Sankofa- Analysis “Sprits of the dead rise up and claim your bird of passage. From Surinam, Brazil, Jamaica, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama, rise up…” these were the ominous words that were spoken at the beginning of the movie Sankofa. The historical fiction movie directed by Haile Gerima is very captivating. Using the Black Nationalist Movement as an inspiration for all of his movies, he created the theme of ‘the return’ the ‘journey’. Born and raised in Ethiopia, he realized that his people “began to worship Europeans as the providers of the new science and technology that’s going to elevate society.” “Sankofa” teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward.
Each myth has its own purpose whether it’s a moral, tradition, or a story of creation. But, of all these different themes and archetypes in African myths the most common stories contain Personification, Heroes, and Creation. To start, one of the most commonly used themes in African Myths is personification. Firstly, in the Myth “Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky”, personification is used when the narrator says, “Many years ago the sun and the water were great friends, and both lived on earth together.” Personification is the when you give none human objects human characteristic or abilities, so in this Myth the author gave the water and the sun the ability to be friends. Secondly, in the myth “Why there are Cracks in Tortoise’s Shell”, personification is used when Mr. Tortoise answered, “No, I shan’t sprout any wings because I was not born that way.” This quote shows the use of personification because the narrator gave Mr. Tortoise the ability to talk.
To him, art and society are indivisible, which is the African tradition. Unlike writers in European communities, the African artist is accountable to the community. Achebe is further influenced by the fact that African writers believe it is their mission to change their society through education. 37 Chapter 2: Things Fall Apart and Colonialism 1. Okonkwo’s Actions Foreshadow Colonialism’s Impact on Traditional Values Christopher Heywood 47 Even before the colonial rule directly impacts Okonkwo’s world, he betrays African and Igbo tradition in beliefs such as the hatred of his father’s way of life.
Jewell A. Moon ENG 1101-325 Professor Felicia J. Monroe 16 March 2015 Literacy Behind Bars Malcolm X will always have a long impression on many people when they read about something he have said or wrote or seen on television from prison studies. This short story is about Malcolm X best know, as a militant Black Nationalist leader who advocates for Pan- Africanism Malcolm X is a movement that aims to unite all people of African descent. Malcolm X was replacing the name little with the leader X because he felt little was a slave name. The X stands for his lost African tribal name.
“I have a dream”, were the words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. during a speech that would forever change America, and history. Martin Luther King Jr. did have a dream, a dream that all black women, men, and children would be treated equally, and have the same rights as whites did. Born on January 15th 1929, in Atlanta Georgia, he was first a Baptist minister at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. With a passion for Civil Rights and a strong believer of non-violence, he later became the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. This movement was made to outlaw discrimination against black Americans and grant them voting rights.
Way of Communicating There is a rich, fertile legacy of folklore from Africa. On this vast continent, folk tales and myths serve as a means of handing down traditions and customs from one generation to the next. The storytelling tradition has thrived for generations because of the absence of printed material. Folk tales prepare young people for life, as there are many lessons to be learned from the tales. Because of the history of this large continent, which includes the forceful transplanting of the people into slavery on other continents, many of the same folk tales exist in North America, South America, and the West Indies.
The story revolves around the days of 1890, Nigeria. Alongwith his main motive of presenting a true account of African culture which has long been misrepresented by the colonial powers; Achebe also articulates the detailed narration of Igbo culture. He elongately illustrates their tradition; role of elders, picture of women or 'Agbala' and men with respect to the authority both of them enjoys, custom of marriage, the gods or priestesses, and whole lot of their ethics and rituals. Approaching towards the treatment of women in the Igbo society one can easily configure that the individuality of a woman is entirely missing. They are the mere puppets in hands of the men, who delivers the role set by the males of the society for them.
To really understand what the rastafarians are all about; let’s take a brief look at their history. The movement began back in the 1930’s in Kingston Jamaica under the inspiration and teachings of world renowned Marcus Mosiah Garvey. During a time of struggle, racism, “class-ism,” and discrimination against blacks, Garvey went about the business of teaching and enlightening blacks that to improve their condition, they must establish their own “world” back in Africa On November 2, 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned emperor of Ethiopia and took on the name Haile Selassie (Might of the Trinity) plus additional titles including “Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” and “Elect of God and King of the Kings of Ethiopia.” This was when the rastafarians who had been listening to Marcus Garvey for a while, became convinced that he, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was the one the African Messiah who had come and liberate all Africans from their oppressors. This belief led to the birth of the Rastafarian movement. Leader Leonard Howell took control and led the group to initiate six fundamentals principles of Rastafarian belief.
African Folklore and its Importance in America Almost every oral tradition in the world has trickster figures, and African American culture is no exception. Tricksters dominate the folk tradition that peoples of African descent developed in the United States, especially those tales Trickster figures, present in every oral tradition, are weak, often amoral, characters who outsmart stronger opponents. Many were influenced by African folk tradition, landscape, and wildlife. Though trickster tales in African American culture are frequently a source of humor, they also contain serious commentary on the inequities of existence in a country where the promises of democracy were denied to a large portion of the citizenry, a pattern that becomes even clearer in the literary adaptations of trickster figures. As the African- American people who were enslaved gained literacy and began to write about their experiences, they incorporated figures from oral tradition into their written creations.
Many practitioners of traditional African religions worshipped a high god usually associated with the high skies, and other deities that were associated with natural features such as mountains, rivers and trees. Africans also looked to witchdoctors, shamans and other specialists in the sacred to use their divine powers to contact the spirits of ancestors and recently deceased relatives. In addition these people used their powers to bless and curse the living. Many African religions did not subscribe to scriptures of any kind, relying instead on oral transmission, visual symbols and rituals. In many sub-Saharan African countries, there are several churches that subscribe to traditional African religious practices.