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Sep
23
2023
By The African Mirror
Zimbabwean names are still haunted by the ghosts of colonialism

Zimbabwean names are still haunted by the ghosts of colonialism

CULTURE
IN African cultures, the names given to children play an important role because they are often laden with meanings. As a team of professors of literature, linguistics and onomastics (the scientific study of names and naming practices) we have shown in our research that the names parents give their children at birth can help us make sense of many things, including a family’s heritage and events in history. TENDAI MANGENA, Professor of African Studies, University of Leeds Our most recent research paper analyses naming practices in Zimbabwe. It shows that Zimbabweans in the former British colony in southern Africa still…
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Jul
11
2023
By The African Mirror
Belgium’s AfricaMuseum has a dark colonial past – it’s making slow progress in confronting this history

Belgium’s AfricaMuseum has a dark colonial past – it’s making slow progress in confronting this history

CULTURE
RACIST displays and stories remain on display in several western European museums. They include grotesque objects depicting African people as “savage” and “wild”. Narratives of a “continent without history” and fantasies of European superiority are still told in ethnographic museums, like the Humboldt Forum in Berlin and the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. JULIEN BOBINEAU, Assistant Professor, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena These museums have been criticised by scholars and activists since the 1970s. Their handling of objects looted during the colonial period, especially from Africa, is seen as an indicator of the political relations between Europe and African nations. Criticism ranges…
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Apr
28
2023
By The African Mirror
Slavery’s historical link to marriage is still at play in some African societies

Slavery’s historical link to marriage is still at play in some African societies

CULTURE
GOVERNMENTS and religious institutions regulate marriage. Such regulations are heavily laden with specific moral ideas and cultural taboos. There are heated debates around what counts as “proper” marriage: should polygamy or monogamy be preferred? What should be the minimal age for marriage? Despite these debates, all contemporary societies see marriage as a sacrosanct institution that deserves legal protection. Not so slavery. Author BENEDETTA ROSSI, Professor of History, UCL Today slavery is abolished in all countries. But 250 years ago various forms of slavery would have been legal on all continents. During the period of legal slavery, marriage and slavery were…
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