Best of
Africa

1994

Long Walk to Freedom


Nelson Mandela - 1994
    Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality. The foster son of a Thembu chief, Mandela was raised in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors, but at an early age learned the modern, inescapable reality of what came to be called apartheid, one of the most powerful and effective systems of oppression ever conceived. In classically elegant and engrossing prose, he tells of his early years as an impoverished student and law clerk in a Jewish firm in Johannesburg, of his slow political awakening, and of his pivotal role in the rebirth of a stagnant ANC and the formation of its Youth League in the 1950s. He describes the struggle to reconcile his political activity with his devotion to his family, the anguished breakup of his first marriage, and the painful separations from his children. He brings vividly to life the escalating political warfare in the fifties between the ANC and the government, culminating in his dramatic escapades as an underground leader and the notorious Rivonia Trial of 1964, at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Herecounts the surprisingly eventful twenty-seven years in prison and the complex, delicate negotiations that led both to his freedom and to the beginning of the end of apartheid. Finally he provides the ultimate inside account.

Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman


Malidoma Patrice Somé - 1994
    The story tells of his return to his people, his hard initiation back into those people, which lead to his desire to convey their knowledge to the world. "Of Water and the Spirit" is the result of that desire; it is a sharing of living African traditions, offered in compassion for those struggling with our contemporary crisis of the spirit.

Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak


Jean Hatzfeld - 1994
    In the villages of Nyamata and N'tarama, Hatzfeld interviewed fourteen survivors of the genocide, from orphan teenage farmers to the local social worker. For years the survivors had lived in a muteness as enigmatic as the silence of those who survived the Nazi concentration camps. In Life Laid Bare, they speak for those who are no longer alive to speak for themselves; they tell of the deaths of family and friends in the churches and marshes to which they fled, and they attempt to account for the reasons behind the Tutsi extermination. For many of the survivors "life has broken down," while for others, it has "stopped," and still others say that it "absolutely must go on."These horrific accounts of life at the very edge contrast with Hatzfeld's own sensitive and vivid descriptions of Rwanda's villages and countryside in peacetime. These voices of courage and resilience exemplify the indomitable human spirit, and they remind us of our own moral responsibility to bear witness to these atrocities and to never forget what can come to pass again. Winner of the Prix France Culture and the Prix Pierre Mille, Life Laid Bare allows us, in the author's own words, "to draw as close as we can get to the Rwandan genocide.

Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior


Marimba Ani - 1994
    Examines the influence of European culture on the formation of modern institutional frameworks, through colonialism and imperialism, from an African perspective.

The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts


Baba Ifa Karade - 1994
    He describes 16 orisha and shows us how to work with divination, to use the chakras to internalize the teachings of Yoruba, and describes howto create a sacred place of worship. Includes prayers, dances, songs, offerings, and sacrifices to honor the orisha and egun. Illustrations, charts, glossary, bibliography, and index.

Anansi and the Talking Melon


Eric A. Kimmel - 1994
    A spider tricks other animals into thinking a melon can talk.

Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949


Doris Lessing - 1994
    Or they were scrubbed off me by...robust and efficient hands."The experiences absorbed through these "skins too few" are evoked in this memoir of Doris Lessing's childhood and youth as the daughter of a British colonial family in Persia and Southern Rhodesia Honestly and with overwhelming immediacy, Lessing maps the growth of her consciousness, her sexuality, and her politics, offering a rare opportunity to get under her skin and discover the forces that made her one of the most distinguished writers of our time.

Afrikan-Centered Consciousness Versus the New World Order: Garveyism in the Age of Globalism (AWIS Lecture Series)


Amos N. Wilson - 1994
    African & Afrikan Studies, Literary Studies, Psychcology

African Women: Three Generations


Mark Mathabane - 1994
    He shows the personal struggles each faced as a woman and how their lives were affected by apartheid and the struggle for independence. 16 pages of photos.

It Takes a Village


Jane Cowen-Fletcher - 1994
    A young girl proudly watches her little brother--only to discover that caring neighbors have been watching them both all along. Full-color illustrations by the author.

