crane on water damn

AFRICAN HISTORY

Nyami Nyami, the spirit of the Zambezi river

Nyami Nyami, the river god, and the spirit of the Zambezi river. Legend says that he is a serpent-like creature with the head of a fish, three meters wide, a whirlpool or a river dragon. It can be found as pendants on jewellery, usually carved out of wood, stone or bone, occasionally ivory, silver or gold both as a fashion accessory and as a good luck charm. He stains water red when he swims past.

deangichuki

4/30/2022 2 min read

AFRICAN HISTORY

Patrice Lumumba - The Greatest African Politician

Patrice Lumumba, in full Patrice Hemery Lumumba, (born July 2, 1925, Onalua, Belgian Congo [now the Democratic Republic of the Congo]—died January 17, 1961, Katanga province), was an African nationalist leader, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (June–September 1960). He played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he led the Congolese National Movement (MNC) party from 1958 until he was assassinated.

deangichuki

4/15/2022 2 min read

man in white dress shirt playing trumpet

AFRICAN HISTORY MAZU

Fela Kuti - the most persecuted musician in history

Fela Kuti, arguably one of the biggest names in the pioneering African Music scene, is also revered as the most persecuted musician in history. He was arrested over 200 times and made to appear in court 356 times for criticizing the corrupt activities of the Nigerian military regime. Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti, also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, an African music genre that combines traditional Yoruba percussion and vocal styles with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers".

deangichukie

4/8/2022 2 min read

brown mountain under white sky during daytime

Hypatia - the world’s leading female mathematician and astronomer

Were there any African women who contributed to modern-day mathematics and science? Though written records don’t account for many, there is one whose works and time can be compounded from available records to show her contribution to modern-day civilization. Hypatia (born c. 350–370; died 415 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria where she taught philosophy and astronomy. She is the first female mathematician whose life is reasonably well recorded.

deangichukie

3/31/2022 2 min read

woman standing beside white wall

AFRICAN HISTORY MAZU

Yaa Asantewaa of the Ashanti kingdom - War of the Golden Stool

Yaa Asantewaa (17 October 1840 – 17 October 1921) was the queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire – now part of modern-day Ghana – appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Opese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900 she led the Ashanti war known as the War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, against the British Empire.

deangichuki

3/30/2022 2 min read

woman wearing black and multicolored turband

AFRICAN HISTORY

Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia

March being the celebration of women and their achievements month, we’re going to highlight some stories of women who have been instrumental in the history of the African Society. We begin with Zewditu (Ge'ez: ዘውዲቱ, born Askala Maryam; 29 April 1876 – 2 April 1930) Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930. The first female head of an internationally recognized country in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the first empress regnant of the Ethiopian Empire, her reign was noted for the reforms of her Regent and designated heir Ras Tafari Makonnen (who succeeded her as Emperor Haile Selassie I), about which she was at best ambivalent and often stridently opposed, due to her staunch conservatism and strong religious devotion. She is the most recent empress regnant in Ethiopian history, and until the 2018 election of Sahle-Work Zewde as president, was the most recent female head of state of Ethiopia.

deangichuki

3/19/2022 3 min read

four people wearing fringed clothes

AFRICAN HISTORY

Dahomey Amazons

In line with the theme of the month, we shall today examine the elite military group of female warriors called the Dahomey Amazons. They were frontline soldiers in the army of the Kingdom of Dahomey, a West African empire that existed from 1625 to 1894. Its remnants lie in modern-day Benin, which occupies a sliver of the coast between Nigeria and Togo. Whether conquering neighbouring tribes or resisting European forces, the Amazons were known for their fearlessness. In one of the final battles against the French in 1892, before the kingdom became a French colony, it is said only 17 out of 434 Amazons came back alive.

deangichuki

3/11/2022 2 min read

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