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Culture

Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months

Herbs & Plants. Psorospermum febrifugum Spach. A medicinal plant for skin diseases.

Medicinal plants continue to play vital roles in primary health systems globally. A number of plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of vital phytochemical  compounds  as  secondary  metabolites that have the ability to effectively treat various ailments affecting mankind. One of such potent medicinal plants is Psorospermum febrifugum Spach (Hypericaceae Family} which…

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Ethiopia. The Guji. A people in transformation.

The Guji are an ethnic group of southern Ethiopia. They belong to the great family of the Oromo. Traditionally semi-nomadic, today they live more from agriculture than cattle-raising. A glance at some aspects of their life and culture. They are around five million people scattered around the most southerly area of the immense territory called…

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Bolivia. Water: source of life in the Andean Pacha.

The Andean peoples preserve their ancient wisdoms with great care in order to lead a good life. Wisdoms that have been transmitted for hundreds and thousands of years. The wisdom of water. We Andean people consider our Pachamama as the Mother of  the universe, as the Mother of the Pacha. The name Pachamama is made…

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Music. Djibouti, Modern Notes.

The New York music house Ostinato Records recently released a Groupe RTD album – a Djibouti band composed of civil servants – the first to take modern music beyond the borders of the country in the Horn of Africa.  The international diffusion of modern music in the Horn of Africa came late on the scene…

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Herbs & Plants. Piliostigma thonningii. A multipurpose medicinal plant.

Piliostigma thonningii, common name ‘camel’s foot’, is a leguminous, deciduous tree with a single stem, native to tropical Africa. It grows in open woodland, savannah regions, and wooded grassland in low to medium altitudes. It  is a multipurpose tree of vast importance for health. This evergreen species is a good shade tree that fixes nitrogen…

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Pan-African Museum. Reclaiming History.

Aimed at Africans and the diaspora, the Pan-African Museum of Heritage and Culture in Accra (Ghana) is a project in the name of black pride and memory. Opening in 2022. The man who thought up the idea of the project is Kojo Yankah, former MP and minister in  the government of president Jerry Rawlings (in…

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Africa. Ubuntu, to live positively.

In the African context, Ubuntu is a religious belief which concerns the need for humans to live together positively. This belief is found throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa. Africa on the whole did not develop a written means of communication. African traditional religion is handed down orally. Unlike the other great ancient religions, for instance…

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Madagascar. Famadihana, the feast of Return.

On the Madagascar plateau the bodies of the dead are exhumed from their tombs and brought out for a day of celebration which, with singing and dancing renders homage to their dead. Close to the edges of the rice fields connecting the valleys of the central highlands, flickering lights can be seen in the darkness…

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Special Report/Iraq. Cultural Heritage in Peril.

The wars in Syria and Iraq are (mostly) over, but the region’s rich cultural heritage remains at risk. Mosul, Aleppo, Baghdad – whose Iraqi Museum was looted after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 – Damascus and Palmyra are some of the oldest cities in the world. Life and civilization have continued and evolved…

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Music. The Sarkodie Generation.

The head of a musical movement that is both cultural and profitable, Michael Kwesi Owusu Addo, known professionally as Sarkodie, achieved this position due to the stylistic ductility and the quality of his texts in the Twi language. With the international emergence of modern African music, in the eighties, a number of stars of that…

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Qhapaq Ñan. Symbol of integration.

The Qhapaq Ñan is an extraordinary set of roads constructed by the Incas. This network connects several Andean villages and sites that highlight the Inca ancestral architecture. This road system was a route of trade and it contributed greatly to cultural exchanges. The Qhapaq Ñan is a set of roads, which is said to be…

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Advocacy

Mongolia. Batmunkh Luvsandash. A Steward of the land.

Determined to protect his homeland from mining, Batmunkh Luvsandash’s activism resulted in the creation of a 66,000-acre protected area in Dornogovi province in April 2022,…

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Baobab

The Nyanjira smile.

Once upon a time, there was a girl of enchanting beauty. Her name was Nyanjira. She had soft, smooth skin and a very sweet smile that…

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Youth & Mission

Pope Francis to Young People. “¡Hagan lío!”

During his pontificate, Pope Francis has placed young people at the centre of his pastoral attention, recognising them as key players in building a better future.…

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