The African > Lifestyle

Cultural Heist: Biblical currency and Zion-washing of Palestinian national dress

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 08:15:00 GMT

Picture: via Wikimedia Commons – Palestinian traditional dresses (thobe) and embroideries (tatreez). Culture, handed down from one generation to the next, shapes individuals’ mindsets and finds expression in various aspects such as national costume, traditions, language, arts, cuisine, music, and distinct behavioural patterns unique to specific regions or nations, the writer says.

Famous artist designs racial justice windows for National Cathedral

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 04:15:00 GMT

Picture: Jonathan Mehring/The Washington Post – Artist Kerry James Marshall, with a stained-glass window he designed. By Marisa IatiWASHINGTON – His paintings sometimes sell for millions. This one went for $18. 65. Kerry James Marshall, whose works have adorned the walls of national galleries and celebrities’ mansions, couldn’t imagine charging Washington National Cathedral his usual fee to replace its Confederate-themed windows.

Children’s lit and collective memory: culture in the struggle for liberation

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: Mahmoud Ajjour/The Palestine Chronicle – Palestinian children at a music festival in Gaza. ‘Not all Palestinians share the same experience and voice, but they are united under the commonality of multiple displacements. This theme exists in recent literature written for children and young adults, a genre that passes memories to the next generation of Palestinians’.

Preserving culture, identity central to building the future

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 03:00:00 GMT

Picture: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency (ANA) - Dancers in a traditional dance ceremony. By Dr Gugu Mazibuko This month is celebrated as the Heritage Month in South Africa where we remember our past. Heritage is often defined as our legacy from the past, what we live with in the present, and what we pass on to future generations to learn from, to marvel at and to enjoy.

Extreme weather threatens best-kept art of the ancient Silk Road

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Picture: ANA Files – Bodhisattva holding up as lotus, right, and other sculptures of the Northern Wei Dynasty, 386-534 AD, are displayed in Dunhuang: Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road. By Christian Shepherd and Lillian YangChanging weather patterns in northwest China are putting ancient Silk Road cave murals and statues at risk, new research has found, underscoring how a warming atmosphere threatens some of the country’s most precious historical artifacts.

High-price plunge to ocean depths

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Picture: Handout / OceanGate Expeditions / AFP – This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible beginning a descent. News reports said the Titan was “lost at sea”. The tragic situation is a reminder that when humans invade exotic environments for which they are not adapted, there is minimal margin for error, the writer says.

Honouring Miriam Makeba

Thu, 04 May 2023 03:00:00 GMT

By Kim Heller

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Zimbabwean road to Yalta Festival singer

Thu, 04 May 2023 02:00:00 GMT

By Maria Konokhova

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Freedom, Roots and Fusion: SA singer Pilani Bubu on African Jazz

Tue, 02 May 2023 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: Supplied – Jazz provides a platform for Africans not only to express themselves, their feelings and aspirations through the power of music, but bring their ethnic and cultural traits to the genre in a way that transcends national boundaries, Pilani Bubu says. By Maria KonokhovaOn April 30, the world marks International Jazz Day, which unites people across the globe in a great celebration of jazz music, paying tribute to its roots, appreciating its legacy and promoting its further develop. . .

Ageing backwards: be your own hero

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 02:00:00 GMT

Picture: Supplied – The way you walk. The way you talk. The way you respond. Your posture. Your skin. Your constitution. You can control this if you cultivate your mindfulness and practice healthy body and mind rituals. You must focus on both. One won’t seal the deal when it comes to ageing, says the writer.

Universal Human Rights: Using mobilisation strategies to encourage South African government to act on Uganda parliamentary bill criminalising LGBTQAI+

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 04:30:00 GMT

Picture: Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA) - The Economic Freedom Fighters leader Juliyus Malema leads a march to the Ugandan Embassy to demonstrate their disatisfation with the Ugandan bill against the LGBTQI community. By Kgaladi MakhafolaThe question of the universality of human rights for LGBTQAI+ individuals is a pertinent one, particularly in Africa, where social and political rights are still a topic of debate.

