LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Sep

22

2023

Somalia’s voice of hope: a tribute to Axmed Naaji, legendary singer and trailblazing composer

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SOMALIS are natural-born critics, yet for over six decades, Axmed Naaji Sacad (Ahmed Naji Sa'ad) was almost unanimously revered. A household name in urban Somalia, the popular singer and poet has passed away at the age of 84 in London. Venerated as an elder of the country’s cultural life, Axmed Naaji Sacad Cali Naasir was not merely a singer, composer and musician who played guitar, lute, mandolin, piano and violin, he was also a radio host, playwright and a poet. MOHAMED HAJI INGIRIIS, Fellow, King's College London First known for his love songs like Garan Waaye (I Couldn’t Know), he…

Sep

22

2023

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Domestic Travel Boom: African airlines prepare for traffic surge

TRAVEL

OVER the next two decades, Africa’s jet fleet is projected to more than double to 1,550 aircraft - when Africa’s population is forecast to hit 2.17 billion, surpassing those of America, India and China combined, according to data from the International Air Transport Association. The growth will come on the back of significant growth in airline passenger numbers. IATA shows major airline markets in Africa had already outperformed their 2019 levels in terms of origin-destination (O-D) air passenger traffic by Q2 of 2023, thanks largely to domestic market recovery and outperformance. Nigeria recorded the highest growth in passenger numbers, adding…

Jul

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Sindiwe Magona’s new book of essays tackles issues South Africans aren’t talking about

LITERATURE

SINDIWE Magona – who turns 80 this year – is a celebrated South African writer, storyteller, speaker and activist. In 2022 Magona, once a domestic worker, received her PhD in creative writing. Best known for her novels, autobiographies, short stories, poems and children’s books, she’s also a writer of essays. Now a new collection, I Write the Yawning Void, has been published. The essays in the book mostly deal with becoming and being a writer in a country like South Africa with a violent past that lives on in painful social and economic inequality. We asked her about the book.…

Jul

12

2023

By The African Mirror

How an African collection of art in Canada is celebrated with care and community

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

A significant collection of traditional African art has had a home in Canada for almost a hundred years. At Agnes Etherington Art Centre, we are working on new, more hospitable practices of care for this collection. This means that we are attentive to the unmet needs of the collection and are taking responsibility for responding to these in ways that encourage community access and inclusion. QANITA LILLA, Associate Curator Arts of Africa, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Ontario We are located at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ont., on the territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat, in a city…

Jul

12

2023

By NGOUDA DIONE and JOEL KOUAM

Senegal’s lone developer fights to revive photography with film

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

FROM a concrete jetty on Dakar's sun-baked coastline, Senegalese photographer Amy Saar clicked the shutter of her vintage Pentax camera, capturing the light of the horizon on colour film purchased from the country's only developer. "Dakar looks great with certain coloured films because they really bring out the warm, vibrant colours," Saar said, loading a fresh roll into the camera. "Film can be really great in Africa because in general, it’s sunny (and) very colourful.” Saar is part of a growing resurgence of analogue photography enthusiasts in Senegal, nurtured by Le Sel studio in the capital’s Ouakam neighbourhood. Founded two…

Jul

11

2023

By The African Mirror

The fascinating Cameroonian art of spider divination is on display at London exhibition

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

TOMÁS Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life, which opened at London’s Serpentine South Gallery in June, explores how humans relate to spiders. It features installations of spider webs displayed and lit to be viewed as sculptures. There are also films: one made about Saraceno’s work with groups battling lithium mining in Argentina and another about spider diviners from Somié village in Cameroon. DAVID ZEITLYN, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford That’s where I came in. ?gam dù (the Mambila term for spider divination) is one of many types of oracle or divination used by Mambila people in Cameroon. It…

Jul

11

2023

By The African Mirror

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…

Jul

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Unicorns in southern Africa: the fascinating story behind one-horned creatures in rock art

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ONE-HORNED creatures are found in myths around the world. Although unicorns in different cultures have little to do with one another, they have multiple associations in European thought. For example, the Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder wrote about unicorns in the first century AD. The unicorn features in both medieval Christian and Celtic beliefs and is Scotland’s national animal. The unicorn’s prominence in European culture spread across the globe with colonisation. DAVID M. WITELSON, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of the Witwatersrand In southern Africa, colonial European ideas encountered older indigenous beliefs about one-horned creatures. I’ve highlighted this in a…

Jul

06

2023

By The African Mirror

Dancing the blues away: Nigerian salsa teacher fights mental health stigma

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NIGERIA'S Emeka Adindu says salsa saved his life. Growing up in a country with a deep-rooted stigma against mental health issues, Adindu, 35, found solace in the popular Latin dance as he battled abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts. He now helps others do the same - with free dance classes in the capital city Abuja. "Salsa was the only thing that could make me smile all those days that I was battling, fighting with my demon," he says. A 2021 UNICEF report shows one in six Nigerians aged between 15 and 24 are depressed, anxious or have other mental health…

Jul

08

2023

By The African Mirror

House of BNG partners with Miss South Africa

BEAUTY AND FASHION

HOUSE of BNG, one of South Africa's leading MCC brands, is thrilled to announce its continued partnership with the prestigious Miss South Africa pageant. The collaboration coincides with the launch of the exciting reality series "Crown Chasers," where Bonang Matheba, the owner of The House of BNG, will serve as a resident judge. The five-episode show is set to premiere on SABC 3 this Sunday, the 9th of July at 4 pm. ABOUT HOUSE OF BNG House of BNG is a leading luxury beverage brand founded by Bonang Matheba. The brand offers a range of premium sparkling wines, synonymous with…