Someone once rightfully labelled the genocide in Tigray, “the war the world forgot.”
To quote a phrase from George Orwell’s , Animal farm: “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”
I’m deliberately selective about the causes are highlight or address on my social media because i am cognisant of the harsh reality of the biase on news coverage or relevance given to different social issues & frankly all those causes that come to your mind are highlighted effortlessly and addressed in parliament almost every time (how fortunate).
Of note, i’ve realised how conscious our community’s social media is on the 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 conflict but mute on the Tigrayan genocide that has no doubt now claimed millions of lives. Heartbreaking 💔
This is not to guilt trip anyone for not giving two hoots about this genocide and other conflicts happening in our beautiful Africa. This is to however nudge my own people to see what happens when we have a unity of purpose (like what the 🇮🇱 & the🇵🇸 have done) and champion our brother and sisters plights so that they too can be addressed in the same releavance as those in other regions.
For those possibly hearing about this genocide got the first time or rather haven’t had much context of this Tigrayan conflict here is a brief explanation:
Tigray is a region in northern Ethiopia with a rich history dating back to ancient times. It was the center of the Aksumite Empire, a major power in the ancient world known for its trade and civilization. In modern history, Tigray played a significant role in Ethiopia’s struggle against Italian colonialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In recent years, the region has been in the spotlight due to conflicts between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government, leading to a humanitarian crisis and ongoing instability.
The conflict between Tigray and Ethiopia escalated in late 2020 when tensions between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which had dominated Ethiopian politics for decades until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, and the federal government reached a breaking point. The Ethiopian government accused the TPLF of attacking a military base in Tigray, which the TPLF denied. This incident sparked a military intervention by the Ethiopian government against the TPLF-led regional government, leading to a full-scale conflict.
The Ethiopian government implemented a blockade on the Tigray region, restricting access to humanitarian aid, food, fuel, and other essential supplies. This blockade has contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Tigray, with reports of widespread hunger, displacement, and atrocities. The blockade has drawn international condemnation and calls for unrestricted humanitarian access to the region.
The situation in Tigray is fluid and information regarding casualties is often difficult to verify independently. However, various reports from humanitarian organizations and news sources have indicated that thousands of people have died in Tigray since the conflict began, with many of these deaths attributed to violence, famine, and disease exacerbated by the blockade and ongoing hostilities. The exact number of casualties may continue to evolve as the situation unfolds and more information becomes available.
This forgotten war is dubbed the deadliest of wars of the 21st century with an estimated death toll of over 600 000 non combatants alone from famine and disease not to mention the 200 000 estimated casualties of wars in 2022 so it’s unknown how much more estimated casualties have been recorded between 2022 and now 2024.
On a personal note, these staggering figures leave me dumbfounded on why the world doesn’t care at all. I wonder if this is also the first time where hunger is being used as a weapon of war. Tigray, of around six million inhabitants.
However, in the absence of official counts, the calculations of the European Union, international organizations and experts concur on a devastating mortality rate in a war the Ethiopian government has deliberately tried to shield from international public opinion.
According to the UN, the number of civilian deaths in the conflict at between 300,000 and 600,000, “without including combatants on both sides, which some military intelligence sources put at between 100,000 and 200,000.″ The three categories included in Nyssen’s study are: victims of bombings and massacres (10% of total fatalities), those who died due to lack of medical assistance because of the closure or shortage of hospitals and health centers (30%), and those who starved to death (60%), at a rate that exceeds 600 deaths per day.”
I once mentioned that there are a few (handful rather) things that seperate us from animals and humanity is one of those. The values of UBUNTU that run through our veins clearly as the definition of the word are , “I AM BECAUSE WE ARE.” Umuntu, ngu umuntu ngabantu. If not you and your children then who because the world does not care?
Maya Angelou’s full name was Marguerite Annie Johnson. She adopted the name Maya Angelou as her professional pseudonym.
I find it most fascinating how she managed to encapsulate and articulate love and human essence was all from a deep sense of being because if we are all products of our formative years and partly of our environment both of those were a far cry from resembling love or humanity for our renowned author.
Maya Angelou’s upbringing was challenging. She faced hardships and trauma during her childhood, including experiencing racism, sexual assault, and abandonment. Despite these difficulties, she found strength and resilience through literature and writing, eventually becoming a celebrated author, poet, and activist.
A true example of how much power we have within us to make the rest of our unwritten stories be so significant that none of our past is ever remembered when we take charge. The pen is truly more stronger than your pain if you allow it to glide on paper while you let your soul dictate the text.
Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit , something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem “On the pulse of morning ” (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill
clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F Kennedy in 1961.
Dr. Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, had a difficult early life. At a young age, she and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, after their parents’ marriage ended. There, she experienced racism and discrimination firsthand. At the age of seven, she was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend, which left her traumatized and mute for several years.
This trauma that left her mute inspired her famous “I know why the caged bird sings” (my personal favourite piece from all her literature that i have come across so far) the first book in her series of autobiographies and was published in 1969.
The book’s title came from the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Against the backdrop of racial tensions in the South, Dr Angelou confronted the traumatic events of her childhood and explored the evolution of her strong identity as an African American woman. Her individual and cultural feelings of displacement were mediated through her passion for literature, which proved both healing and empowering.
