A fodder of inspiration for writers of historical fiction set in West Africa
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know “mud” buildings can be majestic. But more needs to be said about the royal architecture in precolonial Africa. Enter “Yoruba Palace Gardens” by J. B. Falade published in Garden History (Vol. 18, No. 1). I must have read this journal years ago and I suspect…
I’ve read and written about bori but it’s something else to see it in action. Below is a video excerpt from a longer documentary I’d like to watch. You’ll also see some old school “booty shaking” here.
I was scrolling through my laptop yesterday when I came across these images. Once upon a time, I was trying to write steampunk set in the Benin empire. These images show that I took my research very seriously. I couldn’t remember where I found the images so did a reverse image search on Google. For…
For me, a good book must mention food. But a good number of the food say Nigerians, eat today should not be featuring in historical fiction set in the 13th century. No to cassava or peanuts but yes to watermelon (did you know watermelon is indigenous to the continent?) and African rice. The “Lost crops…
Fantasy History is a series by Vitabu Books that features “excerpts from a book on Sierra Leonean women councilors, mayors, cabinet ministers, and political candidates”. The first of this series covers the life of Constance Horton Cummings-John, a pioneering politician from Sierra Leonean history. Constance came from an influential family and was an activist for…
If you’ve not read the Brittle Paper interview with Omítọ̀nàdé Ifáwẹ̀mímọ́, you should head over there right now. Omítọ̀nàdé is a priestess of Yemoja and had really interesting things to say while explaining her faith and stance as a Yoruba traditional worshipper. I’ve seen in so many places online where Ifa and Orisha worship are…
A resource for all things Yoruba, past, present and maybe future. They have little tidbits like Yoruba symbols of communication in the Middle Ages (there’s a part 2!). That and this article on Yoruba life in the Middle Ages were very useful to me recently when I decided to write some historical fiction all of…
When you think of “mud” buildings, I bet palaces do not come to mind first. This replica of the Palace of the Emir of Katsina is breathtaking. I shared it on tumblr last year and remembered it because it is the season of unbearable heat in Nigeria at the moment. I keep thinking of how…
The images below are apparently of Ashanti architecture, from Kumasi, the capital and neighbouring towns. I am a huge fan of photos like these. Look how clean the environs are, look at the meticulous work of these buildings. I can’t forget randomers arguing that Africans never had multi-storey buildings before colonial destruction when I stumble…