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me


Maya Angelou - 1994
    "Hello, Stranger-Friend" begins Maya Angelou's story about Thandi, a South African Ndebele girl, her mischievous brother, her beloved chicken, and the astonishing mural art produced by the women of her tribe.  With never-before-seen photographs of the very private Ndebele women and their paintings, this unique book shows the passing of traditions from parent to child and introduces young readers to a new culture through a new friend.

Fire on the Mountain


Jane Kurtz - 1994
    And he does, warmed only by the sight of a distant fire. When his master refuses to recognize the boy's victory, the boy and his sister decide to beat the rich man at his own game.

My Life in Search of Africa


John Henrik Clarke - 1994
    This book finally uncovers the tumultuous life of this great figure. Through a series of autobiographical essays, Clarke looks back on his lifelong struggle to restore African history to its proper place in the context of world history.

Light from Ancient Africa Paperback


Na'im Akbar - 1994
    It was within this project that we came to realize that the notion of human psychology was and remains an African invention...In this book, Na'im Akbar provides the reader with a clear and concise understanding of the African (Kemetic) origins of psychology, and provides the insightful guidelines to modern-day implications and applications of the field. From foreword by Wade W. Nobles

Head Above Water


Buchi Emecheta - 1994
    And if for any reason you do not believe in miracles, please start believing, because keeping my head above water in this indifferent society...is a miracle." Buchi Emecheta's autobiography spans the transition from a tribal childhood in the African bush to life in North London as an internationally acclaimed writer.

Granta 48: Africa


Bill Buford - 1994
    With Lynda Schuster in Liberia as Doe falls, Gilles Peress in Rwanda after the massacres, Paul Theroux at a leper colony in Malawi, Sousa Jamba in Angola, Ryszard Kapuscinski and Abraham Verghese in Ethiopia, William Finnegan in South Africa, and William Boyd’s enchanting novella of an African filmmaker made good.

Iba'se Orisa: Ifa Proverbs, Folktales, Sacred History and Prayer


Awo Falokun Fatunmbi - 1994
    All Orisa worshippers in the New World will benefit from reading this book.

Sex and the Empire That Is No More: Gender and the Politics of Metaphor in Oyo Yoruba Religion


J. Lorand Matory - 1994
    His centralthesis concerning the gendering of power relations in the Oyo Empire, and its continuing expression in the cult of Sango, is brilliant and original. The symbolic analysis of contemporary initiation to the Sango cult ... shows real virtuosity ... [Also] of great value is his account of the state of religious heterogeneity in Oyo North. This book should make a significant mark outside the field of Yoruba studies, in the anthropology of gender at large." - J.D.Y. Peel, FBA, University of London "An exemplary exercise in historical anthropology ... with interpretive and forensic skill [the author] narrates how the traditions of Sango and Ogun are carried into and participate inthe post-independence political and economical developments, and how they relate to contemporary Islamic and Christian religious streams." - Stanley J. Tambiah, Harvard University"A bold and innovative study of the interplay between gender, power and religion. Its relevance to feminist theory is unquestionable ... Gender categories and all that is associated with them are changed by the negotiation of politically interested actors, both male and female ... It situates itself within a 'mythic' paradigm which, the author argues, is close to indigenous conceptualizations of the past and present; but at the same time it is unmistakably located in the real, hybrid and confusing world of contemporary Nigeria, and not in some idealized world of 'tradition'." - Karin Barber, University of Birmingham"[Matory's] richly argued text, strong with insight, strong with documents, is a classic in Yoruba studies." - Robert F. Thompson, Yale University"This second edition of the seminal [book] seems more salient in retrospect as the international interest in orisha worship and the meaning of transatlantic aesthetics that claim a Yoruba ancestry increases...Along with his theoretical guidance, Matory provides rich procedural, ritual detail that contextualizes the multifaceted aspect of orisha worship for specific sets of completed ritual communities." - International Journal of African Historical StudiesJ. Lorand Matory researches the trans-Atlantic comings and goings of Yoruba religion, as well as ethnic diversity in Black North America. With the support of the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Spencer Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education's Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, he has conducted extensive field research in Brazil, Nigeria, and the United States. Dr. Matory is also the author of Black Atlantic Religion: Tradition, Transnationalism and Matriarchy in the Afro-Brazilian Candombl� (Princeton University Press). He is currently researching a book on the history and experience of Nigerians, Trinidadians, Ethiopians, black Indians, Louisiana Creoles and other ethnic groups that make up black North American society. It focuses on the creative coexistence of these groups at the United States' leading "historically Black university"-Howard University

Day of Delight: a Jewish Sabbath in Ethiopia


Maxine Rose Schur - 1994
    Depicts a young Ethiopian Jewish boy and his family, including their typical daily routine followed by preparation for and celebration of the Sabbath.

