Category Archives: AFRICA
New website on the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World
New website on the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World from the Schomburg Center for research in Black Culture.
Over the course of nearly 20 centuries, millions of East Africans crossed the Indian Ocean and its several seas and adjoining bodies of water in their journey to distant lands, from Arabia and Iraq to India and Sri Lanka.
Called Kaffir, Siddi, Habshi, or Zanji, these men, women and children from Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the south Africanized the Indian Ocean world and helped shape the societies they entered and made their own.
Free or enslaved, soldiers, servants, sailors, merchants, mystics, musicians, commanders, nurses, or founders of dynasties, they contributed their cultures, talents, skills and labor to their new world, as millions of their descendants continue to do. Yet, their heroic odyssey remains little known.
The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World traces a truly unique and fascinating story of struggles and achievements across a variety of societies, cultures, religions, languages and times.
http://exhibitions.nypl.org/
Suggested Books
The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean
Ocean of Letters: Language and Creolization in an Indian Ocean Diaspora (Critical Perspectives on Empire)
Niger : Saharan Crossroads, views from the South, Conference Report
REPORT: By Ismael M. Montana (Northern Illinois University)
Saharan Crossroads: Views from the South Hotel Ténéré, Niamey, Niger Republic, 7-10 July 2011
The West Africa Research Association (WARA) together with the American Institute of Maghrib Studies (AIMS) hosted the second international Saharan Crossroads Conference which took place at Ténéré Hotel in Niamey (Niger) between the 7th and the 10th July 2011.
This second conference with the theme of “Saharan Crossroads: Views from the South†brought together delegates and participants from many of the countries bordering the Greater Sahara from Morocco and Algeria in the North, to Mauritania, Senegal and Mali in the West, and other countries south of the Sahara including, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana, even South Africa. Up to thirty-six participants including academics, students, artists, professionals, NGO workers and policy-makers as well as participants from the US and several European countries such England, France and Belgium travelled to Niamey to exchange their thoughts about the Saharan-Sahelo world and its environs. The event brought into contact scholars and professionals of West Africa and North Africa, most of whom were visiting the region for the very first time. The Executive Director of the Council for American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), Dr. Mary Ellen Lanes, the Director of the West Africa Research Association (WARA), Dr. Jennifer Yanco, and the Director of the West Africa Research Center (WARC) in Dakar, Dr. Ousmane Sene and Dr. Wendy Wilson Fall of Kent State University and former director of WARC joined the conference participants. The conference was funded by the generous support of the Educational and Cultural Bureau of the United States, the West African Peace Initiative and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
The Saharan Crossroads Conference in Niamey is part of series of conferences organized by WARA and AIMS. The goal of these conferences is to strengthen the cultural, artistic and historical links among scholars and the peoples living within and across the Sahara Desert. The idea behind these conferences began as a workshop held at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2004 where the Saharan crossroads perspective was developed. The first international conference which was held in Tangier, Morocco in 2009 brought together over thirty scholars and artists who reflected on the cultural and historical ties of the people of North Africa to their southern neighbors by way of trans-Saharan caravans and the development of common Saharan identities.
This year, the focus was on both historical and contemporary developments, with an eye to exploring the intellectual and cultural production of Saharan identities in West African countries and their links to North and Northwest Africa.  Participants discussed the shared artistic traditions, cultures, and histories that create a strong bond among African countries connected to the Saharan-Sahelo world. By seeking to promote cultural exchanges among the regions of Africa linked by the Sahara Desert in the pursuit of peaceful coexistence and the promotion of peace, the conference did not loose sight of contemporary issues facing the region. Regional harmony and interdependence are demonstrated in countless ways, particularly through artistic expressions such as music, theater, dance, literature, cinema, architecture, and the decorative arts.  In putting these diverse common connections at the center of our attention for this event, the organizers of this conference undertook a noble objective of promoting scientific and cultural cooperation among the African countries around the Sahara.
In terms of the program, the conference was kick-started with an opening ceremony that included speeches from the event sponsors, Jennifer Yanco and Ousmane Sene (WARA), and Dr. Mary Ellen Lane who spoke of CAORC’s role in enhancing intra-African educational and research co-operation, and commended the role of the WARA office in Dakar in strengthening this goal in the Western African region. Her Excellency, Ambassador Bisa Williams (United States Ambassador to Niger Republic) encouraged and challenged the conference organizers and participants to capitalize on this historic meeting and foster academic and cultural cooperation between their respective institutions and Niger particularly. Other local dignitaries who welcomed the conference participants included Professor Aboubacar Adamou, former Minister of Higher Education and former Minister of National Education, former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences, who is a professor of Geography and a specialist of the Saharan regions of Agadez at Université Abdou Moumouni of Niger; and Mr. Kounou Hassane, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, who welcomed the participants on behalf of the President of the Republic of Niger.