After the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr Angelou was inspired by a meeting with writer James Baldwin and cartoonist Jules Feiffer to write I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as a way of dealing with the death of her friend and to draw attention to her own personal struggles with racism. The book was immediately popular and remained on best-seller lists for two years.
*Personal observation* . Navigating freedom and psychological traumas of 400plus years of slavery and inhumane treatment came with various challenges including sexual violence so i am inclined to believe that part of the reason why the book was successful is that it resonated with many people. I keenly note that in the US women gained more autonomy in financial matters by the late 1970s and early 1980s. So objectification and sexual exploitation was experienced by women of all races with of course black women experiencing the worst of it considering the trauma.
I digress.
Despite these challenges, Angelou developed a love for literature and writing. She credited her love for reading as a form of escape and empowerment during her youth. Overcoming her silence, she went on to become a remarkable writer, poet, and activist, using her experiences to inspire and advocate for social justice throughout her life.
Her struggle with body dysmorphia is darted in most of her work. As controversial as the word can be in support it by noting a story Dr Angelou shared of when as a small child, is reciting a poem in church. Feeling ugly because she imagined in vain that the dress her grandmother made her would be so pretty that she would be seen as a beautiful white child, she forgets the poem and then wets her pants as she flees the church in embarrassment.
One can feel her journey through self love and acceptance. “Phenomenal Woman” is one of Dr Maya Angelou’s most famous poems, celebrating the confidence and inner beauty of women.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.”
The poem continues to celebrate the speaker’s self-assurance and presence, emphasizing that her allure comes from within. It’s a powerful ode to self-confidence and empowerment.
Maya Angelou wrote numerous poems throughout her prolific career. These are just a few examples of Maya Angelou’s extensive body of poetic work, which often reflects themes of resilience:
”Still I Rise”
”Phenomenal Woman”
”Caged Bird”
”On the Pulse of Morning” (written for Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993)
”Alone”
”A Brave and Startling Truth”
”Equality”
”Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me”
”Touched by an Angel”
“And Still I Rise” (collection title poem)
These poems still remain relevant to people of all walks of life and resonate with anyone across any race or gender divides.
Empowerment , and the African American experience is captured so candidly in this remarkable memoirist, civil rights activist poet and author’s extensive body of work.
*This brief publication has been inspired by a post which Prof Ibbo Mandaza shared on facebook in memory of Dr Angelou*
Dr Maya Angelou, a life well lived, a legacy well excuted and a gift that will forever keep on giving
Alhassan Dantata was West Africa’s richest man in the 1940s. Aliko Dangote’s great grandfather.
Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian billionaire businessman known for his conglomerate, Dangote Group, which operates in various sectors including cement, sugar, and flour. He is considered Africa’s richest person and one of the wealthiest individuals globally. Dangote’s business empire has made significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy and beyond, with investments in several African countries. He is renowned for his entrepreneurial acumen, philanthropy, and influence in shaping Africa’s economic landscape.
Aliko Dangote’s most recent project is Dangote Oil Refinery which is a 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery. It is Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.
The Pipeline Infrastructure at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometers to handle 3 Billion Standard Cubic Foot of gas per day. The Refinery alone has a 435MW Power Plant that is able to meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo.
In January 2022, Aliko Dangote’s net worth was estimated to be around $12 billion USD, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in Africa and globally. However, please note that net worth figures can fluctuate over time due to changes in asset valuations, market conditions, and other factors. It’s advisable to check the latest financial news or reliable sources for the most current information on his net worth.
Alhassan Dantata built the Kano Groundnut Pyramids & dealt in kolanuts. Each pyramid had 15,000 filled bags. He was a supplier to British trading companies.
Alhassan Dantata opened an account with British Bank of West Africa (now First Bank) with 20 camel-loads of silver coins in Kano, Nigeria in 1929His great grandson, Aliko Dangote is the Richest Man in Africa.
Before competing know their history and while at it, aim to break the generational cycle of poverty so that your bloodline that comes after you stand a chance of tapping into your greatness☺️😍. Be the ancestor that starts it all or revives the greatness that was somewhat interrupted. Quit searching for the fortune they preach to you and seek whether it’s already in your blooodline or find answers.
Understand the blood that runs through your veins and intentionally be proactive with the clarity that lightens the burden you carry of questioning why your own story is different. Your veins have the all the answers .
Dantata was born 1877 in Bebeji, Kano Emirate in the Sokoto Caliphate, one of several children of Abdullahi and his wife, Amarya. Abdullahi was the son of Baba Talatin, it was Baba Talatin who brought the family from Katsina to Madobi in Kano following the death of his father called Ali. Dantata was born into an Agalawa trading family in Bebeji in present-day Kano State in 1877. His parents were caravan leaders and traders. His father, Abdullahi, was a son of a prosperous merchant called Baba Talatin who had originally moved the family from Katsina in the early nineteenth century.
His mother, Fatima Maduga Amarya, was also an independent caravan leader. She had the reputation of having such a forceful character that nobody in the Zango would take her as a wife after the demise of her husband. She decided to leave her children in the care of an old female servant and moved to Gonja in Accra, Ghana where she became one of the wealthiest Hausa traders. The servant, whose name was Tata, was the reason young Alhassan became known as Dantata (“Dan-tata” means “son of Tata” in the Hausa language).. Abdullahi died in Bebeji around 1885.
