Dynamic Africa
Formerly, "This is Africa/fyeahAfrica".
(Profile Photo by Mama Casset)
DISCLAIMER:
I do not endorse any of the products or opinions shared on this site, nor do I claim any of the work posted here to be my own - except where stated. All posts originally made by me are credited. If no credit is given then the work is either my own/written by me or reblogged from another source.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
Student, 24
Based in Cape Town, South Africa
From Lagos, Nigeria
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(As an unemployed media student, all donations go into ensuring my survival in this cruel world and future projects I hope to embark on).
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(since Oct. 21th 2012)
NOTABLE AFRICANS: Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa
Taking to the the throne at age 16, following the death of his father Muteesa I of Buganda in 1884, Mwanga ruled as the Kabaka (king) of Buganda from 1884 until 1888 and from 1889 until 1897. The 31st Kabaka of Buganda, he would eventually be captured by colonial British forces and exiled to the Seychelles where he would eventually die in 1903.
He is most notably known for his aggressive expulsion of encroaching Christian missionaries in his kingdom by ordering Christian converts to either abandon their religion or face death.
From the Daily Monitor:
Two months into his reign, and oblivious of the negative reactions from imperial powers on his action, Mwanga censured all foreign religions, labelling them dangerous and destructive to Buganda. He saw the burning to death of three Christian converts; and also ordered the capture of Alexander Mackay and two of his fellow Protestant missionaries.
Three years after ascending the throne in 1884, Mwanga had ordered the burning of 45 of his pages; 32 of the murdered converts would later gain worldwide recognition as the Uganda Martyrs.
The executions, including of Bishop James Hannington in 1885, alarmed the Protestants and Catholics, who despite their potent religious disputes, allied to dethrone Mwanga; and they did on August 2, 1888 with the help of the Muslims.
By the time of his first ouster from the throne, Mwanga had no major group to support him. The Muslims were not on his side, after he refused to convert to Islam; the Christians didn’t shield his back either—for ordering several executions; and the Traditionalists, convinced that the small pox ravaging the kingdom then was a result of neglect of traditional cultures and beliefs, had little faith in the king.
The most crucial threat to Mwanga’s reign would, however, be the Europeans, who had the same year he ascended the throne in 1884, met in Berlin, Germany, to allot Africa among themselves. Although he knew that the ‘white man’ was intent on ‘eating’ his kingdom, Mwanga was clueless about the extent of their imperial appetite and greed.
After his deposition, Mwanga was replaced by his brother Kiweewa—but just like his brother, Kiweewa refused to face the circumcision knife and the Muslims - the strongest group then, united to depose him, 40 days into his reign.
Further reading: Wikipedia*
*This source makes reference to same-sex relations that the Kabaka may have had, which is how I came to know of him (I was watching a televised debate on whether homosexuality is un-African and one of the speakers mentioned this incident). What I do not appreciate is the way in which some sources (linked source elaborates on this) have used his sexuality as something that is synonymous with evil, or the leading catalyst that led to him ordering the execution of several Christians.
Orthodox Christians observe Good Friday celebrations in and around the famed monolithic rock-cut churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia on May 3, 2013.
[Credit : Goran Tomasevic/Reuters]
Absurdo Church. Really huge, specially in comparison of the churches you usually see in east Africa. As the Nun told us it has been a work in progresses since the 90’s.
The ancient El Ghriba Synagogue, also known as the Djerba Synagogue, is located on the Tunisian island of Djerba. It is situated in the Jewish village of Hara Seghira, several kilometres southwest of Houmt Souk, the capital of Djerba.
Built in the Moorish architectural style, it is also Africa’s oldest synagogue. The name “El Ghriba” means “the marvelous”, or “the strange”, in Arabic.
Bishop Léon-Antoine-Augustin-Siméon Livinhac, a French Catholic priest and once head of the ‘White Fathers’, a Roman Catholic missionary and evangelical organization that sought to spread the Christian Catholic religion throughout Africa, seen here with ‘converts’ in Uganda.
Bishop Livinhac “oversaw a major expansion of the missionary society that coincided with the European colonial annexation of most of Africa”. His first missionary appointment was in February 1875 in Kabylie, to the east of Algiers. Livinhac left Algiers on 21 April 1878 and reached Uganda on 17 February 1879 where he and other missionaries established a church in the Kingdom of Buganda.
Mosque in Giza - Cairo, Egypt
By: Ivan Serra
Le Maroc, Editions Larousse (Monde et voyages), 1969.
Map of Colonial Africa in 1913.
Well, things certainly have changed in the past 100 years. I’m still a heathen, though.
AFTERNOON TUNE: The brand new song and video from South Africa’s top house trio Mi Casa, ‘All the Glory’ takes on a religious theme, showing the diversity of various beliefs in the country through individuals that represent these faiths.
Femmes catholiques de Ouidah, Benin. (1900)
I wonder if their conversion was by choice? Here’s an article about the rise of Catholicism in Africa over the past century.
(via manufactoriel)
Trinity Church in Addis Ababa
unknown.
Priest of the Holy Treasury of the Cathedral in Axum
Cordell, Dennis
DOCUMENTARY: “Christianity: A History - Dark Continents”
Narrated by British-Ghanaian writer, playwright and Christian Kwame Kwei Armah, this documentary explores and reveals “how Christianity became the world’s largest religion despite, rather than because of, Western missionary zeal”, and how the religion was adapted by indigenous populations in colonized regions.
I recommend watching the entire documentary but if you want to watch the section on Africa, fast-forward to 19:16.
Still from the film “MaRock”
“They’re both moroccan but Rita is muslim and Youri is jewish”
Watch the film in its entirety here.
Chinguetti Mosque, Mauritania
Photograph by David Clifford, 4See/Redux
Constructed in the 13th or 14th century, the spare Friday Mosque was the heart of the ancient city of Chinguetti, Mauritania, a vibrant trading center on the trans-Saharan route.
The city’s original purpose was to provide religious education to travelers, thus the importance of its mosques.