Throughout the three-days of the conference, the participants enjoyed high-level presentations and discussions in French, Arabic and English organized around thematic sessions as follows:
Session 1: Saharan Ties of History
Session 2: Crossing the Saharan: Culture and Identity Re-formation in Africa;
Session 3: Â Patterns in Circulation: Trans-Saharan Artisanry and Design;
Session 4: Religion and Law
Session 5: Music, Arts and Ritual Performance
Session 6: Women, Knowledge and Power in the Sahel
Session 7 Legacy of Slavery in the Central Sudan and Across the
Sahara and the Atlantic Divide
Session 8: Culture, Art, and Governance in Muslim Northern Nigeria
Session 9: Architectural Cultures
Session 10: Language and Writing
Session 11: Crossed Histories and Traditions
The program featured the premiere screening of a documentary film by Cynthia Becker (Boston University) entitled “From Slave to Master: Women and Gnawa Possession Trance.†Each of these sessions and the film screening was followed by intense question and answer periods, always continuing till the next session.
Other entertainment features of program included musical performances, folk and Bori ritual dance performed by various local musicians and musical troupes as well as improvised music sessions between Nigerien and Moroccan and Algerian artists. Another highlight of the program included visits to the National Museum of Niger, the artisan markets, and a memorable boat ride on the Niger River.
The conference organizers specifically chose Niger as the ideal venue for the Saharan Crossroads: A View from the South conference, given its central position in the Sahel both past and present as a crossroad linking communities on both sides of the Sahara. The conference highlighted this particular position of Niger as a hub of cultural and economic exchange between the populations of North Africa and West Africa who share the Saharan space. Niamey (the capital city of Niger) was also an obvious venue for the event, given its strong academic institutions such as the Institut de Recherche en Sciences Humaines (IRSH) that houses the Department of Arabic and Ajami Manuscripts from Niger and neighboring Muslim West African countries, Université Abdou Moumouni, and LASDEL (Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local).
The conference concluded with the Organizing Committee, Abdourahmane Idrissa (Princeton University); Ghislaine Lydon (University of California, Los Angeles) and Scott Youngstedt (Saginaw Valley State University) reflecting on the quality of the program and presenting awards recognizing the wonderful support of Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, the Executive Director of CAORC; Dr. Jennifer Yanco, the Director of WARA; and Ousmane Sene, Director of WARC for their instrumental roles in fostering academic cooperation in the region.
This Saharan Crossroad Conference: A View from the South in Niamey succeeded in bridging intellectual conversations, building social and professional relationships and carrying forward the Saharan Crossroads initiative. The complete conference program is available at: (http://www.bu.edu/wara).
H-AfrArts
H-Net Network for African Expressive Culture
E -Mail:Â H-AFRARTS@H-NET.MSU.EDU
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~artsweb/
Africa Mali : Shopping in Bamako
I’ve just got back from market. So what you might say. I enjoy going but I find it exhausting. I think it is just the press of people mostly.
photo credit: Rafa http://www.micamara.es
We went to Medina Coura market right across town. To get there we have to cross the new bridge across the Niger into the city of Bamako. We then fight our way through the intense traffic right to the other side of town and drive down the main market street avoiding donkey carts, pus pus (wheelbarrows) and people. The next question is ‘where to park?’. We have to drive a long way down a side street, do a three-point turn and then try and squeeze onto the side of the road. For once there were no 10 or 11 year old boys waiting to ‘guard’ the car. So we leave it there and hope for the best. The next problem is crossing the road. We weave in and out of stationary and not so stationary cars and motorbikes and arrive on the outskirts of one of the biggest markets in town.
Medina Coura market is a bit like an iceberg. The bit you see from the street is just the tip – it goes for what seems like kilometres back from the road with windy passageways between the myriad stores. It is built on the natural rock so walking through is quite hazardous. The stalls we want to go to are right in the middle of the market in the area where little natural light penetrates. A group of women run a cooperative – dying and selling ‘bazan’ cloth. This is white damask which is dyed often using batik or a lost wax process. I always try and buy my cloth from these ladies. First we get waylaid because I spot a rather nice looking jewellery stall. This is costume jewellery not fine jewellery but it ‘looks’ like gold and seems to be well made. I want some finery for a celebration party this week when my government department finally moves into their new building. While we were at the jewellery stall a young lad sidled up to us with a large carrier bag. It used to be cardboard boxes but now it’s plastic bags. He was offering to carry my goods for me as I bought things in the market. We employed him. I found my ladies and we got some nice material for not bad prices. Then we started the long trek back to the car. On the way I bought a very large brown plasic wash bowl. I have this idea of creating an oasis on my back veranda and I want it to make a fountain with. Perhaps I’ll write more on that another time!
Finally in major contrast to the market we went to a large supermarket in town. This one has caused a certain level of culture shock recently. They have just finished renovations and it is now a two floor supermarket with an underground parking lot. WOW! It has also expanded the things you can buy there – at a price.