Dantata was only sixteen when the 1893 civil war broke out in Kano. A group of dissidents from Kano sacked the town of Bebeji. Many of the town’s inhabitants were killed and the rest were captured, including Dantata and two of his brothers (Bala and Sidi). They were able to buy their freedom back and return to Bebeji shortly afterwards. He witnessed yet another upheaval when the British attacked the region shortly after the turn of the century. He was in Bebeji when the British crossed the border from Zaria on February 1, 1903. In the attack on Bebeji, the town leader was killed along with a number of his troops.
Dantata was sent to a Qur’anic school (madrasah) in Bebeji. Because his share of his father’s wealth seemed to have vanished, he had to support himself. Although the life of an almajiri (Qur’anic student) was (and is) a difficult one, he was able to save some money, largely at the insistence of Tata, who purchased an asusu (ceramic money box) for him. At fifteen, Dantata joined a Gonja-bound caravan in order to see his mother with hopes that her wealth would allow him to settle in Accra without having to work. He purchased some items from Bebeji, half of which he sold on the road and the remainder in Accra. After only one day of rest, Dantata’s mother took him to a Muslim teacher and asked him to stay with him until he was ready to return to Kano.
He was forced to work even harder in Accra than he did in Bebeji. After the usual reading of the Qur’an, he had to go and beg for food for himself and his teacher. On Thursdays and Fridays he worked for money, but he had to share the greater part of his income with his teacher. After less than a year, his mother sent him back to Bebeji where he continued his studies. Even though now a teenager, Dantata continued to save something every day.
He set out for Accra again via lbadan and Lagos, travelling to the Gold Coast by sea and eventually becoming one of the first northern traders to exploit these routes commercially. For several years he utilized coastal steamers to transport his kola nuts to Lagos where he resold them to Kano-bound traders and began to amass considerable wealth. In 1906, he began to diversify his interests by trading in beads, necklaces, European cloth and other items and was able to buy a house in the Koki ward of Kano. His mother, who had never remarried, died in Accra around 1908, at which time Dantata began to limit his trade to Lagos and Kano, although he still occasionally visited Accra. He married Hajiya Umma Zaria and she conducted business for him with women (he refrained from doing so for religious reasons). In 1912 when the Europeans started to show an interest in the export of groundnuts, they contacted established merchants through the first British appointed Emir of Kano, Abbas (1903-1919) and his chief agent, Jakada. Established merchants such as Umaru Sharubutu and Maikano Agogo were approached and all readily accepted the offer.
In 1918, Dantata was approached by the UK-based Royal Niger Company (RNC) to help purchase groundnuts for them and he responded to their offer. He was already familiar with stories of people who had made fortunes by buying cocoa for the Europeans in the Gold Coast. Because of the speed with which he responded to the invitation of the RNC, he gained several advantages over rival Kano traders. In addition, his mastery of English (achieved through his trade in the south and along the coast) helped him in negotiations, as well as the fact that he had also accumulated a greater amount of capital than many other Kano merchants.
Furthermore, unlike many of his peers, he had a relatively small family to maintain, largely because he was still younger than other traders of similar means. His early life had instilled in him a flair for financial management as well as a tendency towards leading a frugal existence. He had some accounting skills and with the help of Alhaji Garba Maisikeli (his financial controller for thirty-eight years), every kobo was accounted for every day. Dantata was also a careful manager who directly supervised his workers.
Within a short time of entering the groundnut business, Dantata came to dominate the field. By 1922 he had become the wealthiest business executive in Kano, pushing his contemporaries Umaru Sharubutu and Agogo to second and third place respectively. When the British Bank of West Africa opened a branch in Kano in 1929, he became the first Kano businessperson to open a bank account in which he deposited twenty camel-loads of silver coins.
In the last decade of his life, Dantata became the chief buyer of groundnuts for the Royal Niger Company (known at this time as the United Africa Company following a merger with the African and Eastern Trade Corporation). He alone purchased about half of all the groundnuts secured by UAC in northern Nigeria. In 1932, he applied for a licence to purchase and export groundnuts on his own.
However, because of the lingering world depression and the conflict in Europe, it was not granted. In 1949, he contributed property valued at £10,200 to the proposed Kano Citizens Trading Company for the establishment of the first indigenous textile mill in northern Nigeria.
Between 1953 and 1954, he was a licensed buying agent who sold directly to the commodity board instead of to another firm. By this time, Dantata had many business connections both in Nigeria and in other West African countries, particularly the Gold Coast (now Ghana).
He dealt other merchandise, including cattle, cloth, beads, precious stones, grains and rope. His role in the purchase of kola nuts from forest areas of Nigeria for sale in the North was so great that eventually whole “kola trains” from the Western Region were filled with his nuts alone.
After finally settling in Kano, he maintained agents (mainly his relations) in other trading centers; his brother, Alhaji Bala, was in charge of his Lagos office. Dantata employed many people (mainly Hausas, Yorubas and Igbos) as drivers, clerks, and labourers. In some ways, his employees were treated as members of his extended family. Some lived in his own houses (especially the Hausa workers) and he frequently took responsibility for his workers’ marriage expenses.
Despite his great wealth, Dantata lived a simple lifestyle; eating the same foods and dressing like everyone else. He worked closely with his employees and frequently shared his meals with them. Dantata reportedly sought to avoid any conflict with individuals or with the authorities. Whenever he offended those in power he would quietly solve the problem with the official concerned.
