Daily Archives: September 26, 2009
Mali : Sand Divination and African Fractals
Mali sand diviner
[Photo credit : Sociolingo Africa]
A sand diviner in Mali
With a Malian colleague I visited a sand diviner in his village along the Guinea road some years ago. It was an interesting experience that changed my perspective. The man was introduced to me as a ‘marabout’ or muslim holy man. He was very welcoming and was eager for me to see what he was doing and why. My colleague was visiting him to find some information out about his future as he was worried about a government reorganisation.
I was exploring to find more information about sand divination used by the Bambara in Mali when I found the following excerpt from a book which corresponds very closely to my experience.
Eglash, R. African Fractals: Modem Computing and Indigenous Design (Rutgers University Press, 1999.)
Suggested Books
- African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design
- Africa Counts: Number and Pattern in African Cultures
- Geometry from Africa (Classroom Resource Materials)
- The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy and the Order of Knowledge (African Systems of Thought)
China and natural resources in Africa
- Image by Julien Harneis via Flickr
More ‘China in Africa’ analysis. This time the paper is from the South African Institute of International Affairs (www.Saii.org.za ).
China and Africa’s Natural Resources: The Challenges and Implications for Development and Governance
This paper proposes to analyse China’s growing engagement in Africa’s mineral sector and assess its impact on local governance. China’s energy concerns have been playing an increasingly crucial role in its foreign policymaking in the new century. Although other energy sources (such as coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydropower and alternative fuels) are inherent to this debate, oil is the top Chinese concern, since it represents China’s largest external reliance. In little over a decade, China went from leading Asian oil exporter to second largest world consumer (2003) and third largest global importer (2004). China’s present economic foray into Africa’s natural resources thus emerges in this framework.
Despite oil being by far its major import from that continent (at 26% of its total oil imports), imports of other minerals such as cobalt, manganese, copper and iron ore have risen sharply in recent years. To gain access to these minerals, China has loaned billions of dollars to African countries for infrastructure development in exchange for resources (i.e. the so-called ‘Angola mode’) with no conditionalities attached. China’s success in achieving a significant position in the continent’s natural resources market in a short period has raised concerns among Africa’s traditional development partners, who fear that China’s approach undermines their longstanding efforts to improve governance in the continent.
How to get a copy
Download a PDF of the paper HERE
(Via www.africafiles.org)