There are mermaids or mermaid-like beings in various African mythologies and folklore. For instance, in a sample of 25 African languages, a mermaid would be called: • Achai Wiir in Dinka 🇸🇸 • Arusa el bahari in simple Arabic Juba 🇸🇸 • Binuwe (Benue) in Gbata tribe of Nigeria meaning “mother of water” • Ingwenyama […]
What is a “mermaid” in various African languages? Read More »
The Kuba kingdom of modern Democratic Republic of Congo was one of 22 literate societies that inhabited Africa during the last 5000 years. The Kuba kingdom existed from 1625 to 1884. The Kingdom of Kuba has evidence of human habitation before 1000 AD, including Paleolithic and Neolithic artifacts (source: “Art of the Lega,” by Elisabeth
Egypt from 306 BC to Today Part I The impact of the Greeks Scholars in the ancient library of Alexandria Egypt was conquered by the Greeks in 332 BC, bringing an end to the Late Period of Ancient Egyptian civilization. The Greeks founded their own dynasty, the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which reigned for nearly 300 years
Egypt: the 2,000 year wait to return to indigenous rule (332 BCE to 1953) Read More »
Philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it..”
How to teach children history Read More »
Dutch wax prints fabrics go by many names; Ankara wax prints, Ankara, African wax prints, African prints, Holland wax, Dutch wax, wax Hollandais, veritable Dutch Hollandais.
Dutch wax prints: aka AFRICAN WAX PRINTS Read More »
The kingdom of Oyo, also known as the Oyo Empire, is a West African monarchy, that at its peak, covered 270,000 square kilometres (1). It stretched from parts of the Republic of Benin in the west to the southwest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the east. To the north, it bordered the Nupe
The Fulani people, numbering about 38 million, are found mostly in the western part of Africa. They are also known as the Fulbe or Peuls and in the Middle Ages (covering the 5th to the 15th century of the Common Era) were very reliant on cattle herding. The Fulani people trace their origin far back
There are a few myths about African history and a few reasons why some European writers – not all – felt the need to malign brown-skinned people and claim Africans came from a continent without history. It probably gave them moral peace of mind to believe that they were not committing physical, mental and moral
Myths about African HISTORY Read More »
Specialists in Egyptian History have divided the time period of Ancient Egypt, covering 4,500 BCE to 664 BCE, into eight periods: Badarian culture, Naqada (prewriting), Old kingdom, First Intermediate kingdom, Middle kingdom, Second Intermediate Period, New kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period. In this article we look at the key events of the New Kingdom.
Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom (key events from 1550 BCE to 1075 BCE) Read More »
The Kingdom of Luba is an ancient African Kingdom which was based in current day Democratic Republic of Congo. It was founded in the Upemba depression, which is a large area of marshes, and comprises of over 50 lakes. The Kingdom was founded by King Kongolo (also called Nkongolo) in 1585 and would last over
Tools of African History: the Lukasa Memory Board of the Luba Kingdom Read More »
Ancient Egypt is known for many things: its monuments, its inventions, and its extensive historical records. Its historical records are among the oldest top 2 in the world. MONUMENTS Five of the most visited monuments in Egypt are: The Great Sphinx The great sphinx is carved out of limestone, believed to be built over 4,000
History of Ancient Egypt (4,500 BCE to 664 BCE in 10 mins) Read More »
Democracy literally means Rule by the people and is seen as a relatively recent Western phenomenon. However, democracy has been practiced in parts of Africa for many millenia. One such example is the Oromo Gada system practiced by the Oromo people in Ethiopia. It is an ancient system that is democratic in nature. Oromo Nation
African Pre-Colonial Democracies: The Gada System of the Oromo Read More »
The Kingdom of Mauretania came into existence around 225 BC, in the third century. Its inhabitants come from Berber ancestry, based on modern day ethnic taxonomies, and currently it belongs to the Western part of present day Algeria. Formation Mauretania was a kingdom of the Berber Mauri people, who would become renowned in history. It
Kingdom of Mauretania Read More »
One cannot generalize about the nature of African religions as he would be prone to making the mistake of homogeneity among all African cultures. Africa, in truth, is vast both in cultural diversity and geographical variation. This has brought about different languages and customs that have different belief systems. With the different histories associated with
Africa’s Religions Read More »
INTRODUCTION Africa, the second largest continent in the world and second most populous continent on earth, is blessed in manifold ways; in language, culture, art, monuments, vegetation, religious ideas, physical quality, natural resources, and many more areas. Though there have been many concepts and definitions regarding the idea of diversity, the indigenous ideas of Africans
Africa’s Diversity Read More »
There have often been wrong assumptions regarding ancient relationships between Africans and the rest of the world, particularly Europe. For example; people wrongly assume that it was Europeans that travelled to Africa, first, or that the age of discovery between the early 15th century and 17th century was the first point of contact between Africans
Africans in Roman London (48AD – 410AD): what DNA tests of 22 Londoners found Read More »
Africa is the second largest continent of the earth’s seven continents and the second most populous continent. Africa has within it many countries with diversity, uniqueness, and culture. It is a continent with lot of resources, different sectors and various kinds of environments. With about 30 million square kilometers, Africa covers about 6% of the
To justify the miscarriage of justice and prejudices against minorities and immigrants, some racist people around the world often project unfounded stereotypes onto the Africans of the world. One of the myths regularly perpetuated is that black people take more drugs. The evidence doesn’t stack up. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime,
Myths About Africans: Black People Take More Drugs Read More »
The history and accounts of the Renaissance is remembered by the public as a purely European phenomenon that was centered on a largely homogeneous ethnicity. At the same time, it reduced the presence of people of African descents to the role of servants or slaves. Neither of these two theories was true, for they both
The princely state of Janjira fluttered its red flag with the crescent moon until India won independence in 1947 and merged all the princely states with the union by the following year. The state of Janjira is noted as being among the smallest of the princely States in Menon’s “The Story of Integration of Indian Princely States.” However, compared
African Rulers in Indian History: Janjira, Maharashtra, India (1622-Present) Read More »