In 1955, Dantata fell ill. Because of the seriousness of his illness, he summoned his chief financial controller, Garba Maisikeli and his children. He told them that his days were approaching their end and advised them to live together. He was particularly concerned about the company he had established (Alhassan Dantata & Sons).
He asked them not to allow the company to collapse. He implored them to continue to marry within the family as much as possible. He urged them to avoid clashes with other wealthy Kano merchants. They should take care of their relatives, especially the poor among them. Three days later, he died in his sleep on Wednesday 17 August 1955. He was buried in his house in the Sarari ward.
After witnessing the Rwandan genocide as a photojournalist m, Brazilian Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado returned back home in 1994 traumatised and a shell of himself.
The sight he was met with when he returned home was disturbing too and nothing close to how he knew it to be. In his words, “The land was as sick as I was. Only about 0.5% of the land was covered in trees,” he remarked.
The vital green forest filled with wildlife that he was accustomed to during his childhood had vanished. Instead, he discovered that his home had transformed into a dusty, barren land stretching for miles, devoid of any wildlife.
Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado’s wife Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado upon realising how fragile his mental health was and frustrated he was with the condition of the landscape suggested they embark on a restoration programme of replanting the entire forest. Salgado jumped at the opportunity.
The Salgado couple over the course of the next 20 years planted an astonishing 2.7 million trees. This was achieved through a lot of dedication, education their community and beyond ensuring their were in the same page , crowd funding and a well informed leadership who understood the value of the project over their egos or point scoring.
There was no politicising of the project whatsoever. People from all walks of life rallied behind the project, put the planet and living creatures first. This project resulted in the rejuvenation of 1,500 acres of rainforest. The site eventually became home to 293 plant species, 172 bird species, and 33 animal species, some of which were on the brink of extinction. It all started with 2 people who shared a very selfless agenda and commitment to wellness.
With a little care and intentional proactive initiatives we can reverse a lot of environmental and climate issues that are plaguing our planet. Case in point , it’s impossible to not also connect the the rise in floods with deforestation and even simple options we seem to be latching on like expanding concrete jungles , choosing fake grass or plants over real ones , poor town planning with inadequate drainage system.
It’s also impossible to not acknowledge the rise in allergies as we are distancing ourselves more from cohabiting with nature as we have embraced the use of harsh chemicals to kill small creatures. We lack environmentally sustainable solutions that encourage the ecosystem to thrive by our sheer intolerance of other living things . My faith in humanity compels me to believe that we will all do better .
ln Niger, a state in the Northern part of Nigeria there is a very unique and interesting ancient kingdom called Kumbwada with an estimated population of around 33 000 people. Kumbwada is located in Sabon Kabula in Munya Local Government Area of Niger state. The throne is situated in Dangunu Emirate Council.
Notice that I called it “unique and interesting” right? Well indeed it is and I will tell you why. This Kingdom has been ruled by women for at least six successive generations since its conquest by Princess Magajiya and can only be ruled by women.
Queen Hajiya Hadiza Ahmed is the current queen of the Kumbwada Kingdom. She has been on the throne for over 20 years. Queen Hadiza, fondly called ‘Magjiyan Kumbwada ‘ by her subjects inherited the throne from her late grandmother, who reigned for 73 years and died aged 113.
The last man who dared to defy this curse, the father of the current queen: Queen HajiyaHaidzatu Ahmed, had no sooner thought it than he failed. As soon as he made his intentions known, Prince Amadu Kumbwada became mysteriously ill and had to be taken to another kingdom to recuperate. He never returned to Kumbwada.
The curse of Kumbwada kingdom started over two centuries ago when the warrior Princess Magajiya Maimuna led her cavalry from Zaria, a town to the north and conquered the kingdom. After the conquest Maimuna decided to leave her brother to rule but he fell sick and died within a week. The same thing happened with her second brother which compelled her to rule. She ruled successfully for 83 years .
Northern Nigeria is largely associated with poor women’s rights , underrepresentation of the girl child and equality for the girl child so this kingdom definitely serves as an exception . Hajiya Haidzatu Ahmed and successive queens have made efforts to reverse the situation and ensure that women be educated, and given opportunities to be relevant in the community.
According UNICEF At 27 per cent, the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) among girls and women aged 15-49 years is lower than in many countries where the practice is carried out, but Nigeria still has the third highest absolute number of women and girls (19.9 million) who have undergone FGM/C worldwide.
It is more commonly practised in the south , driven by grandmothers and mothers-in-law aiming to curb promiscuity, prepare girls for marriage and conform to tradition. The North so far continues to successfully keep this barbaric practice at bay with many believing that perhaps having female queens helps with protecting the girl child.
Nigerian children are vulnerable to a wide range of abuses and harmful traditional practices. The national legal framework for child protection is the Child Rights Act 2003, but to date, only 23 of 36 states have adopted the Act. Implementation is patchy with many local authority bodies unaware of their duties under the law.
A national survey in 2014 found that 6 out of 10 children reported having suffered one or more forms of violence before reaching 18 years of age, with 70 per cent of those experiencing multiple incidents of violence. The country has the largest number of child brides in Africa: 23 million girls and women were married as children.
Although Queen Hajiya Hadiza Ahmed openly regrets not having a formal education, one can never doubt the value of wisdoms over knowledge because these alarming statistics regarding protection of women are not aligned with her kingdom. Queen Hajiya often addresses women’s groups, urging members to become educated so that they can be future leaders.
