agonistic-hope

[agonistic-hope]

Oros

A magnificent blue, so holy are you; shy son of the sea, showing himself under sky - from tide to tide.

He breathes like waves; impenetrability ferocious, yet he gives way when asked. Suddenly a flash...

I awake to your infinite hospitality fearing an inhospitable power.

I descend the ravine to find your ancient tower; my body floats to the top where I emerge from the water a flower - ready to be reborn.

To the one I call Oros, a transparent being from the underworld who brings light and recovery to a sun-withered and delicate shrub, your dizzying swirling affection has healed me.

I dedicate this to you. For it is through you I have returned and re-emerged from the sea.

[agonistic-hope]

Red Threads in Scottish Folklore 🧵

In historical Scottish folklore, the colour red was thought to be protective, so many red charms were once used to sain(protect and/or cleanse). This also counted even if it was a simple red thread.

“Red, being the colour of blood – the essence of life- is the supreme magical colour. In Scotland, necklaces of red coral or red rowan-berries, strung on red thread, were worn as amulets.” "The Silver Bough: Volume 1 " by F. Marian McNeill (1957-1968)

I have talked about rowan in the past, but one way the red thread is often mention is paired with rowan. The rowan might be wrapped or woven with the thread, then put with whatever it is that you want to protect. For example, you might make a charm to go above your door(especially on cross-quarter days), or maybe create a collar to place on your cows neck.

In Islay, not twenty years ago, a man had a rowan-tree collar for securing his cow at night, and every time the animal visited the bull he passed this collar thrice through the chimney crook. On Beltane-day annually he dressed all the houses with rowan. “Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland” by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

However, even on it’s own, the thread was considered powerful. Red thread was used to protect from fairies, witchcraft, the devil, the evil eye, and even adders. An adder in Scottish folklore is not typically referring to the real-life snake that shares the same name, but instead a huge snake-like dragon that is more commonly called a Beithir in Scotland.

“Various sicknesses of humans, sheep and cattle in Lewis and other of the Outer Isles were once put down to the bites of non-existent adders, especially where symptoms included some kind of skin peeling or flaking. The custom, as elsewhere, was to put a red woollen thread through the hole, dip the stone in water, bathe the affected part and give the patient some of the water to drink.” “Healing threads : traditional medicines of the Highlands and Islands” by Beith, Mary 1995

As well as a way to protect from something, it was also a cure. As if simply touching the red would break whatever hold something had on you, the thread was sometimes even prescribed for sickness.

If you want more quotes and links to historical Scottish audio recordings on this subject, I have a list on my website (at the bottom of the post).

[agonistic-hope]

"How do we get rid of rats in the ghetto? How Do we get rid of rats in the ghetto? Do we make it one black and one white in the ghetto? Is that your answer, legislator?" - Marlena Shaw (1969)

[agonistic-hope]

"Hound dogs on my trail; little school children sittin' in jail. Black cat crossed my path - I think everyday is gonna be my last.

Lord have mercy on this land of mine, we all gonna get it in due time: because I don't belong here, I don't belong there - I've even stopped believing in prayer.

...

Picket lines, school boy cots - they try to say it's a communist plot. But all I want is equality for my sister, my brother, my people and me."

- Nina Simone ('Mississippi Goddamn')

[agonistic-hope]

[In Elmina] mothers wash their children in flimsy plastic basins, the cheap, contemporary Asian substitutes for the brass neptunes people here once traded with the Portuguese

Howard French ‘Born in Blackness’ (2022, p.87).

[agonistic-hope]

Journey 03/04/2023

My beach was at high tide today, and the shoreline stretched all the way up to the cave entrance (where my door leads to). It was very sunny, and the water was so warm and clear; it was a pleasure being in it. The sand was dark because it was soaked by the sea, and it seemed to melt in my hand. A daffodil flower head floated up to me, which wasn't unexpected as I had been sitting among them this afternoon. What was more surprising was after I had put the daffodil back, it immediately sunk or 'plopped' back underwater. Then, I saw a golden fish (not sure what kind, either a carp, golden salmon, or just a goldfish) from the side of my eye, swimming about frantically. I tried to catch it and went into the water until I was chest-high. A hand reached out underwater and grabbed my right leg - I was sh****ng myself. However, I remembered it was just an extension of me, so instead of making rash movements, I grabbed the hand and pulled it out of the water. It looked like a woman; she didn't look mean, nor did she look particularly pleasant. I asked what she was doing there, but I got no reply. I said if she wasn't a diety or spirit trying to get in contact with me or an extension of myself, she shouldn't be here because this is my beach, and I'm trying to make it private. I decided to embrace her and see her off, she smiled, and I smiled back - everything seemed to end quite jovially (which was a relief). Not entirely sure what that was about.

[agonistic-hope]

Learning about Africa and BBC’s Africa Daily

I'm a first-year university student in International Relations in Scotland, and over Christmas break, I bought a few books to help me learn more about, what I considered, the political enigma that is Sub-Saharan Africa. I cite them here:

Césaire, A. (2010)  A Season in the Congo, Trans: Spivak, G.C. London: Seagull Books.

McClintock, A. (1995) Imperial Leather, New York: Routledge.

Meredith, M. (2013) The State of Africa, London: Simon and Schuster

Mudimbe, V.Y. (1988) The Invention of Africa, Indiana: Indiana University Press.

Young, T. (2018) We Need to Talk about Africa, London: Oneworld Publications.

I haven’t quite gotten around to these yet:

Fanon, F. (2001) The Wretched of the Earth, London: Penguin Classics.

Somerville, K. (2017) Africa’s Long Road Since Independence, Milton Keynes: Penguin Books.

I have also taken many opportunities to engage with Africa academically in my modules. For example, I picked the essay questions that were related to Africa, and completed further essay-related reading on the topic. 

Despite the astounding knowledge propagated by these books (which I am lucky to be able to read), I regret that none of these publications were published anywhere near Africa, and that only three of them were written by Africans.

For this reason, I would strongly recommend BBC’s new production “Africa Daily”. It’s a very insightful podcast that has really opened up the ‘everyday Africa’ for me. While, academia is good in it’s own right, sharing stories are ultimately one of the best ways to become familiar with something. This is exactly what Africa Daily has done for me - and then some. What I really enjoy, is that they often interview people from Africa who are expert in the subject by way of experience, rather than from academic ‘ivory towers’ in London; although, those insights are also very valuable. 

In summary, Africa Daily is excellent for getting an appreciation for Africa at a more localised level and I wish they released more recordings. If you are looking for more insight on Africa from Africans with an emphasis on the ‘here and now’, I strongly recommend this podcast.

[agonistic-hope]

You must hold the key to your own image-making because if you don't, other people will. And this is the real problem of story-telling: who controls your image, who tells your story.

Raoul Peck (2010)