Black Africa


Laure Meyer - 1994
    Covers the objects that express the influence of myths on the daily life and inventive genius of more than 60 ethnic groups, and examines the entire range from aesthetic and ethnological points of view.

The Benefits of Famine: A Political Economy of Famine and Relief in Southwestern Sudan, 1983-9


David Keen - 1994
    David Keen’s The Benefits of Famine presents a new and chilling interpretation of the causes of war-induced famine. Now in paperback for the first time with a new and updated introduction by the author, The Benefits of Famine gives depth to an understanding of the evolution of the Darfur crisis.

The Iroko-Man: A Yoruba Folktale


Phillis Gershator - 1994
    When the terrifying Iroko-man tries to take a woodcarver's first-born child as partial payment for bringing fertility to his village, the father must find a clever solution.

The Yoruba Artist: New Theoretical Perspectives on African Arts


Rowland Abiodun - 1994
    Collects eighteen essays on various facets of traditional and modern Yoruba art, with examples of sculpture, paintings, and ritual objects.

Tales of the African Frontier


John A. Hunter - 1994
    Meet Tippu Tib, the greatest of all slave traders and the man who owned the slave responsible for killing the elephant with the biggest tusks ever recorded. Read how Ewart Grogan walked from the Cape to Cairo and how Joseph Thompson faced not only the ferocious Masai but also incredible hardships during his explorations into the interior of East Africa. Find out how John Boyes, elephant poacher extraordinaire, declared himself king of the Wa-Kikuyu and how Robert Foran, the notorious Lado Enclave ivory poacher, cheated Belgian and British authorities alike.

African Warriors: The Samburu


Thomasin Magor - 1994
    Renowned for their exceptional physical beauty and grace as well as for their independence and pride, the seminomadic Samburu live as they have for centuries, herding cattle and maintaining an intricate social system shaped over time by strongly held beliefs, intertribal rivalry, and the never-ending search for pastures and water. Thomasin Magor, who lived among the Samburu for six years and built up a strong bond of trust with them, has created one of the most intimate portraits of an African people ever attempted. In recognition of her independence - her Samburu name is Sala, meaning "she who walks alone" - she gained the acceptance of the men and took part in councils and ceremonies that would normally be barred to a woman; and by reason of her gender she was permitted by the women to witness a number of important rites at which men are not allowed. Her book is, remarkable not only for its evocative images of the lives of Imurran (the warrior herdsmen), women, children, and elders - and their rituals, hairstyles, body-painting, dances, and feast days - but also for its cohesive picture of a culture. At the heart of the book is an extraordinary sequence of photographs of the most important of all Samburu rituals - E-muratare, or days of circumcision. At this ceremony, which takes place approximately once every fourteen years, the new generation of Imurran is initiated into warriorhood as the former warriors move on to junior elderhood and marriage. Thomasin Magor witnessed the 1990 circumcision ceremonies and the changeover andrenewal of roles at all levels of Samburu society. In her telling photographs we see boys becoming warriors, warriors becoming elders, girls becoming wives, and mothers lamenting the passing of their sons' time of warriorhood. With more than 200 color photographs and a direct, info

The Bondage Of Fear: A Journey Through The Last White Empire


Fergal Keane - 1994
    As this process unfolds the fault lines created by centuries of White rule are beginning to shift and in doing so, they have released the pent-up fears of Blacks and Whites. This book examines the climate of fear as thousands die in political violence, and locates the origin of apartheid in fear. It explores how fear threatens to poison the future as it has the past. Chapters include: the Boipatong Massacre; the White middle-class; the last White Parliament; the Afrikaaner bitter-enders; the Black radical left; White working-class life; the Zulus, soldiers, spies and killers; and the ANC. The book concludes with the swearing-in of the new President - Nelson Mandela.