When asked about how she settles domestic disputes, the queen was quoted saying , “When domestic issues come to me, the way I treat them will be quite different to other traditional chiefs,” she says. “I’m a woman and I’m a mother and I have so much concern and experience when it comes to the issue of marriage and what it means for the maintenance of the home and what it means for two people to live together.”
The queen, currently is in her late seventies and going strong. Her royal title is inherited on the maternal side of the family, and her daughter, Idris, is her successor.
The Ostrich People of Zimbabwe The Doma or vaDoma (singular muDoma), also known as Dema, are a tribe living in the Kanyemba region in the north of Zimbabwe, especially in the Urungwe and Sipolilo districts around the basins of Mwazamutanda River, a tributary of the Zambezi River Valley. They are the only traditional hunter-gatherers indigenous to Zimbabwe and famous for the inherited genetics existing among some vaDoma families. Their population is estimated at around 20 000 people.
Historically, the vaDoma chiefly dwelt in the mountains, living a largely nomadic lifestyle of hunting, fishing, trapping, honey hunting, and gathering wild fruits and roots. Prior to the European colonization of Africa, the vaDoma also resisted incorporation into the Korekore Shona kingdom of Mutapa, which resulted in little access to fertile land.
Land reform after Zimbabwe’s independence did not change this, despite pressure from the Mugabe government, and the vaDoma’s continuing dispossession has made them Zimbabwe’s only non-agricultural society, leading to stereotypes as “Stone Age cave-dwellers”.
The mountain homeland of the vaDoma has now become the Chewore Safari Area. In recent years, vaDoma have been threatened by game rangers due to a crackdown on poaching. Many abandoned their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and moved to the lowlands. Today, though they have little contact with the majority populace,
Language The vaDoma speak the Dema language, which is closely related to the dominant Shona language of Zimbabwe and largely comprehensible to those who speak the Korekore and Tande Shona dialects. Living alongside Shona and Kunda people in Kanyemba, they also speak Korekore Shona and Kunda.
Religion They follow their ethnic religion though there are some who are Seventh Day Adventists. Ethnic religions put them at the mercy of the spirit world. In recent years, many religious groups have moved into Doma communities in order to proselytize, a process which threatens traditional Doma culture and practices.
The Vadoma tribespeople’s physical characteristics are thought by scientists to be the result of a mutation in chromosome number seven. Some claim that this malformation of the lower or upper limbs is more common than we realize and is not just limited to the Vadoma people. As a result, more individuals have this distinctive physical appearance outside the Vadoma tribe. According to Science Daily Online, this defect can be found in one in every 90,000 people.
Scientifically, this genetic condition is called ectrodactyly. The foot is missing the three middle toes and the two outer ones are turned in, which is why the Vadoma people are also called the “two-toed” tribe. The foot itself is said to resemble that of an ostrich’s foot, thus the name, ostrich people. Ectrodactyly is an autosomal dominant condition which is the result of a single mutation on the number seven chromosome.
A large number of human gene defects can cause Ectrodactyly. The most common mode of inheritance is autosomal dominant form, while autosomal recessive and X-linked forms occur more rarely. Dominant genetic disorders require only a single copy of an abnormal gene for the expression or appearance of the disease. Ectrodactyly can also be caused by duplication on 10q24.
Vadoma Mythology Their ancestors, according to Vadoma mythology, came from a Baobab tree. The Vadoma elders believe that their ancestors were like birds that appeared in the sky and settled among people.
They claimed that their DNA was a combination of the earthly women’s DNA and their bird-like ancestors’ DNA. As a result, that unusual union gave birth to children who shared their ancestry and had the common ostrich foot syndrome. Additionally, they assert that Liitolafisi, the planet they hail from, is where their forefathers originated.
To most of us this is worrying and we feel for them however, they do not feel that way and are not devastated or limited in any way by their genetic disorder. On the contrary, they take it as a blessing and use it to their advantage. Due to the shape of their feet, of the shape of their feet, walking and running is difficult however the condition makes them excellent tree climbers.
While the rest of the world except for jungle dwellers rely on agriculture for food and revenue, the Vadoma do not practice agriculture, and their homeland has become Zimbabwe’s only non-agricultural area.
They comfortably sustain themselves by hunting, fishing, trapping wild animals and by gathering roots, honey and wild fruits. Their homes are simple huts made from reeds and twigs so one cannot help but argue that they happen to be THE most eco friendly community in the world.
Although their future as a tight knit community who for biological reasons are best left expanding on their own I doubt this will be upheld. Zimbabwe in the recent years has seen lots of land exploration and just like many communities that have been displaced to be it seems like it is just a matter of time before the Doma people integrate fully with mainstream society.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, polyandry is the custom of having more than one husband at the same time compare polygamy.
Polyandry is marriage of a woman to two or more men at the same time; the term derives from the Greek polys, “many,” and anēr, andros, “man.” When the husbands in a polyandrous marriage are brothers or are said to be brothers, the institution is called adelphic, or fraternal, polyandry.
Polyandry has occurred all over the world, among human societies at all levels of social stratification, employing all types of economic strategies. While the classical cases that appear in Southeast Asia among stratified, agricultural societies have been thoroughly studied, very little has been written on it.
