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Kanga (African Garment)
The kanga is a colourful fabric similar to kitenge, but lighter, worn by women and occasionally by men throughout the African Great Lakes region. It is a piece of printed cotton fabric, about 1.5 m by 1 m, often with a border along all four sides (called ''pindo'' in Swahili), and a central part (''mji'') which differs in design from the borders. They are sold in pairs, which can then be cut and hemmed to be used as a set. Whereas kitenge is a more formal fabric used for nice clothing, the kanga is much more than a clothing piece, it can be used as a skirt, head-wrap, apron, pot-holder, towel, and much more. The kanga is culturally significant on Eastern coast of Africa, often given as a gift for birthdays or other special occasions. They are also given to mourning families in Tanzania after the loss of a family member as part of a michengo (or collection) into which many community members put a bit of money to support the family in their grief. Kangas are also similar to Kishut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangha (Sikhism)
A ''kangha'' ( pa, ਕੰਘਾ/کنگھا) is a small wooden comb that Sikhs usually use twice a day. It is supposed to be kept with the hair at all times. Combs help to clean the hair, and are a symbol of cleanliness. Combing their hair reminds Sikhs that their lives should be tidy and organised. The kangha makes the uncut hair neat and keeps away tangles. Kanghas were traditionally made of wood, but many modern Sikhs employ ones made of plastic. History The Sikhs were mandated by Guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in 1699 to wear a small comb called a kangha at all times. Kangha must be kept by all baptised Sikhs (Khalsa), after a mandatory religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh ''(the tenth Guru of Sikhism)'' in 1699. This was one of five articles of faith, collectively called Kakars, that form the externally visible symbols to clearly and outwardly display one's commitment and dedication to the order (Hukam) of the tenth master and become a membe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahili Language
Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili has borrowed a number of words from foreign languages, particularly Arabic, but also words from Portuguese, English and German. Around forty percent of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language ( , a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coast'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab slave traders and the Bantu inhabitants of the east coast of Africa, which was also the time period when Swahili emerged as a lingua franca in the region. The number of Swahili speakers, be they native or second-language speakers, is estimated to be approximately 200 million. Due to concerted efforts by the government of Tanzania, Swahili is one of three official languages (th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Clothing
African clothing is the traditional clothing worn by the peoples of Africa. African clothing and fashion is a diverse topic that is able to provide a look into different African cultures. Clothing varies from brightly colored textiles, to abstractly embroidered robes, to colorful beaded bracelets and necklaces. Since Africa is such a large and diverse continent, traditional clothing differs throughout each country. For example, many countries in West Africa have a "distinct regional dress styles that are the products of long-standing textile crafts in weaving, dyeing, and printing", but these traditions are still able to coexist with western styles. A large contrast in African fashion is between rural and urban societies. Urban societies typically are exposed more to trade and the changing world, while it takes more time for new western trends to get to rural areas. By region In Northeastern Africa, particularly in Egypt, styles of traditional women's clothing have been influe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capulana
A capulana (also spelled "kapulana", or in Changana "nguvu" or "vemba") is a type of a sarong worn primarily in Mozambique but also in other areas of south-eastern Africa. It is a length of material about 2 metres by 1 metre. It can either be used as a wrap-around skirt, dress or can become a baby carrier A baby sling or baby carrier is generally made of soft fabrics that wrap around the chest. They provide comfort and support for the baby and allow the parent or carer to keep their hands free as they go about their everyday tasks. There are a ... on the back. It is considered a complete piece of clothing. Capulanas have been in Mozambique since the establishment of the Arab/Indian trade routes. It was received from Indian traders as a means of trade for other goods. First, they came primarily in three colors: red, white, and black. White represented the protection of the ancestors, black represented evil, and red represented the spirit of war. After this time, Mozambicans p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erie Art Museum