(Pages from my old diaries)
Shopping in Mali is fun!
Mali Market shops
Shopping in Mali is fun – most of the time. In the markets are many little shops. They are usually grouped together in sections, so you’ll find all the material sellers together, and all the household goods together. Not always, but mostly.
My favourite market was Medina Coura which is a huge sprawling market on the northern outskirts of Bamako. The backdrop of hills behind and the multitude of winding paths through the market make this an unforgettable experience. Few tourists go there, and if you go wearing local dress you will be welcomed with open arms. I think it is one of the friendliest markets I have ever been in. Don’t be surprised to get lost though ….
In Sevare there is a tourist shop called Farafina Tigne (http://www.farafina-tigne.com/) you will find all sorts of things on sale here, all made by local artisans, but of particular interest are the beads. There is one big section in the shop which is all lengths of beads strung on string. Other items include Bogolan cloth (mudcloth), carvings, bags and some clothes. If you go up the stairs in the shop you’ll find the Bead Museum. It is quite fascinating.
- Farafina Tigne shop in Sevare Mali
[Photo credit: cdntraveller (used with permission)]
As you drive around Bamako you’ll see lots of things by the side of the road for sale. Artisans tend to group together, so for example in one section of road you’ll find beds for sale.
In the centre of Bamako there is an Artisanat which sells goods from all over Mali. It’s really for tourists but you can buy all sorts of nice stuff, leather, jewellery etc without much hassle and at good prices. There is an extensive jewellery section with gold and silver jewellery being made and sold. The price is by weight.
Suggested Books
Nigeria : Patrimony, memory and identity in West Africa Conference 2012
Patrimony, Memory and Identity in West Africa, International Conference, IFRA-Nigeria, July 3-5, 2012
IFRA is launching a new multi-annual research programme on Patrimony, Memory and Identity in West Africa with a particular -but not exclusive- focus on Nigeria. An international conference will take place at the University of Ibadan from July 3-5, 2012. This project is intended to link up Nigerian and West African Scholars to the many international research teams that are currently working on the concepts of patrimonialisation and identity.
Presentation
For some times, the concept of patrimony, interpreted in a variety of subfields within the Social Sciences and the Humanities, has occupied a significant place in research programs on Africa. The making of patrimonies and the way they interact with the present  the process of patrimonialisation  studied in a time-sensitive perspective, may provide alternative understanding of contemporary Africa. Studies on Africa have focused on violence, armed conflicts, rebellions, religious and ethnic extremisms, corruption etc. Such analyses have not taken into consideration the complex and multidimensional nature of such events From the local to transnational spaces including the physical ,inner and mental territories, processes of patrimonialisation, on the other hand, are windows in the making of a collective memory, imaginary, identities, and trajectories of nation- building. Several Œcase studies¹ abound that call for deeper analysis. This project intends to promote a collective, international effort to explore some of the many processes of patrimonialisation that occur in West Africa, with Nigeria as a center- point of the investigation. The programme aims at studying processes of patrimonialisation that would provide alternative understandings of the way national, sub-national and transnational identities are being built in contemporary Nigeria and West Africa.
axes structuring this programme:
1. Processes of patrimonialisation in Africa:
Review of achievements and theoretical implications for the study of contemporary Africa. This axis aims at reviewing current trends in research on processes of patrimonialisation in Africa. Scholars will explore the concept of patrimony from global and comparative perspectives. They will look at theoretical implications of the study of patrimonies and processes of patrimonialisation in the understanding of contemporary Africa, especially with regards to the understanding of the dynamics of identity. They will identify and explore an array of specific processes of patrimonialisation of particular interest to understand contemporary Nigerian society.
2. Contested patrimonies and memories:
History, Culture and Politics in post-colonial West Africa Processes of Patrimonialisation are anchored in history but deeply informed by present experiences. In fact, patrimonies are defined in such ways as to serve the interest of those who lay claims to them. As such, various stakeholders with conflicting interests struggle over the meaning of the same categories of patrimony. Such is the case with the question of repatriation of artifacts looted in the capital of coastal African States by European colonial expeditionary forces in the last decade of the 19th century and kept today in various Western public and private collections. Scholars are invited to revisit, in a comparative way, the historical trajectories of these collections, their shifting meanings, and interpretations and to question the legal and political context of these contestations. Researchers are also encouraged to document other instances of contested patrimonies such as festivals, masquerades, social practices, artworks, trade guilds, sacred spaces or objects, traditions, archaeological sites, and to look at the role of museums and cultural authorities resolving or reinforcing contestations, etc
3. Environment as patrimony: from local practice to global concern.
The patrimonialisation of the tropical environment has been the subject of several recent studies looking mainly at francophone Africa, but little has been written about similar processes in Nigeria. In a country characterized by its dense, largely built up urban environment consisting of colossal infrastructural and developmental projects, can the natural environment still be considered a form of patrimony by government and communities? How do local practices of management of the environment cooperate with or struggle against governmental and international conservational policies in an era of concern regarding global warming or threatened biodiversity? Has natural patrimony been sacrificed in the name of industrial development? Has environmental thematic entered the field of Nigerian politics? Scholars are also invited to produce original papers looking at the issues of oil spillage and mismanagement of natural patrimony, conservation of sacred natural spaces and spiritual evolution in the perception of the natural environment related to the spread of Islam and Christianity, tourism policies, change and continuities in the management of national parks and reserves from the colonial period, etc.