The majority of the societies are egalitarian bands or tribes, practicing hunting and gathering and slash-and-burn horticulture. The presence of polyandry among these groups suggests that polyandry likely existed throughout human evolutionary history.
It appears that non-classical formal polyandry is employed as a male reproductive strategy when instances of prolonged male absences occur, in that polyandry may function as a form of mate guarding while the primary husband is away.
On the other hand, when adult male mortality is high, it seems that non-classical informal polyandry is a female reproductive strategy, utilized to ensure an investing father for children if the primary father should die. In all cases, however, it appears that non-classical polyandry is one possible solution for men to make the best of a bad situation.
One other reason for its acceptance is that it is used to control overpopulation.Did you know that the Nyinba of Nepal practices fraternal polyandry because there is not enough land to divide between brothers and the high mortality rate of females child and infant mortality?
Polyandrous relationships are also popular in the animal kingdom with fishes and various mammals.
One case I find rather fascinating is that of an Indian woman named Draupadi who married five brothers and is now a goddess that is worshipped. India is a country where many traditions occur. They have more than one place practicing polyandry. It is still popular in parts of North India in the Jaunsarbawar region.
Draupadi had five husbands
Bhima
Ariuna
Nakula
Sahadeva
Yudhishtira
In Sanskrit Mahābhārata, Draupadi is described as the incarnation of different goddesses. In Sambhava section of Adi Parva, she is said to be partial incarnation of Goddess Shachi (or Sachi). However, in Vaivahika section of Adi Parva Vyasa describes her as the celestial Sri. In Svargarohanika Parva, Yudhisthira goes to heaven and sees Draupadi seated as Goddess Sri (Or Sree).
The Draupadi Amman sect (or Draupadi devotional sect) is a tradition that binds together a community of people in worshipping Draupadi Amman as a village goddess with unique rituals and mythology Fire walking or Thimithi is a popular ritual enacted at Draupadi Amman temples.At the ancient religious festival of Bengaluru Pete named Bangalore Karaga, Draupadi is worshipped as an incarnation of Adishakti and Parvati in the nine-day event.
Polyandry is practiced in other countries as well like :
Kenya : In August 2013, Kenyan witness polyandry when two men decided to be husbands to a woman they both love. It is noteworthy that Kenyan laws don’t explicitly forbid Polyandry and legal action can’t be taken against people who practice it. There have also been reported cases of polyandry among the Massai people of Kenyan.
Nigeria: Although largely uncommon in Nigeria, there are tribes in Nigeria that also allows polyandry. Among the Irigwe of Northern Nigeria, women have traditionally acquired numerous spouses called “co-husbands”. The Irigwe people of Nigeria practiced a woman having co-husbands until their council voted to outlaw it in 1968. Until then, women moved from house to house, taking on multiple spouses, and the children’s paternity was assigned to the husband whose house the woman lived in at the time.
South America: Polyandry also existed among tribes in South America as the Bororo practiced polyandry while up to 70 percent of Amazonian cultures may have believed in the principle of multiple paternity. “The Tupi-Kawahib also still practice fraternal polyandry.
China : The practice of fraternal polyandry is common among the people Tibet in the Nepal parts of China and India. It is based on the belief that a child can have more than one father and usually when two or more brothers marry one woman, they all have equal sexual access to her.
The practice is encouraged if the family is poor and can’t divide their properties amongst the offsprings of separate fathers. So they keep their small farmlands and properties big by getting married to the same woman.
In conclusion, this ongoing practice of polyandry that I have noted being capitalised on by modern day feminists seems to be taking a very interesting turn and form. It’s pretty unsettling when a norm or practice seems to be getting exploited because time now becomes the only viable solution to provide us with the real impact of the adaptation and idea on what form the adoption takes.
The man known as Cudjo Lewis (ca. 1841-1935) was one of the last survivors of the Clotilda, the last recorded slave ship to the United States, which arrived in Mobile on Sunday July 8, 1860, illegally and under cover of night, 52 years after the country had abolished the international slave trade.
Cudjoe Kazoola Lewis date of birth July 17 1935 born Oluale Kossola and also known as Cudjo Lewis, was the third to last adult survivor of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the United States. Together with 115 other African captives, he was brought to the United States on board the ship Clotilda in 1860. The captives were landed in backwaters of the Mobile River near Mobile, Alabama, and hidden from authorities.
Over the course of nearly 400 years, more than 12 million Africans were abducted by slavers and shipped to Europe and North America. The process, known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, was legally outlawed in the United States in 1807, but in 1860, one slaver violated that law and shipped about 152 West African captives to Mobile, Alabama
He is considered the “only known African deported through the slave trade whose moving image exists,” and his story illuminated to Americans the full cruel story of the Transatlantic slave trade.
Cudjo Lewis was born in the Banté region of West Africa that is today encompassed by the nation of Benin. He grew up in a Yoruba community in a large family of 17 siblings. In the spring of 1860, Kossola’s peaceful life was interrupted when he was abducted by the army of the African Kingdom of Dahomey and sold by them to slavers at the port Ouidah.
By this time, the importation of slaves had been illegal in the United States for nearly 60 years, and British and American ships had already set up a blockade around West Africa to prevent slavers from kidnapping any more people.
However, slave traders still attempted to illegally bring slaves to the United States due to the immense profit they stood to make by flouting the law. Furthermore, at that time, slave traders who had been charged with piracy were acquitted by a jury in Georgia, leading many to believe they could smuggle slaves into the U.S. without consequences.
