#african archives

[itswadestore]

2 women photographed after a visit to the hairdresser, Perseverance Photo. Angola, 1990’s. 

© Saman Archive

[jasoncanty01]

Aunt Polly Jackson, was an escaped enslaved woman who worked as an agent on the Underground Railroad helping others escape. She was known for fighting off slave catchers with a butcher knife and a kettle of boiling water.

Can see more here on Twitter from

AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY

@AfricanArchives

[alexandraunderthesun]

At Night -- Awake or Dreaming

From the exhibition At Night -- Awake or Dreaming at the Museum der Kulturen Basel

I am fascinated by the way different cultures around the word engage in a practice-- which really I don't consider a practice, rather something we all participate in-- that is a part of all lived experiences, globally. No matter geographical location, time zone, or beliefs, humans experience nighttime, daytime, and dreaming in the same yet different capacities.

--> The exhibition text translates as: "This mask appeared at dusk and represented the setting sun." However, I'm not too sure about the truth of this statement. If my life experiences and education has taught me anything, it is: to be weary of museums and always question.

This mask belongs to the Pende tribe, an ethnic group who originally resided in Angola; however, they were forced to relocate to the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to forced territorial expansion. Once removed, they separated themselves into the Eastern Pende tribe and the Western Pende in the DRC.

This specific mask is a gitenga mask, which was typically worn by an older, male figure of the tribe. Those who wear the gitenga masks hold more social responsibility; their job is to control the ceremony and enforce punishment if needed. The mask is viewed as intimidating and dangerous-looking due to the circular, sharp eyes.

Masks such as these are used in mukanda ceremonies, which are an intergenerational, community ceremonies where boys are initiated to become men. To ground this research in the context of the exhibition, gitenga masks often appear in the dreams of young boys, almost taunting them in a manner. When a ceremony does occur, it is their opportunity to take control of the mask, and in a way, taking control of the nightmares associated with it.

The ceremonies are held in a camp, lasting 11-15 days; in this camp boys are circumcised, they learn rituals and craft, and prepare to become men. These initiations occur every ten-twelve years, however it is at the discretion of the tribe and chief.

An example of a song learned through the mukanda ceremony is below:

Ngenze a Panda udi kale ku mbongo ya Loange,

Muna Munzadi wamakana ha pambu ya Khoyi,

Ita ngayisha mu Mbinda. Tsumienu ngenji, jiyile Makumbi

a Lubunda,

Wasala kungima.

Mbimbi tsuayidile kilako, Makumbi a Panda azuele milonga,

mbimbi tuaitshikina.

Kisanga kia Muna Mumbanda!

These initiations still occur today, however there is more of a choice whether to participate in it or not. Boys today who choose not to participate in mukanda, however, are teased as being "weak" or "childish".

Read more + Free Congo Resource:

https://www.jacarandatribal.com/items/pende-mask

https://www.academia.edu/43640360/The_Role_of_Masks_in_the_Eastern_Pende_Mukanda

https://africa-art-archive.ch/en/multiple-readings/pende-initiation-masks-art-that-makes-men-out-of-boys

https://friendsofthecongo.org

[usnatarchives]

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space. Born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Jemison’s journey into the stars is a testament to the power of dreams and determination. 🚀

[allaroundtheworld55]

[gibsalotdoodles]

tma sticker sheet im gonna have at comic con africa :) the jon and martin designs will also be available as a connected keychain!

[door]

BLACK CRAFTSPEOPLE DIGITAL ARCHIVE

From 1619 to beyond, Black craftspeople, both free and enslaved, worked to produce the valued architecture, handcrafts, and decorative arts of the American South. The Black Craftspeople Digital Archive seeks to enhance what we know about Black craftspeople by telling both a spatial story and a historically informed story that highlights the lives of Black craftspeople and the objects they produced. The first and second phases of this project focus on Black craftspeople living and laboring in the eighteenth-century South Carolina Lowcountry and mid-nineteenth century Tennessee.

[tabney2023]

Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha & Malia.

[lionofchaeronea]

Portrait of an Unidentified Laborer, Missouri, Louise Putman, ca. 1946

[mimi-0007]

Martin Luther King Jr and Family 🖤🖤🖤

[conniesrockstargf]

Sweetheart ♥️ Milo

I'm so obsessed with them it ain't even funny

[itswadestore]

FANTA, amour et trahison, a collaboration between Archives Ivoire and wä dé.

[ali-alshalali]

Hadandawa East sudan-" الهدندوة "The name Hadendowa is said to come from hada (lion) and (n)dewa (clan). ( the lion Clan) .

I think they have Routes from East African trips they have mixed cultures

[usnatarchives]

This remarkable photograph shows the then-oldest living ex-enslaved individual, Mrs. Sally Fickland, viewing the Emancipation Proclamation in the Freedom Train at Philadelphia, on September 17, 1947.

[dominairae]

Felicia Ewuraesi Abban (nee Ansah), born in 1935 and known as Ghana’s first woman photographer

[weareravershq]