4. Patrimony and Identity in Nigeria.
As we enter in the second decade of the twenty-first century, more than fifty years after the independence of Nigeria, are there forms of patrimony that emerged as crucial parts of the Nigerian identity? Here, we invite scholars to reflect on patrimonialisation as a tool to create national identities in a postcolonial context. For instance, we would welcome essays dealing with the evolution and spread of foodways and cuisines in the sub-region, in a historical perspective, and their role in forging or contesting national identities. Recent studies suggest that patrimonies can be thought of as by-products of consumption. Indeed, luxury or culturally valued items can become part of national patrimony and identity-building processes. We welcome scholarly, interdisciplinary reflections on the emergence of categories of material culture, brands, local or imported items that have become deeply intertwined with the Nigerian identity. Scholars are also invited to reflect on the video and the music industries as patrimony and their role in creating popular cultures and youth sub-cultures, propagating and exporting values and imaginaries that have contributed to the making of the modern Nigerian person. Other relevant studies on patrimonies and identity in Nigeria will be welcome.
Besides the above questions, we welcome papers on patrimony and policy making, on the question of the patrimonial status of land and its reform, as well as innovative papers on the emergence of new forms of identity-related forms of patrimonies in West Africa and Nigeria in particular.
The deadline for submitting paper proposals is October 30, 2011.
Proposals should include:
1 A 600-word abstract and title,
2 The author’s name (with Last name underlined),
3 Postal Address,
4 Telephone number,
5 Email address,
6 Institutional affiliation.
Please submit all abstracts to:
Gérard Chouin: patrimony2012@ifra-nigeria.org with copy to Mr. Martin Mbella: admin@ifra-nigeria.org
Updates about the conference will be regularly posted on our website and facebook page: www.ifra-nigeria.org
IFRA-Nigeria page on facebook
Gerard Chouin
IFRA-Nigeria
Institute of African Studies
University of Ibadan
Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
+2347060581845
Email:Â patrimony2012@ifra-nigeria.org
Visit the website at http://www.ifra-nigeria.org
Contact:Â patrimony2012@ifra-nigeria.org
URL:Â www.ifra-nigeria.org
Announcement ID: 186868
http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=186868
Suggested books
- Marvels of the African World: African Cultural Patrimony, New World Connections, and Identities
- African Archaeology: A Critical Introduction (Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology)
Butterfly by Chinua Achebe
photo credit: johncooke (Rwanda)
Speed is violence
Power is violence
Weight is violence
The butterly seeks safety in lightness
In weightless, undulating flight
But at a crossroads where mottled light
From trees falls on a brash new highway
Our convergent territories meet
I come power-packed enough for two
And the gentle butterfly offers
Itself in bright yellow sacrifice
Upon my hard silicon shield.
Related articles
- Chinua Achebe – The African Trilogy (thebrotha.wordpress.com)
Rwanda : Partners in health guide to chronic care integration for endemic NCDs
photo credit: www.fearghalonuallain.ie
Partners in health guide to chronic care integration for endemic NCDs – Rwanda edition
Authors: Bukhman,Gene
Produced by: Partners in Health (2011)
This guide, published by Partners in Health, is written for district-level health care providers and policy makers dealing with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in rural Rwanda or similar settings.
The guide is focused mainly on ambulatory care performed by advance nurses, clinical officers, and generalist physicians. It describes protocols focused on the essential internventions often deemed too complex to be delivered to the rural poor as well as comprehensive technical strategies shown to be both effective and efficient for managing chronic disease.
Based on the experiences and collaboration between Rwandan and international health specialists over four years, this guide covers the following topics:
- integration of chronic care services in Rwanda.
- palliative care and chronic care.
- role of community health workers, family planning, mental health, and social services in the treatment of chronic disease.
- heart failure.
- cardiac surgery screening, referral, anticoagulation, and postoperative management.
- chronic kidney disease.
- diabetes.
- hypertension.
- rheumatic heart disease prevention.
- chronic respiratory disease.
- epilepsy.
According to the authors, this manual offers a starting point for the creation of a system of care for non-communicable diseases: one blueprint for fulfilling , in Rwanda, an essential part of a fundamental human right.
