|
Mwindo
The ''Mwindo'' epic is an oral tale from the Congo told by the Nyanga people. The origins and creation of the Mwindo epic are mostly unknown since the story is only passed down orally. A version of the story was recorded by Kahombo Mateene and Daniel Biebuyck and published in 1969. Performance The Mwindo Epic, like many oral myths, is spoken as well as performed among gatherings of locals. The myth is performed mostly by a single bard wielding a calabash made into a rattle and donning various bells and other forms of noisemakers. To tell the story properly the bard acts out all the parts and does not refrain from being very animated in his dances and acting. It is not unusual for the bard to throw in some narrative not native to the story detailing his own life and his own personal experiences. The narrator is usually accompanied by four younger men who play on a percussion stick. Audience participation is important. The audience will often sing along with the narrator and the pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muisa
Muisa is the god of death and a major antagonist against Mwindo in Nyanga mythology. He is typically shown as greedy, cowardly, and manipulative. He is also the father of Kahindo, the goddess of luck. Mwindo Epic The culture hero Mwindo is out for revenge against his father, who escapes punishment by entering the underworld through a hole in the ground made from an uprooted kikota. He makes a deal with Muisa to harbor him there, but Mwindo follows him. Along the way, Mwindo meets Kahindo, who would be a beautiful young maiden if she wasn't covered in yaws and pus-filled sores. She falls in love with Mwindo and warns him that he must not accept food or drink from Muisa, or Mwindo will be forced to remain in the land of the dead forever, much like the Greek myth of Persephone. Before he leaves, Mwindo washes Kahindo's yaws. Mwindo meets with Muisa, who offers him a seat at his table which he declines. He then offers him banana pie (which is actually his feces) and banana beer (wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Biebuyck
Daniel P. Biebuyck (1925 – 31 December 2019) was a Belgian scholar of Central African art. Biography Biebuyck was born in 1925 in Deinze, Belgium. He studied classical philology, law, cultural anthropology, and African art at the State University of Ghent, where he obtained his doctorate in Philosophy and Letters (1954). He conducted post-graduate study in social anthropology and Bantu Linguistics at University College London, LSE, SOAS. Under the auspices of the ''Institut pour la Recherche Scientifique en Afrique central'' (IRSAC), he was involved in field research from 1949–1957 among ethnic groups in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 1957–1961 he taught at Lovanium University in Kinshasa and as a member of the land tenure commission for the Belgian Congo, he conducted brief field research among over 40 different populations where he studied questions pertaining to the relationships between sociopolitical structures, administrative interferences, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyanga People
The Nyanga (also ''Banianga'', ''Banyanga'', ''Kinyanga'', ''Nianga'' or ''Nyangas'') are a Bantu people in the African Great Lakes region. Today they live predominantly in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the frontier with Rwanda and Uganda.James Stuart Olson, "Nyanga", ''The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996), 454. They speak the Nyanga language, also called Kinyanga, which is one of the Bantu languages. There are about 150,000 speakers of Nyanga according to a 1994 census, but most are also fluent in Swahili. Their national epic is the karisi ''Mwindo The ''Mwindo'' epic is an oral tale from the Congo told by the Nyanga people. The origins and creation of the Mwindo epic are mostly unknown since the story is only passed down orally. A version of the story was recorded by Kahombo Mateene and Dan ...''. Notes Further reading *Biebuyck, Daniel P. ''De hond bij de Nyanga: ritueel en sociologie''. Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985), reported statements from present generation which "specifies that the message must be oral statements spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments only"; "There must be transmission by word of mouth over at least a generation". He points out, "Our definition is a working definition for the use of historians. Sociologists, linguists or scholars of the verbal arts propose their own, which in, e.g., sociology, stresses common knowledge. In linguistics, features that distinguish the language from common dialogue (linguists), and in the verbal arts features of form and content that define art (folklorists)."Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: "Methodology and African Prehistory", 1990, ''UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a Gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Mythology
African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethnic groups of Africa *** Demographics of Africa *** African diaspora ** African, an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to the African Union ** Citizenship of the African Union ** Demographics of the African Union **Africanfuturism ** African art ** *** African jazz (other) ** African cuisine ** African culture ** African languages ** African music ** African Union ** African lion, a lion population in Africa Books and radio * ''The African'' (essay), a story by French author J. M. G. Le Clézio * ''The African'' (Conton novel), a novel by William Farquhar Conton * ''The African'' (Courlander novel), a novel by Harold Courlander * ''The Africans'' (radio program) Music * "African", a song by Peter Tosh f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Republic Of The Congo Literature