Search for Africa:, The: History, Culture, Politics


Basil Davidson - 1994
    Following the success of his highly acclaimed The Black Man's Burden, Davidson offers a timely collection of essays which are essential to the understanding of the passionate spirit of modern African studies.

Feeling the Spirit


Chester Higgins Jr. - 1994
    Look around you and behold us in our greatness. Greatness is an African possibility; you can make it yours." -- Chester Higgins Jr. In "Feeling The Spirit," Chester Higgins Jr. tells the story of a people -- by capturing the fierce dignity, enduring traditions and empowering spirituality that live in all men and women of African descent throughout the world. Higgins' odyssey of discovery has spanned three decades and led him across boundaries of geography, nationality, and culture. In these pages Higgins combines 220 tri-tone black-and-white images with his own evocative prose to share the findings of his journey. From reclaiming a long-misrepresented history, to providing a rare, intimate look at sacred rituals passed down through the centuries, to exploring the simple yet profound significance of water in daily life, Chester Higgins Jr. presents a glorious evocation of the African personality as it thrives not just in Africa, but in all parts of the world.

The Destruction of the Zulu Kingdom: "The Civil War in Zululand, 1879-1884"


Jeff Guy - 1994
    Presents a re-publication of a standard text on the destruction of the Zulu kingdom.

Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers: Travels in Mozambique


Nick Middleton - 1994
    What makes people believe in vaccination against bullets, or in cannabalistic hitmen who cruise the night skies on bat-back? Nick Middleton travelled to Mozambique to find out.

The Idea of Africa


V.Y. Mudimbe - 1994
    this is a remarkable book. It will occupy a significant place in the critical literature of African Studies." --International Journal of African Historical Studies"To read Mudimbe is to walk through a museum of many exhibits in the company of an erudite companion who explains, with much learned commentary, what you are seeing." --American Anthropologist"Mudimbe's sympathetic yet rigorous accounts of such diverse Africanist discourses as Herskovits's cultural relativism and contemporary Afrocentricity bring to the surface the underlying goals and contexts in which these were produced." --Ivan KarpA sequel to his highly acclaimed The Invention of Africa, this is V. Y. Mudimbe's exploration of how the "idea" of Africa was constructed by the Western world.

When We Began, There Were Witchmen: An Oral History from Mount Kenya


Jeffrey A. Fadiman - 1994
    Many of these tales have been ritually passed down through no fewer than nineteen generations; others were remembered by those personally involved. Jeffrey Fadiman gathered them in interviews with more than 100 of the Meru's oldest men and women.The traditions touch on every era of the Meru past. They include narrations, songs, chants, and riddles. They tell of a mysterious origin, past enslavement, despairing flight, mountain warriorhood, British conquest, and the fight for freedom. The Meru elders spoke most often of urogi, or witchcraft, the incantations, rituals, and potions used to deal with the supernatural aspects of Meru life. As their society evolved, so did their urogi, developing a history of its own as practitioners in every generation sought to cope with the challenges of slavery, migration, war, colonialism, and Christianity.Fadiman has crafted the tales into a compelling narrative, passing on in his turn the stories he was given. This is African history from African perspectives that stretch back over 300 years.

Africa's Glorious Legacy (Lost Civilizations)


Dale Brown - 1994
    Stunning photographs and illustrations, plus detailed cutaways, maps and diagrams.

Warrior Chiefs Of Southern Africa: Shaka Of The Zulu. Moshoeshoe Of The Basotho, Mzilikazi Of The Matabele, Maqoma Of The Xhosa (Heroes & Warriors)


Ian J. Knight - 1994
    It features: Shaka of the Zulu, Africa's legendary hero, and the instigator of Zulu greatness and nationhood; Maqomo of the Xhosa - a master of guerilla warfare and the most daring and talented military leader of his age; Mzilikazi of the Matabele - he fought the Zulus, the Sotho and the Boers, and finally settled in Zimbabwe; Moeshoeshoe of the BaSotho - in the 1830s, the most powerful leader west of the Drakensberg Mountains.

The Shona And Their Neighbours


D.N. Beach - 1994
    In recent history they fought the white settlers who created Rhodesia; today they form the majority of the population of modern Zimbabwe. David Beach's unique study of the Shona and neighbouring Ndebele, Gaza Nguni and others links archaeology, anthropology and linguistics studies with oral traditions and later written evidence.

