#afrakans

Christianity arrived in South Africa with the arrival of European settlers, primarily Dutch colonists led by Jan van Riebeeck, who established a settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, bringing with them their Dutch Reformed faith, which became the dominant form of Christianity in the region;. 

Key points about the introduction of Christianity in South Africa:

Early settlers:Jan van Riebeeck and his Dutch East India Company crew were the first to introduce Christianity to South Africa when they landed in 1652. 

Dominant denomination:The Dutch Reformed Church became the primary Christian denomination practiced by the early settlers. 

Later influences:Following the Dutch, other European groups like French Huguenots also settled in the region, contributing to the diverse Christian landscape. 

The name Mugo is of Kenyan origin and means "a healer". It was the name of Mugo wa Kibiru, a 19th century Kenyan prophet and sage from the Kikuyu tribe. The Anjiru clan, with whom Kibiru was associated, were known for their medicine and prophecy. Kibiru's prophecies included the arrival of white men, the destruction of Kikuyu customs, and the construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway. 

The Gẹlẹdẹ spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship. Gelede celebrates “Mothers” (awon iya wa), a group that includes female ancestors and deities as well as the elderly women of the community, and the power and spiritual capacity these women have in society. Focusing not only on fertility and motherhood but also on correct social behavior within the Yoruba society

🌍 Many modern instruments trace their roots back to ancient African traditions. From the pulsating rhythms of the djembe to the ethereal melodies of the kora, African music has influenced and laid the foundation for countless instruments we use.

Today, we explore the diverse sounds of Africa, from South to West, Central to East. 🥁🎸

📍Southern African Instruments


🎶 Uhadi: A traditional 🇿🇦Xhosa musical bow with a resonator, played with percussive strokes.

📍Western African Instruments


🥁 Djembe: A goblet-shaped drum from the Mandinka people, with roots in the 12th-century 🇲🇱Mali Empire.

📍Central African Instruments


🎶 Kisanji: A pentatonic-tuned instrument from the 🇨🇩DRC, often played with polyrhythms.

🎶 Adungu: A 9-stringed harp from 🇺🇬Uganda, played in nightclubs or as therapy.

📍East African Instruments


🎶 Washint: An 🇪🇹Ethiopian flute, known for its melismatic style.

🎶 Orutu: A single-stringed fiddle from 🇰🇪Kenya, popular among the Luo people.

Anti-literacy laws in many slave states before and during the American Civil War affected slaves, freedmen, and in some cases all people of color. Some laws arose from concerns that literate slaves could forge the documents required to escape to a free state. According to William M. Banks, "Many slaves who learned to write did indeed achieve freedom by this method. The wanted posters for runaways often mentioned whether the escapee could write." Anti-literacy laws also arose from fears of slave insurrection, particularly around the time of abolitionist David Walker's 1829 publication of Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, which openly advocated rebellion, and Nat Turner's Rebellion of 1831.

The United States is the only country known to have had anti-literacy laws.

Significant anti-African laws include:

1829, Georgia: Prohibited teaching Africans to read, punished by fine and imprisonment

1830, Louisiana, North Carolina: passes law punishing anyone teaching Africans to read with fines, imprisonment or floggings 

1832, Alabama and Virginia: Prohibited Europeans from teaching Africans to read or write, punished by fines and floggings

1833, Georgia: Prohibited Africans from working in reading or writing jobs (via an employment law), and prohibited teaching Africans, punished by fines and whippings (via an anti-literacy law)

1847, Missouri: Prohibited assembling or teaching slaves to read or write

Mississippi state law required a white person to serve up to a year in prison as "penalty for teaching a slave to read."

A 19th-century Virginia law specified: "[E]very assemblage of negroes for the purpose of instruction in reading or writing, or in the night time for any purpose, shall be an unlawful assembly. Any justice may issue his warrant to any office or other person, requiring him to enter any place where such assemblage may be, and seize any negro therein; and he, or any other justice, may order such negro to be punished with stripes."

In North Carolina, African people who disobeyed the law were sentenced to whipping while whites received a fine, jail time, or both.

AME Bishop William Henry Heard remembered from his enslaved childhood in Georgia that any slave caught writing "suffered the penalty of having his forefinger cut from his right hand." Other formerly enslaved people had similar memories of disfigurement and severe punishments for reading and writing.

Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee were the only three slave states that did not enact a legal prohibition on educating slaves.

It is estimated that only 5% to 10% of enslaved African Americans became literate, to some degree, before the American Civil War