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Monthly Archives: August 2023

The Last Rites.

The Asantes perform rituals for their dead kinsmen and loved ones generally known as ayie (funeral) in the Akan language. They hold a general belief that death is but a transition into a next world termed locally as Asamando (Asante/Akuapim) or Samanadze (Fanti) and not necessarily the end of mankind. The traditional Asante funeral is…

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‘Abadinto’. Naming a child among Asantes.

In the Akan societies in Ghana especially among the Asantes, names and the process of naming are essential since everyone and almost every living entity has a place and mission in the world. The name of a person or entity reflects their purpose in life. The adinto or abadinto (‘to throw a name’) or naming…

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Ghana. The Church has a strong voice in Africa.

The challenge of the Pentecostal churches. Young people who only want to leave. The importance of having African missionaries as a stimulus to the local church. We spoke with Father Saa-Dade Ennin provincial superior of the Society of African Missions and president of the Conference of Major Superiors of West Africa. How do you see…

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Chinese Private Security Companies in Latin America.

The expanding presence of China-based companies in Latin America, and the security problems they have experienced there, create an inherent demand for Chinese private security companies. The enormous expansion of global engagement by China and its companies over the past two decades has generated a corresponding need to protect Chinese operations and personnel in the…

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Asante Traditional Wedding.

The Asantes, have a unique style of marriage ceremony. It is an important community engagement as it involves the couple, the couple’s immediate and extended families, and the community at large. Each ethnic group in Ghana has its unique way of performing a marriage ceremony. However, for every group, there are similar processes involved. For…

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The Forgotten Conflict/Kashmir. A Decades-Long Crisis in the Heart of Asia.

Kashmir, a small Himalayan region claimed by India and Pakistan, is the protagonist of a frozen conflict that arose between Islamabad and New Delhi. The rivalry gave birth to four wars interspersed with political tensions. It all started in 1947, when the United Kingdom granted independence to the nations of the Indian subcontinent and each…

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Chad. Navigating into Political Storms.

The regional ramifications of the clash in Khartoum have important appendages in N’Djamena. In fact, the various attempts at coups always started from neighbouring Sudan, with protagonists belonging to the fragmented Zaghawa community as well as Arab and Gour groups. For this reason, the transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby is forced to negotiate in the…

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Mission. Living and Working Together.

Three young missionaries share with us their experience. My name is Father Clement Kazaku Bosh Bebe.  After ten years in South Africa, I returned to the land of my ancestors – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to continue being a missionary among my people. I thought everything would be easier and there wouldn’t be…

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Literature. In Memory of Ama Ata Aidoo.

In novels and plays, in politics and in university classrooms. A lifetime of fighting for Pan-Africanism and women’s rights. A model artist and activist for multiple generations. On May 31, Ama Ata Aidoo passed away; an African postcolonial writer, feminist and activist who played a very important role in the cultural history of the continent…

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Ghana. A Journey into Asante’s Cultural Heritage.

The Asante are a group of people who form part of the Akan ethnic group in the central part of Ghana in the West African Sub-region. The Asantes were one Akan-speaking people who settled in the forest region of modern Ghana between the 11th and 13th centuries. They are known to have migrated to present-day…

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Peru. The Time to the Asheninka.

What is the importance of time to the Asheninka, an Amazonian people of western Peru? Let’s find out. In the Amazonian world, time is marked by elements that can be stars, plants, animals, and others. The day is marked by the sun. The sun is what largely determines the conception of time and consequently the…

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Iraq. A Book to Live Again.

The young Yazidi Janan Shaker Elias has opened a bookshop in a village on the Nineveh Plain that suffered the invasion of Isis: “When we returned, I decided that reading was among the essential necessities”. On the white shelves are volumes of fiction and nonfiction, history books and biographies of famous people, philosophical texts, and…

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Advocacy

Angie Torres. A refugee among refugees.

Forced to flee Colombia, she has managed to rebuild her life in Ecuador. Now she defends the human rights of migrants and in particular of…

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Baobab

Brazil. The violin's sound.

There was a man who had an only son. When the man died, the son was left all alone in the world. There were not many…

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Youth & Mission

What do Africa's youth have to say about the future…

The latest African Youth Survey from the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, a leading African foundation promoting active citizenship across the continent, provides a comprehensive look at the…

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