“When an Agama lizard sees you coming, it jumps onto a wall. It doesn’t fall because it has ‘special’ powers. Those powers are the same that we masons use. Those are secret.” ― Master Mason Konbaba Tennepo The Master Mason The master mason makes his way through the maze of twisting alleyways, staircases, …
Elders are considered the repository of wisdom in West African societies. It’s fitting then, that, in 1985, the widely-traveled and wise Malian humanist, writer and ethnologist, Amadou Hampâté Bâ (1900-1991) addressed the upcoming generation with a touching, timeless letter that is just as relevant today. An open letter to the youth My dear young people, He who …
“The word friendship in our society comes from this fruit. You must split it in two; one hand cannot clap; it takes two to make a sound. Everything that I do in art, as a visual form of expression, is [inspired] by this fruit. The kola nut, which has ritual and divine representation in the …
Of any region on the African continent, West Africa had the biggest concentration of ancient kingdoms and empires in its pre-colonial history. It’s no easy task to capture snapshots of West Africa at various points in its evolution. Images of even the most historically important realms — Mali, Songhai, Ghana, Ashanti, etc. —, with their …
Whether kicking up red Sahelian dust or the sands of the lower-lying coastal plains, the footsteps of twins throughout West Africa leave an indelible print along a customarily unified, synchronous path. The Temne of Sierra Leone tell of mythological twin brothers miraculously stitching together two diverging roads, forever fusing their destinies. On whatever West African …
For the first part of the Sahara series, see Birth and Evolution of a Desert. The harsh desert conditions of the Sahara, as we know it today, prohibited extensive contact between northern Africa and their southern neighbors for a very long time. Before the camel was introduced, people did undertake the journey on foot or …
The West African puppeteer lurches, leans and sways, giving himself over to the demands of his carved creation. He is at once ajogi, a Yoruba dancer of the wooden image, and nyamakala, a Malinke force-handler, as he pulls on the ropes and rods of some of the oldest and richest of Africa’s surviving puppetry traditions. …
For the second part of the Sahara series, see Crossing the Desert. Covering a vast area ranging from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, the largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara, is approximately the size of the entire United States or China. But its effects are felt well beyond its borders. Sand storms relentlessly …
Oju to ba ri oju to ba ri Gèlèdé ti de opin iran The eyes that have seen Gèlèdé have seen the ultimate spectacle In praise of awon iya wa, our mothers ― a Yoruba tribute to the spiritual powers of women The Gèlèdé, Through the Eyes of the Observer “The preliminary performances heighten the crowd’s excitement …
“Bogolan cloth is literally made of the earth, forests, rivers and sun of Mali.” ― Kandiora Coulibaly, Groupe Bogolan Kasobane And it was through the harnessing of natural materials ― the iron-rich mud of river-beds, the extracts of leaves, bark, and roots, and the energy of the intense West African sunlight ― that the Bambara …