Kossola was consequently sold to Captain William Foster of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to dock in the United States. Aboard were 115 to 160 more African men and women forced across the Atlantic to Mobile, Alabama.
When Kossola and the other captors arrived in Alabama, they were sold to businessman Timothy Meaher. Though Meaher was charged with the illegal possession of captives, by the time the authorities arrived on his property to execute his arrest, he had hidden away his captives and had erased all trace of them having been there.
Meaher was able to conceal over 100 slaves because he owned an area of land outside Mobile called Magazine Point which was surrounded by swamp and only easily accessible by boat.
Without the physical evidence of the captives, the case was dismissed in January 1861, and Cudjo Lewis and his fellow captives were forced to work on Meaher’s mill and shipyard as slaves. For the next four years, Kossola toiled as a slave and was renamed “Cudjo,” a name given by the Fon and Ewe peoples of West Africa. Meaher was also simply unable to pronounce “Kossola.” Kossola’s new last name, “Lewis,” was likely derived from his father’s name, Oluale.
In 1863, slavery was made illegal through Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and five years later, the passage of the 14th Amendment made all former slaves American citizens, but Cudjo Lewis was not included as he was not born in the United States. It was only months later when Lewis was nationalized that he became an American citizen.
Following the end of legal chattel slavery in the United States, Cudjo Lewis met a young woman named Abile who also had been on the Clotilda. Together with many other freed Africans, they attempted to raise enough money for a voyage back home to their respective communities.
However, with the few economic opportunities afforded to former slaves in the South, many found that it would be impossible for them to raise enough money to return home. Cudjo Lewis decided that if he couldn’t go home, then he’d create a new one right there in the South.
Like many freed slaves, Cudjo Lewis continued to work for the family to whom he once belonged for meager pay after his emancipation. Lewis took a job in Meaher’s lumber mill, where he eventually raised enough money to buy a two-acre plot of land in Magazine Point for $100 in 1872.
At this point, many of the Africans brought over on the Clotilda began to band together and buy out land in the area in order to create a self-contained community. Here, they spoke their regional African languages and partook in traditions that may have otherwise stayed lost to them back home. To outsiders, this area became known as Africatown.
While they continued practicing most of their West African traditions, many in Africatown did adopt Christianity and built a church. The community took a chief, named Charlie Poteet, and a medicine man, who went by Jabez.
Cudjo Lewis officially married Abile in 1880, and the two of them lived on their land, which Cudjo Lewis farmed and organized like a Yoruba family compound. They had two sons together, one of who continued to live in a house on Cudjo’s property when he married and started a family, in typical Yoruba fashion.
Even when his son died in 1908, Cudjo Lewis allowed his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, and eventually her second husband, to continue to live on his compound.
Cudjo worked as a farmer and a laborer to provide for his family until he was injured when his buggy was hit by a train in 1902. After that, he became the caretaker of the community’s Baptist church.
As one of the few remaining ex-slaves who had actually endured the horrors of the transatlantic journey, and who had memories of their lives in Africa, Cudjo’s story became a sensation within the tight-knit community of anthropological writers at the time.
Cudjo Lewis died on July 17, 1935, at the age of 95, outliving his wife and all of his children by 27 years.
His life is an intimate look at the horrors of the slave trade and how the process was a cultural genocide to the traditions of those forced to the United States from Africa. Despite the efforts of slave-era America to stamp out his heritage, Cudjo Lewis continued to live by his born traditions and create a flourishing community in a country that wanted to erase it.
I’m touched by Cudjo’s love of self and home that he even ended up creating it 🫶🏾
Zulaikha Patel (born 2003) is a South African anti-racism activist. She became a symbol of the fight against Pretoria Girls High School’s policy regarding black girls’ hair in 2016, at the age of 13. She and her classmates held a demonstration that led to not only a change in school policy, but also an inquiry into allegations of racism at the school. She is quoted as saying: “Asking me to change my hair is like asking me to erase my blackness.”
Zulaikha Patel attended Pretoria Girls High School. Pretoria Girls’ High School, is located in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. The school was founded in 1902, and was all white since founding until 1990, as South African schools were segregated before Apartheid, but since 1990, the school is open to all races.
Pretoria Girls’ Code of Conduct does not specifically mention afros, but it does lay out rules for general appearance, including prescribing that all styles “should be conservative, neat and in keeping with the school uniform.” Teachers had told the students that their afro hair is “exotic” and needed to be tamed. It was implied that girls’ hair needed to be straightened or tied back, not worn as Afros.
Zulaikha Patel’s actions inspired other protests in South Africa, at Lawson Brown High School in the Eastern Cape, and St. Michael’s School for Girls in Bloemfontein where parents marched as well. People worldwide began sharing pictures of their own afros on social media, in solidarity with the female students of Pretoria High School. International press coverage ensued.
The protests showed that racial divisions persist, despite the 1991 end of apartheid. Patel’s defiance initiated more protests and change. Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi visited Pretoria Girls’ High School to hear the black students’ grievances, not only about the hair policy, but about racism in general at the school. For example, girls are not permitted to speak African languages on the school premises, only English or Afrikaans.