Tomorrow is Another Century


Allister Haddon Sparks - 1994
    Tomorrow is Another Country retells the story of the behind-the-scenes collaborations that started with a meeting between Kobie Coetsee, then minister of justice, and Nelson Mandela in 1985. By 1986, negotiations involved senior government officials, intelligence agents, and the African National Congress. For the next four years, they assembled in places such as a gamepark lodge, the Palace Hotel in Lucerne, Switzerland, a fishing hideaway, and even in a hospital room. All the while, De Klerk's campaign assured white constituents nothing would change. Sparks shows how the key players, who began with little reason to trust one another, developed friendships which would later play a crucial role in South Africa's struggle to end apartheid."A gripping, fast-paced, authoritative account of the long and mostly secret negotiations that brought South Africa's bitter conflict to its near-miraculous end. Sparks's description of these talks sometimes brings a lump to one's throat. He shows how the participants' deep mutual suspicion was gradually replaced by excitement at the prospect of making a momentous agreement—and also by the dawning realization that the people on the other side were human beings, perhaps even decent human beings."—Adam Hochschild, New York Times Book Review"A splendid and original history. . . . Sparks's skillful weaving of myriad strands—Mandela's secret sessions with the committee, the clandestine talks in England between the African National Congress and the government, the back-channel communications between Mandela and the A.N.C. in exile, the trepidation of Botha and the apparent transformation of his successor, De Klerk—possesses the drama and intrigue of a diplomatic whodunit."—Richard Stengel, Time"Sparks offers many reasons for hope, but the most profound of them is the story this book tells."—Jacob Weisberg, Washington Post"The most riveting of the many [accounts] that have been published about the end of apartheid."—The Economist

The Story of the Madman


Mongo Beti - 1994
    In a modern fable that Beti uses to illustrate the problems of a people's disintegrating values in a postcolonial state, Chief Zoaeteleu, a puppet under two dictatorial regimes, is swept into the frontline of politics, where his fortunes unravel. Along with his caustic portrayal of failed government--clearly a reflection of his native Cameroon--Beti's realism provides an intriguing view of the struggle for balance between traditional life and imminent change in African culture.

Cutting the Rose: Female Genital Mutilation: The Practice and Its Prevention


Efua Dorkenoo - 1994
    This is partly due to the exposure of the subject by human rights activists and organizations and partly due to the emergence of the practice in the West. Given that Female Genital Mutilation has a negative effect on both the physical and psychological health of millions of women, not just in Africa but also in Europe, North America and other parts of the world, what must be done to eradicate this practice? What are the lessons to be learned from past experience of work in this area? How can international interest be guided towards positive change? In order to answer these questions, Efua Dorkenoo presents the facts about Female Genital Mutilation. From her research in the field and her work in Britain, she then gives a comprehensive update on work in Africa together with models of good practice to show how best to deal with the very diverse experiences found in different parts of the world. Only from such models is it fully possible to explore such issues as the rights of women and of children, of the part which the well-being of women plays in the health of a nation, and also the strengths and weaknesses of the various international campaigns on the subject. By offering much new information and clarifying many grey areas, Efua Dorkenoo shows the importance of offering professional advice which is prolonged, well-monitored and co-ordinated. This, in turn, should be supported with practical help, which is underpinned by the aid of local and international bodies.

The Ancestor Tree


T. Obinkaram Echewa - 1994
    Nna-nna, who is blind and very old, is much beloved by the children in his village. When he dies and the children mourn, they learn to accept his death--and an even richer lesson about the value of life.

Door of No Return: The Legend of Goree Island


Steven Barboza - 1994
    Chronicles the tragic history of Gore+a7e Island, off the coast of Senegal in Africa, a place that had once marked a holding place for captured Africans who awaited transport to the New World as slaves.

The Joys of Exile


Paul Tiyambe Zeleza - 1994
    Zeleza explores the paradoxes of human separateness and delves into the loneliness and vulnerability we all experience as exiles of one kind or another.About the Author:Paul Tiyambe Zeleza was born in Zimbabwe and educated in Malawi, and is now a professor of history at Trent University, Peterborough. His first novel, Smouldering Charcoal, was published by Heinemann.