The Adventures of Cosmic Yoruba
& Her Flying Machines too
I promised to share any information I came across on Efusentan Aniwura, one of the three powerful Yoruba women from the early 19th century. I recently came across something on Efunsentan Aniwura while searching for African folktales. This story comes from this course guide on African Communication Systems from the National Open University of Nigeria…
Something happened in November 2011 that I don’t think I’m ever going to forget. I’m also probably going to keep on bringing it up over and over again. Usually when I hear people talking nonsense about the lack of achievement of my African ancestors, I firmly school them. When I start going on about Abyssinia…
Everyone from a country formerly colonized by Britain should go and watch the documentaries available at colonialfilm.org.uk to catch a glimpse of how things were back in the day. I am not entirely sure but the more I discuss with folks, and read comments on forums, the more it seems like there are a lot…
Madam Efunroye Tinubu was among the most prominent and powerful Yoruba women in pre-colonial Nigeria (early to mid 19th century). Other renowned Yoruba women from that period were Iyalode Efunsetan Aniwura and Madam Omosa, both of whom deserve posts of their own. Madam Tinubu was an Egba woman born to a trading family in Abeokuta…
I wrote this essay immediately after watching the film Aramotu with a colleague from work, that was months ago. I delayed posting because I wanted to learn more about the gelede masks in Yoruba tradition (and I won’t lie, also because I grew distracted with other things). ~ Aramotu is an amazing movie that has…
Oh noes, you don’t say there are more African authors writing historical romance set in all corners of the continent. Be still my beating heart! Kiru Taye is an author, she writes African historical romance. She recently revealed the cover of her upcoming debut book His Treasure (due for release in December 2011). His Treasure…
I enjoyed reading ‘The Economics of African Slavery’ by Rizwana Monir so much that I had to share it here. The BBC’s British History website contains a large section dedicated to the movement for the abolition of slavery. It details the efforts of British political figures and political protestors, all of whom are highlighted as…
Taafé Fanga is a film about a group of Dogon women who, with the power of a mask, manage to subvert gender roles in their mountainous village. Taafé Fanga has elements of comedy (which may not translate well outside a West African audience) yet, the heart of Taafé Fanga is female empowerment. The film begins…
I like to picture this as a snowball. ‘This’ being my regularly increasing knowledge on the shared history between the African and the Asian continents. I admit that I thought the ‘wow’ moments ended with my posts on historical Sino-African relations. When we think about the African Diaspora, most of us turn our attention to…
I recall a period in which I was searching desperately for films directed by Ousmane Sembene, always coming up empty handed. Now I have watched most of his iconic movies from Xala (1975) to Ceddo (1975). The latest addition to that list is Faat Kiné (2000). I had no idea that he released a film…