Erie Art Museum is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Museum holds a collection of more than 8,000 objects, with strengths in American art pottery, American ceramics, Tibetan art, Tibetan paintings, Arts and entertainment in India#Sculpture, Indian bronzes, photography, and comic book art. Focusing on the museum collection, the main gallery features Everything but the Shelves; over a thousand objects hung salon-style. In addition to its collection, the museum hosts four to five visiting exhibitions annually. The Museum has a wide range of offers including lecture series and opportunities to handle some of the best objects in its collection. Educational programs and artists’ services including interdisciplinary and interactive school tours and a wide variety of art classes for the community are also available. The Museum is dedicated to serving more local school children and teachers with the goal of hosting every fourth grade class in Erie County at least once by 2020. The Museum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and southwest. Malawi spans over and has an estimated population of 19,431,566 (as of January 2021). Malawi's capital (and largest city) is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu and its fourth-largest is its former capital, Zomba. The name ''Malawi'' comes from the Maravi, an old name for the Chewa people who inhabit the area. The country is nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of its people. The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by migrating Bantu groups . Centuries later, in 1891, the area was colonised by the British and became a protectorate of the United Kingdom known as Nyasaland. In 1953, it became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the northeast, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The nation's population of around 19.5 million is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country. Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. Following the arrival of European exploration of Africa, European explorers in the eighteenth century, the British colonised the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy Language
Malagasy (; ) is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, brought to Madagascar by the settlement of Austronesian peoples from the Sunda islands around the 5th century AD. The Malagasy language is one of the Barito languages and is most closely related to the Ma'anyan language, still spoken on Borneo to this day. Malagasy also includes numerous Malay loanwords, from the time of the early Austronesian settlement and trading between Madagascar and the Sunda Islands. After c. 1000 AD, Malagasy incorporated numerous Bantu and Arabic loanwords, brought over by traders and new settlers. Malagasy is spoken by around 25 million people in Madagascar and the Comoros. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language, as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere. Malagasy is divided between two main dialect groups; Eastern and Western. The central plateau of the island, where the capital Antananarivo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohabolana
Hainteny (pronounced , Malagasy for "knowledge of words") is a traditional form of Malagasy oral literature and poetry, involving heavy use of metaphor. It is associated primarily with the Merina people of Madagascar. In its use of metaphor and allusion it resembles another type of poetry, the Malay pantun, and Fox suggests "it seems likely the Merina brought with them a Malayo-Polynesian poetic tradition" to Madagascar. The Ibonia, an epic poem related for centuries in different versions across Madagascar, reflects the value placed on the linguistic skills celebrated in the hainteny tradition, and offers insight into the diverse mythologies and beliefs of traditional Malagasy communities. Collections of hainteny were first gathered in print form on the orders of Queen Ranavalona I in the 19th century. The French writer Jean Paulhan, who stayed in Madagascar from 1908 to 1910, made an intensive study of the hainteny and published a book of translations in 1913. Hainteny often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamba (garment)
A lamba is the traditional garment worn by men and women that live in Madagascar. The textile, highly emblematic of Malagasy culture, consists of a rectangular length of cloth wrapped around the body. Traditional lambas used for burial were often made of silk and cow hides while those for daily wear were more often made of raffia, pig skin, cotton or bast. They could range in color from a tie-dyed mess or solid white cloth, to striped red, white and black cloth found in most parts of the island, the geometric patterns in unique shades of green and brown produced by a handful of Sakalava villages, or the brilliantly multi-colored, complex weaves favored by the pre-colonial Merina aristocracy. Today, it is common to find printed cotton or rayon lambas produced in India for the Malagasy market in addition to those fabricated locally.Green, R.L. (2003). Lamba hoany: proverb cloths from Madagascar. ''Africa Arts, 36''(22), pp. 30–46. Besides its daily use as basic clothing, the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's List of island countries, second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar (the List of islands by area, fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar, its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comorian Language
Comorian (''Shikomori'', or ''Shimasiwa'', the "language of islands") is the name given to a group of four Bantu languages spoken in the Comoro Islands, an archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is named as one of the official languages of the Union of the Comoros in the Comorian constitution. Shimaore, one of the languages, is spoken on the disputed island of Mayotte, a French department claimed by Comoros. Like Swahili, the Comorian languages are Sabaki languages, part of the Bantu language family. Each island has its own language, and the four are conventionally divided into two groups: the eastern group is composed of ''Shindzuani'' (spoken on Ndzuani) and ''Shimaore'' (Mayotte), while the western group is composed of ''Shimwali'' ( Mwali) and ''Shingazija'' (Ngazidja). Although the languages of different groups are not usually mutually intelligible, only sharing about 80% of their lexicon, there is mutual intelligibility between t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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