African art and history

I notice when I share post about ancient Kmt some people tell me West Africans have no connection? The only people that say that are to lazy to actually research the people of West Africa because if they did they would learn about people like Itsekiri…Jay Pre Ginuwa History of Itsekiri "Historically Itsekiri are said to have migrated from Egypt to their present day location in Nigeria. According to Jackson Omasanjuwa Ireyefoju and Florence Ejuogharanmakelesan Ireyefoju in their seminal work “Ife Oracle in Itsekiri Social System of Nigeria,” Itsekiri people came from Egypt after the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. They arrived and settled in the present Warri Kingdom in about 28 B.C in Gborodo, Ureju and Ode Itsekiri. The leaders of the teams were Iset, Iweret and Ipi. This part of Itsekiri history is one that can’t be dismissed so easily as there are more similarly in Itsekiri language and custom with those of the ancient Egyptians than any that of Itsekiri and any other civilisation ...

  The signet ring was a "small seal used for formal or official purposes", that is, a substitute for a signature for official documents at a time when few people knew how to write. The history of the signet ring is very old. Its first use, according to archaeologists, dates back to ancient Egypt, more than 4,000 years ago. Many of these signet rings were discovered in the tombs of the pharaohs and from the graves of some high officials. It gives the impression that these rings were used as meanings of authority and as seals to certify business transactions. Each stamp was unique and recognizable by all. The designs consisted of symbols dedicated to nature and the ancient gods

  Upper part of a statue of King Menkaure and the queen. He reigned circa 2490-2472 BCE under the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. His name is most famously associated with the third and smallest of the Giza Pyramids, which was built to be his tomb. The two figures stand side-by-side with the queen embracing the king, but neither shows any emotion to the other, while they both gaze into eternity. The sculpture is made of greywacke, which is a dark coarse-grained sandstone. This masterwork (11.1738) is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA. Photo: The Museum of Fine Arts.   It is useful to recognize that the essence of ancient Egyptian style in most respects was set during the early Old Kingdom, with full maturity reached in the 4th Dynasty.   "The Old Kingdom, which lasted for 500 years around the middle of the third millennium BC, did not encompass all the accomplishments of ancient Egyptian civilization. But in all essentials it was the matrix of the entire culture...

  CONTINUED HORUS I am the Lord of the Sky. I will enter the celestial waters -- Horus TRANSFORMS back into a Falcon and redoubles his efforts, again thrusting into the CLOUDS... ...until, with a final burst of strength, he BREAKS THROUGH -- EXT. RA’S BOAT The Falcon LANDS on the deck, TRANSFORMING back into Horus. What looks like a man in his 50s sits sharpening his SPEAR on a GRINDSTONE... Sparks spit and pop off the shining blade. Battle-scars mark his sinewy body. Deep crows-feet line eyes fierce as a storm. He is RA Lord of the Cosmos. Majestic and mighty, moral and wise. He does not look up as Horus drops to a knee and bows. HORUS Hail, thou Great God Ra. RA Normally when a bird lands on my boat uninvited I kill it before it can shit. HORUS Forgive me, grandfather. I would only ask something of you... RA In that case I’ll stop what I’m doing and heed your bidding. HORUS I mean no disrespect -- RA You don’t know the difference. Ra’s keen eyes plumb the SHADOW brewing on the ...

 On the evening of the 16th March 2010 an intense fire swept through the royal enclosure at Kasubi Hill. As the flames spread across straw thatching and engulfed the immense grass hut structures housing the tombs of four of the Kingdom of Buganda's recent kings and their descendants, news of the loss of the UNESCO world heritage site filtered across the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Carried on radio airwaves and in the reports of mobile Boda-Boda drivers initial information was confused. By the time news reached a fellow researcher and myself around four miles from the scene, rumours had already begun to circulate as to the origins of the fire. There were suggestions of arson and even intimations as to the involvement of the national government of President Yoweri Museveni.1 On the morning of the 1 i h huge crowds of Ganda gathered at the location of the tombs to express their grief and anger over the loss of one of Buganda's key spiritual sites described by Buganda minister, Medar...

  In the pages which follow, the traditions surrounding the first eight (of a total of thirty-five) kings of Buganda's traditional history will be investigated from a perspective that has not been utilized before. I hope to demonstrate that these traditions—beginning with the establishment of the first king, Kintu, in Buganda proper and ending with the death of the eighth king, Nakibinge, at the hands of the Banyoro—form an interrelated set which can be analyzed structurally as myth. While so doing, I do not wish to imply that the traditions in question demand this type of analysis and no other; different perspectives have been and will be useful for understanding early Buganda and its traditions. But I do want to show that such a structure can be discerned in the traditions and that the existence of this structure should be taken into account regardless of the type of analysis to be undertaken. One task which will further these ends will be a discussion of the reasons for setting ...

  The philosophy symbolized by the mythical Sankofa bird of the Akan tribe in Ghana is that you need to know where you come from in order to know where you are going. The bird flies resolutely forward while casting its head back regularly. In Africa, colonization  was accompanied by the erasure of history. Part of renewal, of renaissance is to once again connect to that history. In this Africa Month edition of The Journalist, we build on the efforts to achieve that. History has bequeathed Africa an unequal and inferior status. The characterization of Africa as a dark continent that required civilization was integral to the process of colonization. This mythology was vigorously advanced by the colonizer and even internalized by the colonized. Western historians advanced the notion of Africa as a place with a scant history and very little or no achievements. In the post-colonial period efforts have been made to address this historical injustice. In this Africa Month, it is ...

  he Hidden History of Africa Before the Slave Trade is a visually stunning presentation that addresses one key question: What history do Black people have before the slave trade started? This lecture discusses the Empire of Mali, the Yoruba Kingdoms, Medieval Sudan, Medieval Ethiopia and the East African Coast. These civilizations have left behind a splendid array of evidence that is discussed in the lecture. This evidence includes wonderful artefacts, illuminated manuscripts, and impressive architecture. A discussion will follow the presentation. The book Before the Slave Trade: African World History in Pictures will be on sale on the night. THIS EVENT IS NOT TO BE MISSED!! BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO LEARN ABOUT AFRICAN HISTORY NOT TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS!! This event will take place on SATURDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER 2020 from 7pm to 9.30pm. Doors open at 6.30pm. The event will start at 7.00pm. This event will be held at St Ann’s Library, Cissbury Road, Tottenham, London, N15 5PU. Approx 10 mins ...

I grow tired of the outrage that we express about how Europeans have lied to us about our history. It shows to me a fierce determination to remain victims.    I mean, whose job is it for us to know our history and tell our stories? Surely you don't expect the same people who enslaved and colonized us to tell us our history? Are we that naive? And if they do they are going to tell it from their perspective. That is the nature of the beast.    This is 2021 and it is our job to tell our own and teach our own. That means that we are accountable and only we. You know the African proverb, "Until the lion has an historian the hunter will always be a hero." We know that we have been abused.    We know that we have suffered. I get it. But I also get that we are more than capable of researching our history. We are not helpless. And we are not babies.     So if your major contribution is to cry and whine about how "they did not tell us the tr...