PDF available online at:Â Partners in health guide to chronic care integration for endemic NCDs – Rwanda edition
 Suggested Books
African Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Call for articles
University of Ibadan, Nigeria photo credit: gallagher.michaelsean
The following call for articles is for the African Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies,  Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan
CALL FOR ARTICLES
African Journal for Peace and Conflict Studies, the official journal of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan,
Nigeria, hereby invites well-researched articles, book reviews, and research notes in various aspects of peacework, conflict management, refugee crisis, diplomacy, identity politics, etc for publication in its next issue, Volume 2, Number 1, which is expected to be in print in December 2011.
The articles, which should not exceed 25 A4 pages of Word and are written in English, should not be previously published or accepted for publication elsewhere. All articles published in the journal go through the process of blind peer-review and so contributors are
advised to avoid identifiable self-referencing in their articles. Contributors should also avoid rigid formatting of their articles and
provide tables, graphs, and plates on separate pages. The current version of APA reference style is preferred by the journal. Contributors should please visit the APA website (www.apastyle.org) or as shown at: http://library.nmu.edu/guides/
All submissions, which must include a 200-word abstract, should be sent by email attachment to: ajpcs@cepacs.org.ng and
o.oha@mail.ui.edu.ng or on a readable CD to: The Editor, African Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Centre for Peace and Conflict
Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Contributors shall be notified about the status of their submissions through email.
*Obododimma Oha*
http://udude.wordpress.com/
(*Associate Professor of Cultural Semiotics & Stylistics*) Dept. of English University of Ibadan Nigeria & *Fellow*, Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies University of Ibadan
Phone: +234 803 333 1330;
+234 805 350 6604;
+234 808 264 8060.
Book: Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Côte D’ivoire
Monica Blackmun Visonà .  Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Côte D’ivoire.  Surrey  Ashgate, 2010.  200 pp.  $99.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-4094-0440-8.
From Amazon: Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Côte d’Ivoire
Reviewed by Peter Mark (Wesleyan University-Art History Department)
Published on H-AfrArts (April, 2011)
Commissioned by Jean M. Borgatti
The Fruits of Old-Fashioned Fieldwork: Making Sense of Lagunaire Arts
Monica Blackmun Visonà ’s book on the arts of the lagunaire region, ’Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Côte D’Ivoire,’ showcases the author’s unusual strength of understanding, summarizing, and (where appropriate) insightfully critiquing the research of her colleagues. This quality, which gives the book intellectual breadth, is abetted by the clarity of her prose. Together, these factors make her work highly accessible not only to specialists but also, potentially, to undergraduate students in the field of art history.
Visonà belongs to the generation of Africanist scholars who began their careers with substantial fieldwork. Due to financial
constraints, sometimes dicey political situations, and the appeal of (infinitely easier) archival/museum dissertations, the kind of fieldwork that we did in the 1970s and 1980s, living among the subjects of our study–remote from telephone and electricity–is no longer common practice. Visonà ’s work, however, shows a sensitivity to local lagunaire culture that can only come from the experience of long-term fieldwork. This is an important strength undergirding her scholarship.
Solidly grounded in fieldwork, this monograph provides the first comprehensive study of the arts of the lagoon region. The
bibliographical references to secondary sources are comprehensive, and the use of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century missionary archival records is also impressive. The history of this region cannot be written with significant chronological depth, given the relatively late (mid-nineteenth-century) arrival of European observers. One does wonder whether a careful study of oral traditions might have yielded a somewhat greater chronological depth, particularly if the author spoke at least one of the dozen distinct languages of the lagoon region. A few more primary documents might have been ferreted out of European collections as well. For example, I believe that a visit to the collections of the Société de Géographie in Paris might uncover some original materials from the explorer Parfait-Louis Monteil (1898).
I was particularly impressed by Visonà ’s discovery of the significant role played by women in age-grade initiation ceremonies. This is part of her careful coverage of the role of gender in lagoon arts. As she demonstrates, female authority plays a significant role underlying male action in an ostensibly male domain. This is a fundamental discovery. Her understanding of local concepts of time as a sort of braided rope is also masterful and praiseworthy. Likewise, I applaud her observation that local lagunaire peoples have distinct epistemological categories (sacred or not) that differ from Western categories (shape, form). I would also single out for praise the author’s coverage of other media besides wood, including the ivory carvings surrounded by oval faces that served as pommels. These ivories suggest, as she rightly hypothesizes, nineteenth-century, or even earlier, prototypes.
I have only one criticism: for the earliest travel accounts, such as Jean/John Barbot’s early eighteenth-century travel narrative, which was published in English in 1730, she should have gone to the original source, rather than simply referring to secondary citations. A fine annotated version exists (Barbot on Guinea: The Writings of Jean Barbot on West Africa, 1678-1712 [1992], edited by P. E. H. Hair, Adam Jones, and Robin Law).