Patrick Gaspard, US ambassador to South Africa, tweeted: “All societies have rules. And sometimes those rules are biased and need to be exposed and protested.” An online petition had almost 25,000 signatures within a day. The Gauteng Department of Education suspended the hair policy.
Zulaikha Patel was recognized as one of the BBC’s 100 women of 2016.
As a Nubian queen who proudly maintains my Afro hair and dare I say, my very expensive to maintain Afro hair I call for an end to Afro Hair Discrimination – My Hair Will not Be Silenced. This is extended to my sons dreadlocks and thankfully apart from one of two incidents involving my sons dreadlocks he has had since the age of 4 we’ve never backed down on our identity or tonned down to make others comfortable in their opinion of what they deem presentable or not.
As a matter of fact, while attending high school my son was once given a manual on how he should wear his dreadlocks because I quote “they distracted others and teachers so they were to be kept tied in a neat layered pony tail.” To that my then 14 year old before even getting home told them as long as that was the consensus for the blondes, curly haired fellow students and staff members he would happily comply.
It is important to note that worldwide this issue has been taken seriously for example , the United States CROWN Act to protect against this form of discrimination.
Other examples and cases of Afro hair discrimination ;
Canada: In 2016, a mixed race woman in Scarborough, Ontario, who was working at the retail chain ZARA, was asked to remove her box braids because her hair style was considered unprofessional. In another case, an African-American woman living in Montreal, Quebec, was sent home from a restaurant and denied shifts, because her hair was in cornrows. The woman gained representation through the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR), and filed a case with the Quebec Human Rights Commission based racial and gender discrimination. She won her case and was awarded $14,500 in damages.
Jamaica
In 2018, a five-year-old girl was banned from attending classes at her primary school in Kingston, Jamaica, for having dreadlocks.
-Somalia During the Arab slave trade, many Bantus were captured in Tanzania and brought to work as slaves in Somalia. The Bantus are phenotypically, linguistically and culturally distinct from the ethnic Somalis of Somalia and were discriminated based on this and still are to this day. The Bantus brought there, who are now called Somali Bantus, were called “Jareer” by the ethnic Somalis which is derogatory word meaning kinky-haired
Just to mention a few .
Here’s to the Zulaikha’s of this world, may we birth them, may we raise them, may we be them 👌🏽🫶🏾✊🏽✊🏽
Kandake of the Sudanese Revolution (also known as Woman in White and Lady Liberty of the Sudanese Revolution) Alaa Salah, a 22-year-old student standing on top of a car, leading a crowd of demonstrators in chant during the Sudanese anti-government protests on 8 April 2019.
Salah’s white robe, a traditional Sudanese thoub, resembles the dress of female Sudanese protesters against previous dictatorships, as well as that of student protesters who were referred to as “Kandake” after ancient Nubian queens. Her golden earrings are traditional feminine wedding attire.
The image has been seen as a symbol of the Sudanese people’s pride in their culture and identity. Salad’s image captured the energy and determination of the Sudanese people as they called for political change and social justice.Commentators referred to her pose as “the image of the revolution”.
Since December 2018, a series of protests against President Omar al-Bashir took place, demanding economic reforms and the resignation of the president. A state of emergency was declared in February 2019 as a result of the protests; yet, 6 and 7 April saw the largest protests.
As protests continued, the army was observed protecting protesters from security forces on 10 April. Eventually the protests led to the military removing al-Bashir from power, installing a transitional council in his place led by Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf. The move was seen as a change of leadership of the same regime by the protesters who demanded a civilian transitional council.
On 6 April, the Sudanese Professionals Association called for a march to the military headquarters in Khartoum.Hundreds of thousands of people protested and converged at the headquarters, where the security forces and military appeared to be divided in their allegiances. Some security forces tried to attack the protesters, while the military took the protesters’ side and fired at the security forces.
The following Sunday, social media was blocked and the power was cut in Sudan as protesters began a sit-in at the military headquarters in Khartoum, which lasted for a week until the Khartoum massacre on 3 June.
Salah’s image was widely shared on social media and caught international media attention. there was a dearth of global attention on the events unfolding in Sudan, but after Salah’s picture gained traction, it seemed as if there was a sudden shift in the world’s attention and people from all over the world started taking notice of the situation in Sudan.
The image become a symbol of the Sudanese Revolution and a representation of women’s leadership in social movements.Salah, a 22-year-old student studying engineering and architecture, has become a symbol of women’s leadership in the protests and a role model for young Sudanese women.
In her first interview since the picture went viral, she spoke about the importance of women’s participation in the protests and their role in shaping the future of Sudan, with some estimates claiming that up to 70 per cent of the protesters had been women. The image has also inspired a wave of feminist and women’s rights activism in Sudan, with many women taking to the streets and using social media to voice their demands for equality and representation.
Till date this image is now a symbol of an identity of a working woman — a Sudanese woman that’s capable of doing anything, but still appreciates her culture.
Salah co-wrote the book The song of revolt – The Sudanese uprising told by its icon (French: Le chant de la révolte – Le soulèvement soudanais raconté par son icône) with Martin Roux, providing her personal account of the Sudanese revolution.
As a member of MANSAM, one of the main Sudanese women’s networks that signed the 1 January 2019 Forces of Freedom and Change declaration, Salah was later invited to give a speech at the 29 October 2019 meeting of the United Nations Security Council. In her speech, she insisting on equal representation of women in the Sudanese transitionary institutions
Miye’s corner of delights 