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‘Bound by Freedom’: Filmmaker discusses cultural bonds between Russia and Africa

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 15:00:00 GMT

Picture: Daria da Conceicao’s personal archive/via Sputnik – South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, Gabriel Tokio Sexwale, left with Mozambican-Russian filmmaker Daria da Conceicao. By Roman SaninRussia and Africa have a long history of mutually beneficial and enriching relations in various spheres of interest.

Traditional wrestling in Senegal – much more than a sport, it keeps culture alive

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 02:00:00 GMT

Picture: Christian Bobst/World Press/via AP – The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal. A tournament in the Adrien Senghor arena, where wrestling fights take place in the late evenings when temperatures drop in Dakar. Traditional wrestling plays an important role in much of Senegalese society and is one of the country’s national sports.

AKA: slain South African rapper was a once-in-a-generation pop culture sensation

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Picture: Se-Anne Rall/African News Agency (ANA) – A prayer service for AKA and his celebrity chef friend, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane on Sunday, February 12, 2023. It’s reported that AKA and Tibz were killed in a cold-blooded shooting, a recurring theme of gangsta rap culture, the writer says. By Sanya OshaAKA, South Africa’s most recognisable name in hip-hop, was gunned down – with his friend, celebrity chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane – outside a restaurant along Durban’s popular night spot Florida Ro. . .

Report finds massive injustices have contributed to rise in child hunger across Africa

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:54:00 GMT

Picture: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings - A Malawian child stands in front of a maize crop near the capital Lilongwe, Malawi. About 14 million people face hunger in Southern Africa. NAIROBI, WASHINGTON, DC, NEW DELHI, January 25, 2023 /EINPresswire. com/ -- The 2023 report from Laureates and Leaders for Children and the 100 Million campaign, Justice for Africa’s Children, launches today.

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What child poverty in America really looked like in 2022

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 07:14:00 GMT

Picture: EPA-EFE/MIGUEL GUTIERREZBy Theresa VargasThe 12-year-old had seen too much. That's how a message sent to a Virginia organization about the girl began. "She's in counseling but still harbors a lot of anger," it explained. "Her therapist recommends she try boxing to release the negative energy but Mom can't afford the gloves, headgear and proper shoes.

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Afrobeats in 2022: global mobility, election songs, placemaking albums – and Tems

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 02:00:00 GMT

Picture: Joe Penney/REUTERS – Each night as darkness descends on Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, sweat drenched young men and women descend on the megacity's numerous nightclubs to dance to the latest hit songs. Artists who sing and rap over electronic backing tracks, in a genre known as Afrobeats, have seen their popularity in Nigeria spill over into record sales and sold-out concerts across Africa and in both Britain and the United States.

Kwanzaa: A Feast Celebrating African Roots, Heritage & Culture

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 07:30:00 GMT

Picture: Kendridge Mathabathe - Children from around Africa celebrated the end of the camp with the Kwanzaa celebration. Brother Amani Buntu, Secretary General of Global Afrikan Congress lead in paying tribute the legacy of all African leaders who had passed on. By Muhammad Nooh OsmanOn December 26 each year, some African-Americans begin to put new lights up and decorate their homes in celebration of the seven-day Kwanzaa holiday, one day after the world celebrates Christmas.

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Kabaza: The Malawi Uber

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 13:27:00 GMT

Picture: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko - Bikers commonly known as "Kabadza", or "Dampers" ride along the Mchinji road-the highway linking Malawi to Zambia's eastern province, April 20, 2008. By Catherine BandaFrom time immemorial Africa has not had ownership power over its solutions because they were exploited by the international arena and were either imported or dictated to Africans however Africa has always been a nation that finds tailor-made solutions to its own challenges using available resource. . .

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Malawians own their destinies and changing the narrative: Story of Wezi Mzumara

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 06:45:00 GMT

Picture: www. kwanzacocoa. comWezi Mzumara, the only female black chocolate maker in Malawi, was born in Ethiopia into a family of farmers, she relocated to Malawi 12 years ago after having lived in the UK to come back and also try her hand at farming. When she returned to Malawi she found that her parents had planted 5 cocoa trees for her.