To my mind, next to her rich field data, the crowning jewel of this book is the manner in which she incorporates herself into the discussion of methodology. And this strength is further heightened by her trenchant and concise critique of poststructuralist/postcolonial theory. As she writes: “I was dismayed by [Michel] Foucault’s underlying assertion that truth is mutable and by [Jean] Baudrillard’s challenges to the notion of reality itself. If I had espoused these basic tenets of post-structuralism, why should I have traveled to Africa to gather ‘truths’ about Lagoon arts from artists and patrons?” (p. 128). To which I say: Bravo!
Her critique of decontextualized, postcolonial theory as (mis)applied to lagunaire arts, which she knows in context, is also to be applauded. And finally, her knowledge from the field enables her to deconstruct and dismiss a misguided attempt by one contemporary museum curator to argue that a particular sculpture spoke to “the rising empowerment of Ivoirien women” (p. 176). In fact, it spoke more to the desires of certain wealthy men to possess erotic sculpture. As she says, in a worthy epitaph for such poststructuralist interpretations, “this assessment would be considered ludicrous by the men who commission sculptural groups from the artist” (p. 176).
In sum, for its clear writing style and its comprehensive treatment, based on extensive fieldwork and many years of experience, of the wide range of lagunaire art forms, and its succinct articulation of the various methodologies engaged by other scholars who have dealt with the arts of West Africa, Visonà ’s monograph is to be strongly recommended.
Citation: Peter Mark. Review of Visonà , Monica Blackmun, Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Côte D’ivoire. H-AfrArts, H-Net Reviews. April, 2011.
URL:Â https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32633
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Conference: Assessing 50 Years of Scholarship and Development in Africa, June 2012, Nairobi
Urban Jungle Safari
photo credit: Robbert van der Steeg
(Can you see what the buildings spell? This is real! A tourism idea by Joseph Macharia in the 1970s)
Call for papers for the 1st International Interdisciplinary Annual Conference, Theme: Africa’s Golden Jubilee: Assessing 50 Years of Scholarship and Development in Africa, at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) to be held on 27th to 31st June 2012.
General conference theme: Africa’s Golden Jubilee: Assessing 50 Years of Scholarship and Development in Africa, When: June 27-31, 2012
Conference venue: The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) Main Campus, Langata, Nairobi
During this decade (2010s), many African countries are celebrating 50 years of independence. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa would like to take this opportunity to celebrate accomplishments in scholarship and development with scholars, researchers, academics, students and leaders in Africa, and other parts of the world. This is an interdisciplinary international conference that seeks to highlight achievements for the last 50 years and lessons for the future.
Organized and hosted by the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), this International Academic Conference (IAC) will be held on 27-31 June 2012 at the CUEA Main Campus, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya. The focus of the conference will be Africa’s accomplishments in the past 50 years in various disciplines, from science, technology and engineering to education, health, arts, humanities and social sciences. Papers are invited from experienced scholars and researchers as well as graduate students. The conference organizers will also accept relevant panels, and poster sessions.
Submission of abstracts: Send abstracts of between 300 and 500 words, including This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to vfull contact details (title, name, address, email-address, and telephone) as well as institutional affiliation. Papers presented at the conference will be published in edited volumes and CUEA journals.
Send abstracts to:
Rev. Dr. John Lukwata or Prof. Maurice N. Amutabi (PhD)
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa,
P.O. Box 62157 – 00200 City Square
Nairobi, Kenya
E-mail address: Lukwata@cuea.edu or Amutabi@yahoo.com or Amutabi@cuea.edu
The conference will consist of seven symposia organized by CUEA’s six faculties and an interdisciplinary panel as follows:
Symposium I: Faculty of arts and social sciences
Sub-theme: The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in Research and Development in Africa: Fifty Years Later
Symposium II: Faculty of Commerce
Sub-theme: Management of Resources and Development in Africa: Fifty Years of Shifting Paradigms and Strategies
Symposium III: Faculty of Education
Sub-theme: Education: Growth and Development in the Past Fifty Years
Symposium IV: Faculty of Law
Sub-theme: Law and Development in Africa
Symposium V: Faculty of science
Sub-theme: Science, Technology and Development in Africa: Five Decades of Experiments, Innovations and Inventions
Symposium VI: Faculty of Theology
Sub-theme: The Church and Development in Africa: Fifty Years of Under African Hands
Symposium VII: Research and Development in Africa
Sub-theme: Research and Development in Africa
Symposium VIII: Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary themes
Sub-theme: Five Decades of Interdisciplinary Research in Africa
We welcome abstracts on any relevant topic. Poster presentations, panel proposals and roundtables are welcome.
There will be field excursions to some national parks and places of interest in Kenya organized separately, whose cost will be different from conference registration.
