Dobet Gnahoré

Dobet Gnahoré was born on June 17, 1982 in a small village in Côte d'Ivoire. Her father, Boni Gnahoré, is a master percussionist who founded a sort of artists' community in which Gnahoré grew up. She dropped out of school at age 12, determined to become a musician, and by her mid-teens, she had become a touring musician and dancer. By her early 20s, she hit the international music scene. She sings in more than eight different languages, and her lyrics speak to the issues of women in Africa, as well as multiple social issues. More. Watch her perform "Djigenue":

The blog turns one!

Has it been a year already? Learning about this beautiful continent, its interesting culture, peoples and politics has given me much joy. Over and over again, I have been enthralled by its natural beauty, horrified by its cruel practices and intrigued by all the diversity and richness it has to present.

All year I have felt a deep wanderlust, a yearning to travel the length and breadth of Mama Afrika. Much to my dismay, I have had to experience some disappointment in my attempts to get closer to Africa - Last year, I missed an Amadou and Mariam concert by 30 minutes (I had never heard of them), today, as FdAf turns one, my husband is off on a two week trip to South Africa, Zambia and Botswana (unfortunately, my schedule does not permit me to join him) and finally, I have to skip a Kidjo concert in two weeks (I bought tickets six months ago) because I have a mid-term early the next morning. But these are very minor things. Africa is all around you, no matter where you are.

I am eager and hopeful for that moment, when I set foot on African soil. I leave you with a beautiful number from Vusi Mahlasela, Basimanyana which I hope you will enjoy. Here's to year one!

ECOWAS

This acronym puzzled me for months (Echoas, Echoise, Eckowass, I tried them all). Today's a day to say "Aha!". From Wikipedia:

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries, founded on May 28, 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos. Its mission is to promote economic integration. In 1976 Cape Verde joined ECOWAS, and in December 2000 Mauritania withdrew, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.

It was founded to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for the member states by means of economic and monetary union creating a single large trading bloc. The very slow progress towards this aim meant that the treaty was revised in Cotonou on July 24, 1993, towards a looser collaboration. The ECOWAS Secretariat and the Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development are its two main institutions to implement policies. The ECOWAS Fund was transformed into the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development in 2001. ECOWAS is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC).
The current President of the Commission is James Victor Gbeho. The current chairman is acting President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.
It operates officially in three coequal languages (English, French, and Portuguese).

Official Website.

Forgiveness in Liberia

Liberia was set up by citizens of the United States as a colony for former African-American slaves. There is only one other state in the world that is started by citizens of a political power as a settlement for former slaves from the same political power: Sierra Leone, begun for that same purpose by Britain. (From Wiki).

This inspiring speech gives you an insight into life in Liberia post civil-war:

Arouna by Kidjo

I really like Arouna by Angélique Kidjo. You can find the studio version here (Search for "Arouna").

Check out the live version:

Angelique Kidjo - Arouna
by sandriam
Lyrics here. Wish I knew what they meant.

Out of Africa - II

After hearing innumerable references to the film, I finally watched 'Out of Africa'. The film, which is based on a true story, and adapted from the writings of Karen Blixen, showcases various aspects of Kenya, notably:

• Kikuyu: Kenya's most populous ethnic group. Environmental and Political Activist and Author Waangari Maathai is Kikuyu.
• Maasai: an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania.
• Kenya's Natural Beauty: Aerial shots of the beautiful landscape reminded me of Yann-Arthus Bertrand's photograph of the Flamingos on Lake Nakuru in Kenya.
• Life in the early 1900s when the British controlled Kenya (then British East Africa).

I enjoyed the film very much (except the hunting scenes) and found it romantic and touching.

The film on Wiki, and the book it was based on.

Out of Africa - I

Recent African origin of modern humans: In paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans is the mainstream model describing the origin and early dispersal of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens. The theory popularly is called the (Recent) Out-of-Africa model, and academically the recent single-origin hypothesis (RSOH), Replacement Hypothesis, and Recent African Origin (RAO) model. The hypothesis that humans had originated in Africa was published in Charles Darwin's Descent of Man (1871). The concept was speculative until the 1980s, when it was corroborated by a study of present-day mitochondrial DNA, combined with evidence based on physical anthropology of archaic specimens.

• From National Geographic: Modern Humans Came Out of Africa, "Definitive" Study Says
• The Wiki Answer to: Are all humans originally from Africa?

The Long Walk to Freedom

Today is a great day in history. It is on this day, 20 years ago, that Madiba walked free after 27 years in prison. All week, BBC's Africa today has featured fascinating snippets from that great moment in history. They featured this number by Hugh Masakela, "Bring him back home", which I liked a lot. Best wishes, Madiba!

Rowling's Speech

J.K. Rowling talks about her experience of working at Amnesty International's African Research Department. Watch from 12:00 minutes onwards.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Bill Bryson's Africa Diary

During Bill Bryson's visit to Kenya in 2002, he recorded his observations and published them in his African Diary. The book highlights the work of CARE International, an organization that helps the people of Africa help themselves through projects providing simple, sustainable solutions. Bryson donated all royalties from the book to CARE. The book is short, interesting and sprinkled with a good dose of Bryson's humor... he says that he expected Kenya to be like a setting from the film 'Out-Of-Africa'...!

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

I just read 'A Guide to the Birds of East Africa' by Nicholas Drayson. If you're looking for a nice, light read based in Kenya which brings forth many aspects of the nation from the Government, the life of immigrants, society and crime to the scenery, people and of course, the beautiful birds, this is the book for you. Here is a review. If you like McCall Smith, you will enjoy this book; I sure did. One last thing... I loved all the little bird sketches at the beginning of every chapter. They prompted me to look up some of the birds and I've never seen anything like the Great Blue Turaco, Turner's Eremomela or the gorgeous Hoopoe seen below. Picture from Wikipedia.

Wavin' Flag

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most famous singers. K'naan's grandfather, Haji Mohamed, was a poet. K'naan, means "traveller" in the Somali language. More at Wiki.

K'naan's Wavin' Flag is the official theme song of the World Cup. Here's a live, acoustic version:

Africa on Camera

Check out Scott Stulberg's amazing pictures of Africa here.

Nelson Mandela's Biography

Solve small shared these wonderful 5 minute clips that capture the highlights of Nelson Mandela's extraordinary life.

Direct Links: Part 1 and Part 2

Tama's Snimbe

I must thank Putumayo for all the African music it helps me discover. My latest disvovery is Tama's Snimbe, a colloborative effort with one of my favourite artists, Susheela Raman.

Tama's Biography from Yahoo Music: Named after a Bambara word meaning "to walk," Tama consists of Malian vocalist Tom Diakite, percussionist Djanuno Dabo of Guinea Bissau and London-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Sam Mills. The trio met when they were playing with the hypnotic Bengali performer Paban Das Baul, with whom Mills had collaborated previously on albums like Real Sugar. Having some extra time at the recording studio led to the group creating impromptu songs that incorporated Diakite's West African musical heritage and Mills' roots in pop, avant-garde and world music, which stretch back to his days in 23 Skidoo in the late '70s and early '80s. The group's debut album Nostalgie was released in 1999 on the RealWorld label. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide.

Snimbe feature's in Tama's album Espace.