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Party (Japan) (DP) **Democratic Party (Italy) (PD) ** Democratic Party (Hong Kong) (DPHK) **Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ** Democratic Party of Korea ** Democratic Party (other), for a full list *A member of a Democrat Party (other) *A member of a Democracy Party (other) *Australian Democrats, a political party * Democrats (Brazil), a political party *Democrats (Chile), a political party *Democrats (Croatia), a political party *Democrats (Gothenburg political party), in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden *Democrats (Greece), a political party *Democrats (Greenland), a political party *Sweden Democrats, a political party * Supporters of political parties and democracy movements ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it is considered an imprecise merging of separate though related rift and fault systems. This valley extends northward for 5,950 km through the eastern part of Africa, through the Red Sea, and into Western Asia. Several deep, elongated lakes, called ribbon lakes, exist on the floor of this rift valley: Lakes Malawi, Rudolf and Tanganyika are examples of such lakes. The region has a unique ecosystem and contains a number of Africa's wildlife parks. The term Great Rift Valley is most often used to refer to the valley of the East African Rift, the divergent plate boundary which extends from the Afar Triple Junction southward through eastern Africa, and is in the process of splitting the African Plate into two new and separate plates. Geologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephantiasis
Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling. It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels. It may affect the genitalia. The term elephantiasis is often used in reference to (symptoms caused by) parasitic worm infections, but may refer to a variety of diseases where parts of a person's body swell to massive proportions. __TOC__ Cause Some conditions that present with elephantiasis include: * Elephantiasis nostras, due to longstanding chronic lymphangitis * Elephantiasis tropica (known as lymphatic filariasis), caused by a number of parasitic worms, particularly ''Wuchereria bancrofti''. More than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are affected. * Nonfilarial elephantiasis (or podoconiosis), an immune disease affecting the lymph vessels * Leishmaniasis * Elephantiasis, Grade 3 lymphedema which may occur in people with breast cance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cowrie
Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana'') due to their similar appearance. Shells of certain species have historically been used as currency in several parts of the world, as well as being used, in the past and present, very extensively in jewelry, and for other decorative and ceremonial purposes. The cowrie was the shell most widely used worldwide as shell money. It is most abundant in the Indian Ocean, and was collected in the Maldive Islands, in Sri Lanka, along the Indian Malabar coast, in Borneo and on other East Indian islands, in Maluku in the Pacific, and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun to Mozambique. Cowrie shell money was important in the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. In the United States and Mexico, cowrie species inhabit the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaws
Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones, and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium ''Treponema pallidum pertenue''. The disease begins with a round, hard swelling of the skin, in diameter. The center may break open and form an ulcer. This initial skin lesion typically heals after 3–6 months. After weeks to years, joints and bones may become painful, fatigue may develop, and new skin lesions may appear. The skin of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet may become thick and break open. The bones (especially those of the nose) may become misshapen. After 5 years or more, large areas of skin may die, leaving scars. Yaws is spread by direct contact with the fluid from a lesion of an infected person. The contact is usually of a nonsexual nature. The disease is most common among children, who spread it by playing together. Other related treponemal diseases are bejel (''T. pallidum endemicum''), pinta (''T. carateum''), and syphilis (''T. p. pallidum''). Ya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katee (Nyanga Mythology)
Katee Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series '' Another Life'' (2019–2021), Victoria "Vic" Moretti on the A&E / Netflix series '' Longmire'', Bo-Katan Kryze on the Disney+ series '' The Mandalorian'' as well as providing the voice for the character in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' (2012–2020) and '' Star Wars Rebels'' (2017), and the voice of Bitch Pudding on ''Robot Chicken'' (2005–present), as well as several other characters throughout her career. She was nominated for four Saturn Awards for her work on ''Battlestar Galactica'' and won the award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2005. Sackhoff also starred in the short-lived TV series ''The Fearing Mind'' (2000–2001) and '' The Education of Max Bickford'' (2001–2002); had recurring roles in the TV series '' Bionic Wom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adze
An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in hand woodworking, and as a hoe for agriculture and horticulture. Two basic forms of an adze are the hand adze (short hoe)—a short-handled tool swung with one hand—and the foot adze (hoe)—a long-handled tool capable of powerful swings using both hands, the cutting edge usually striking at foot or shin level. A similar tool is called a mattock, which differs by having two blades, one perpendicular to the handle and one parallel. History Africa The adze is depicted in ancient Egyptian art from the Old Kingdom onward. Originally the adze blades were made of stone, but already in the Predynastic Period copper adzes had all but replaced those made of flint. stone blades were fastened to the handle by tying and early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> Adze")