Registration Fees
Staff from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) and affiliate campuses and universities : KShs.2,500.00
Staff from other universities in Kenya : KShs.5,000.00
Students of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) and affiliate campuses : KShs.500.00
Students from other Universities in Kenya : KShs.1,000.00
Staff from East African Universities and Organizations :Â KShs.5,000.00
Rest of Africa : US$ 150.00
Rest of the World Europe, America, Asia, etc : US$ 200.00
Registration fee payments to: The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Attn: 1st Annual International Conference)
IMPORTANT DEADLINES
Submission of Abstracts 30th March 2012
Submission of full papers 30th May 2012
Send full papers to:
Prof. Maurice Amutabi (Ph.D)
E-mail: amutabi@cuea.edu or amutabi@yahoo.com or Amutabi@gmail.com
Prof. Maurice N. Amutabi (Ph.D),
Department of Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Catholic University of Eastern Africa
P.O BOX 62157-00200 CITY SQUARE
NAIROBI, Kenya
http://www.kessa.org/about_us
Because of Honor
The NGO Factor in Africa: The Case of Arrested Development in Kenya (African Studies)
Book: The Future of African Customary Law
Edited by Jeanmarie Fenrich, Paolo Galizzi & Tracy Higgins
www.cambridge.org/us/law
Buy from Amazon:The Future of African Customary Law
Customary laws and traditional institutions in Africa constitute comprehensive legal systems that regulate the entire spectrum of activities from birth to death. Once the sole source of law, customary rules now exist in the context of pluralist legal systems with competing bodies of domestic constitutional law, statutory law, common law and international human rights treaties. The book promotes discussion and understanding of customary law and explores its continued relevance in sub-Saharan Africa. This volume considers the characteristics of customary law and efforts to ascertain and codify customary law, and how this body of law differs in content, form and status from legislation and common law. It also addresses a number of substantive areas of customary law including the role and power of traditional authorities; customary criminal law; customary land tenure, property rights and intestate succession; and the relationship between customary law, human rights and gender equality.
For More Information Visit www.cambridge.org/9780521118538
www.cambridge.org/us/law
July 2011 | 562 Pages
Hardback | 978-0-521-11853-8
Part I. The Nature and Future of Customary Law
1. A survey of customary laws in Africa in search of lessons for the future, Gordon R. Woodman
2. The living customary law in African legal systems: where to now?, Chuma Himonga
3. The future of customary law in Africa, Abdulmumini Oba
Part II. Ascertainment, Application and Codification of Customary Law
4. The quest for customary law, Janine Ubink
5. The withering province of customary law in Kenya: a case of design or indifference, George O. Otieno Ochich
6. The Œcode of Lerotholi¹: using custom as an instrument of social and political control in Lesotho, Laurence Juma
7. Traditional authorities: custodians of customary law development?, Manfred O. Hinz
8. Engaging legal dualism: paralegal organizations and customary law in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Chi Mgbako and Kristina Scurry Baehr
9. The future of customary law in Ghana, Joseph B. Akamba and Isidore Tufuor
Part III. The Role and Power of Traditional Authorities
10. Traditional courts in the 21st century, Digby Sqhelo Koyana
11. Demise or resilience: customary law and chieftainship in Botswana in the 21st century, Wazha G. Morapedi
12. Traditional leadership and governance in modern Ghana: challenges, problems and opportunities, Ernest Kofi Abotsi and Paolo Galizzi
Part IV. Customary Land, Property Rights and Succession
13. Entrapment or freedom: enforcing customary property rights regimes in common law Africa, Sandra F. Joireman
14. Romancing customary land tenure: the neo-liberal suitor wooing the shadow, Janet Chikaya-Banda
15. Reform of customary law of inheritance and succession: the final nail in the customary law of inheritance and succession coffin?, Willemien du Plessis and Christa Rautenbach
Part V. Customary Criminal Law
16. State systems of criminal justice and customary law crimes, Thomas
Bennett
17. Gacaca in Rwanda: customary law in case of genocide, Roelof H. Haveman
Part VI. Customary Law, Human Rights and Gender Equality
18. Customary law, gender equality, and the family: the promise and limits of a choice paradigm, Tracy E. Higgins and Jeanmarie Fenrich
19. African customary law and women¹s human rights in Uganda, Ben Kiromba Twinomugisha
20. Women¹s rights, customary law and the promise of the protocol on the rights of women in Africa, Johanna Bond
21. From contemporary African customary laws to indigenous African law: identifying ancient African human rights and good governance sensitive principles as a tool to promote culturally meaningful socio-legal reforms, Fatou Kiné Camara
For More Information Visit www.cambridge.org/9780521118538
Call 1.800.872.7423
Africa Health : Ancient wisdom, new knowledge
DAKAR, 11 July (IRIN) – No one can tell 64-year-old Fatoumata Kané anything new about the plants and tree bark around her town of Banamba in western Mali, but the traditional healer recently learned how to measure a child’s upper arm to detect malnutrition.
