the capital Dakar, to denounce the degradation of the city. Her pictures of young and attractive girls dressed in expensive clothes, but surrounded by plastic, garbage and all kinds of waste, have gone around the world. However, that is…
Read moreAfrican cuisine offers a wide range of dishes of great flavour and variety. Food is an occasion for gathering together, for celebrating and sharing. A short culinary journey across the continent. The famous couscous, a dough made with hard grain or millet, semolina and rice, flavoured with butter and served with sheep, chicken or fish…
Read moreIt is commonly known as Jamun or Jambul. It is a multipurpose tree which is highly valued for its medicinal uses, edible fruits, strong heavy timber and good fuelwood. Its use as a source of medicine is dated back to thousands of years ago. Syzygium cumini can grow up to a height of about 30m…
Read moreThe plant is commonly found distributed in the Sub-Saharan Africa. It is widely gathered from the wild and used locally in traditional medicine. Aspilia Africana C.D. Adams (Family Asteraceae) enjoys a folk reputation in African traditional medicine due to its unique ability to treat numerous disease conditions. The plant is commonly referred to as the…
Read moreIt took almost four decades for the people of Nigeria to rediscover one of three lost original copies of this picture of Princess ‘Tutu’ painted by artist Ben Enwonwu in 1974. The painting which had become part of Nigerian history was found in a flat in London and sold at auction last month for more…
Read moreThis singer from the South Pacific of Colombia has liberated from ostracism the lullabies of her land, Timbiquí. Music and songs, the legacy of their ancestors is preserved. When she was a young teenager, Nidia Gongora joined a band named Canalón of Timbiquí. This contemporary group plays Afro-Colombian folk music that is typical of the…
Read moreThe roots of puppet shows in Africa are as old as the myths and legends. Today, they are used very much in education but also as a way to condemn political power and corruption. According to a myth of the Ibibio people of south-east Nigeria, the puppet theatre was born in the land of the…
Read moreAlong the centuries, food and plants coming from America, and in particular from Mexico have given a great contribution to the Mediterranean diet. The first people to bring back information about the food and plants of the Americas were early explorers and conquistadors, some of whom showed a special interest in the vegetation of the…
Read moreThe Mossi are the most numerous ethnic group in Burkina Faso with 6.2 million members making up 40% of the population. Mossi wisdom notes. For the Mossi, wisdom consists in respecting traditional practices and customs. ‘If you go to a village and find everyone walking heads down, do the same yourself ‘, and do not…
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Pelargonium sidoides is a small geranium-like plant which is commonly referred to as ‘South African geranium’ or Umckaloabo in the Zulu language. It is highly regarded by traditional healers as one of the major curative plants. The plant grows in a rosette pattern and forms thick and very dark brown underground roots that grow up…
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When we visited the Anthropological Museum of Luanda we were fascinated by a small statue known as ‘The Thinker’, which is the cultural symbol of Angola and to which an evocative apologue is linked. The National Museum of Anthropology (Museu Nacional de Antropologia), which is located in the Barrio dos Coqueiros of Luanda, is one…
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“What we would like to achieve when we talk about peace. Peace means self-determination. Peace means biological conservation. Peace means revitalization of our culture and…
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At that time Viracocha, the creator God, looked down upon the earth. He saw it was bare, shrouded in impenetrable darkness, for daylight did not yet…
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“Young Africans are playing an active role in bringing social change in the continent. They are contributing daily to the benefit of their communities and nations…
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