Oscars put Pakistan's transgender community under the spotlight

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:00:00 GMT

REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro – Jiya, 35, a transgender woman and tailor, talks with a customer at her shop in Karachi, Pakistan April 5, 2021. By Pamela ConstableFor generations, they have been a familiar sight on Pakistan's urban landscape – tall figures in alluring, gypsy-like costumes and makeup, selling flowers on street corners or reaching out manicured hands for a few rupees.

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Filicide: A story of poverty, hardship and depression

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 06:59:00 GMT

Graphic: Wade Gedult / African News Agency (ANA) – In South Africa, the legal defence of ‘after birthing’ saw life sentences being handed down to women where otherwise they would have been executed for their actions prior to the abolition of the death sentence. By Isobel FryeOn the evening of November 8, Nomboleko Simayile, a 32-year-old mother of four children ranging in age from 2 to 11 years, allegedly bludgeoned her children to death in the rondavel where they were staying with her parents in. . .

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The anti-Blackness of 'the Black kids teased me for talking White'

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: REUTERS/Shannon StapletonBy Damon YoungRace is a social construct with an arbitrary and elastic hierarchy. The only static element is that people deemed "Black" exist at the bottom. American University's Antiracist Praxis subject guide defines anti-Blackness as "specific forms of racism contingent upon or cast through the denigration, disenfranchisement, and disavowal of people racialized as Black.

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South Africa’s dance music craze, amapiano, could conquer the world – if its stars step up

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:37:00 GMT

Picture: Supplied - Kamo Mphela performs at the DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards. By Sanya OshaThere’s a lot of hype around amapiano. The South African dance music genre has dominated dancefloors since 2019, spreading from South Africa to West Africa and now to the world. But it’s time to peer through the hype and see if amapiano is able to transition from a cloistered club scene onto a global stage in terms of performance strength, conviction and credibility.

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Why Tukombo is ready for development

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: rippleafrica. org – A fishing community in Tukombo, a fishing village in MalawiBy Catherine BandaAlthough the Tukombo Fishing Camp is the food basket of Malawi and an emerging growth point, no public toilets have been built there in the 58 years since the country gained independence from Britain in 1964, despite four different and successive governments.

Unapologetically African: inspired fashion goes viral

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 02:00:00 GMT

Picture illustration: Timothy Alexander / African News Agency (ANA) – Young Africans are embracing their cultural history by incorporating modern styles with their vibrant and traditional attire. By Chad WilliamsThe future is African. African fashion is blowing up on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, with young Africans proudly wearing their African inspired fashions, as they pay homage to their African roots.

The Zulu Monarchy: The pride of Africa and Africans in the diaspora

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 02:00:00 GMT

Picture: African News Agency (ANA) – His Majesty King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has a unique opportunity to forge a fresh beginning and new ways of leading his father’s people. By Vusi Shongwe"A very remarkable people the Zulus: they defeat our generals, they convert our bishops, they have settled the fate of a great European dynasty.

African film industry ready and ripe

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 02:30:00 GMT

Picture: Supplied – Nigerian all-star cast Genoveva Umeh, Kate Henshaw and Deyemi Okanlawon can be seen during a scene in the Netflix movie Blood Sisters. African-created content can compete with the leading international markets, the writer says. By Chad WilliamsAfrica’s streaming film industry is taking the world by storm, and so rightfully it should – we have some of the finest directors in the world with some of the continent's finest talents.

Farming fosters ties between Burundian refugees and Congolese hosts

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 12:00:00 GMT

Picture: UNHCR/Aline Irakarama – Zacharie, 25, learned everything he knows about farming from his friend, Pierre, a Burundian refugee, the writer says. By Aline IrakaramaThe sound of a lively song floats down a hill where a group of Burundian refugees and their Congolese neighbours are farming together near the shores of Lake Tanganyika, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Malawi: Tukombo sets example for community development

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 03:00:00 GMT

Picture: www. mbc. mw – People go about their business at Tukombo Beach in Malawi. I fell in love with the country's innocence, the people oblivious of a life other than their way of living, the writer says. By Cathrine BandaI have always had an urge to go back home to Malawi and be part of the builders of my community and the country at large.