Scores of families bring ailing children to Kané each week. She is renowned in the region for her healing powers, but now refers suspected malnutrition cases to the public health centre. The collaboration, initiated by local health agent Oumou Sangaré of Helen Keller International (HKI), is an example of how NGOs are tapping into the influence of traditional healers and local elders to fight under-nutrition.
Across sub-Saharan Africa health experts commonly train traditional healers to detect conditions needing something other than indigenous medicine; the fact is that when illness strikes many people’s first move is to go to the local healer.
“It is always people’s first choice here,” said a doctor in Sierra Leone who requested anonymity. “It’s a custom people are addicted to.”
It is custom, but often it is also the only health care people can afford or physically access. In some countries in Africa and Asia 80 percent of people depend on traditional medicine for their primary health care, according to the World Health Organization. [Â http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs134/en/Â ]
Often traditional medicine is the answer. Africa has tens of thousands of plant species, many therapeutic, and the basis for effective remedies. Kouamé Koffi Samuel, a chauffeur in Côte d’Ivoire, said he has first-hand experience of women who are expert at healing closed fractures with massage, herbs and incantations. “I’ve seen it – it’s far more rapid and effective than a cast.”
But child under-nutrition is one of the conditions untreatable by such means, health workers say. If a parent does not understand the signs, symptoms and causes, various conditions could be suspected. The Sierra Leonean doctor said some families think immediately of a spell.
“When a child is malnourished people think it’s a witch. When a child is very anaemic they say a witch has drawn all the blood from the child.”
He added: “We need to do more education on this.”
Health experts say one strong conduit for that education are the traditional healers and elderly women who already have people’s confidence.
“If [Banamba healer Kané] were to tell a woman not to take a child to the health centre, the woman wouldn’t do it, no matter what,” HKI’s Sangaré told IRIN. “Such is the women’s trust in her.”
Sangaré said she first approached Kané when she noticed that too many malnourished children in Banamba were not getting the medical attention they needed.
Collaborating with local healers
She said initially Kané, who makes her living as a healer, was hesitant but then agreed to talk. They met several times to talk about children’s health; Sangaré explained to Kané the role she could have in detecting malnutrition and helping children get the care they need. “Now she’s had training and she’s helping us detect cases of malnutrition.”
Kané, from her home in the Hamdallaye neighbourhood of Banamba, told IRIN traditional and modern medicine can function well together. “I have practiced for more than 20 years now; the gift I have for healing is not going anywhere. But modern medicine can complement it, and vice-versa.”
Vanessa Dickey, senior nutritionist with HKI Mali, said collaborating with local healers means more children who need medical care will get it.
“Targeting just mothers can get us only so far,” Dickey told IRIN. “People are going to listen to a traditional healer or a grandmother.” HKI also has a project in Burkina Faso to boost maternal and child health through the influence of older women, to whom young women invariably turn for advice on pregnancy, motherhood and feeding their families.
“Our object is to screen as many children as we can to see who needs attention,” Dickey said. “And traditional healers and grandmothers are the first-line healers in a community.”
Traditional plus modern
Nurses and doctors told IRIN it is common to see families consult both a traditional practitioner and a doctor.
Soro Awa, holding her nephew whose mother had recently died in childbirth, talked to IRIN at a Côte d’Ivoire nutritional centre in Korhogo: “Without this centre my sister’s son would not be alive,” she said. Still, she plans to see the local healer once she returns to the village “to protect the child from sorcery”.
“Often, people assume someone has cast a spell on a child, not knowing that a child is malnourished or has an illness that can be easily treated at hospital,” said Soro Pènè, from Korhogo’s Waraniené village. “Anyway, I am all for traditional healers because they do have their place in our customs and they are very effective in some cases.”
Salimata Koné, who runs the Korhogo centre, says some parents bring their children in directly without going to a local healer. But as the Sierra Leonean doctor explains, family pressure often weighs in later. “A parent could have a child treated at hospital, then a friend or family member will come round advising that it’s best to also consult the traditional healer.”
“It can be OK if people go to both,” he said. “But only if the traditional healer is competent and knows the limits of his or her capabilities.”
It is not a question of ruling out traditional practitioners, said Dickey. “They can continue to do follow-up. We do urge them not to give malnourished children herbs or teas to consume. The body of a malnourished child is really in chaos; these kinds of plants, which might not harm another person, could be dangerous for a child in this state.”
As in so many circumstances, the hard evidence of a healthier child is the most powerful message, Koné in Korhogo told IRIN. “It’s important not to condemn the practice of going to a traditional healer; we don’t want to frustrate people. But the fact is once a malnourished child regains health after proper diagnosis and treatment, that recovery is concrete proof and has a huge influence on others.”
Recovery is the common objective. “My role is to lighten mothers’ hearts, by helping heal sick children,” said Kané. “When a child is healthy, the mother is relieved and things go better in the household.”
Via IRINÂ http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93199
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[This item comes via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Terms and conditions: http://www.irinnews.org/copyright.aspx]