Africa is the Future

Two excellent websites to check out: Africa is the Future and Africa, The Good News.

Power Women

From Forbes, The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa, featuring women of influence from various domains.

African Blogs

An extensive list of African Blogs by country. Happy reading!

Adventures of Beetlecam

The Burrard-Lucas brothers find a novel way to photograph African Wildlife. Check out their blog and the stunning pictures shot by the Beetlecam.

Thanks, ZS.

Camel Libraries

Ah, the wonderful, mobile camel libraries of Kenya.

Lost in Translation

Here's an interesting NPR article our Prof. shared with us. It draws a comparison between people in London and the semi-nomadic Himba people of the Kaokoland region in Northern Namibia to bring out the similarities and differences in culture, particularly sounds associated with emotions.

Henna in Sudan

Here's an interesting BBC slideshow about the importance of Henna in Sudanese culture. Also, check out this website about Sudanese traditions (and its henna page).

Of Travels

Check out this beautiful travel slideshow that features Africa right from the beginning (KwaZulu Natal and Zambia). My husband will identify with this, he just did the bungee jump at Victoria Falls. He brought back some wonderful photos and I will post selected ones shortly.

Naming my daughter

A friend shared this interesting piece and it reminded me of a recent BBC article about naming children in Africa. Not to forget the wonderful punning capabilities of the current Nigerian President's name, Goodluck Jonathan. :0)

Naming My Daughter

"In the Uruba tribe of Africa, children are named not only at birth but throughout their lives by their characteristics and the events that befall them."

The one who took hold in the cold night
The one who kicked loudly
The one who slid down quickly in the ice storm
She who came while the doctor was eating dessert
New one held up by heels in the glare
The river between two brothers
Second pot on the stove
Princess of a hundred dolls
Hair like water falling beneath moonlight
Strides into the day
She who runs away with motorcycle club president
Daughter kicked with a boot
Daughter blizzard in the sky
Daughter night-pocket
She who sells sports club memberships
One who loves over and over
She who wants child but lost one.
She who wants marriage but has none
She who never gives up
Diana (Goddess of the Chase)
Doris (for the carrot-top grandmother
she never knew)
Fargnoli (for the father
who drank and left and died)
Peter Pan, Iron Pumper
Tumbleweed who goes mouths without calling
Daughter who is a pillar of light
Daughter mirror, Daughter stands alone
Daughter boomerang who always comes back
Daughter who flies forward into the day
where I will be nameless.

"Naming My Daughter" by Patricia Fargnoli, from Necessary Light. © Utah State University Press, 1999.

Subsaharska

Here's an interesting Africa-based blog, Subsaharska. Follow Subsaharska's tweets. Read about the afrophile(?) author here.

African Desert Rift Confirmed As New Ocean In The Making

I was sent (Thanks, R), this interesting article about a 35-mile-long rift that broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia.

Picture from rochester.edu article on the same topic.

"In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial.

Now, scientists from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans, and the rift is indeed likely the beginning of a new sea."

African Music Encyclopedia

I stumbled upon an interesting repository of African Music and Artists. Check out the African Music Encyclopedia.

Afrigadget

"Afrigadget is a website dedicated to showcasing African ingenuity. A team of bloggers and readers contribute their pictures, videos and stories from around the continent. The stories of innovation are inspiring. It is a testament to Africans bending the little they have to their will, using creativity to overcome life’s challenges".

Extremely cool blog!

African Art

Daniel Akortia Painting

I chanced upon this website, AfricanArt.com which features all kinds of authentic hand-crafted African Art for sale. From masks to musical instruments, from wild animal miniatures to walking canes, they sell it all.

From the Website: AfricanArt.com was created to share with you the magnificent art and crafts of Africa for your joy and for the benefit of artists and craftsmen and their families in Africa. We source our artwork directly from Africa from countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa to name a few.

Cape Town by Osei Anim

Their paintings section is beautiful and features art by Daniel Akortia and Osei Anim from Ghana. They also have a wonderful photo gallery. Check it out!