Complete History of Africa

The Haradrim — Tolkien’s Peoples of the South Series: Africa and Middle-earth • Post 2 of 5 • Posted: September 2, 2025 The Haradrim — Tolkien’s Peoples of the South Thesis: The Haradrim ( Southrons ) are Tolkien’s primary “southern” culture: vivid, strategically described, and repeatedly othered in the narrative. Read strictly from the text, the Haradrim are fictional composites that draw on longstanding medieval European tropes — elephants , desert and savanna imagery, and darker-skinned warriors —but they are not direct depictions of any single African people. This post maps what Tolkien writes and explains how to interpret Harad responsibly. Illustration: Haradrim warrior and mûmakil (oliphaunt). Geography and political position The Haradrim come from Harad , the lands south of Gondor and Mordor . Tolkien’s maps and text emphasize heat, wide horizons, and desert or...

With the Civil War's end and the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865, enslaved African Americans were finally free. Yet, they remained in a nation deeply hostile to their existence. This fact prompts a powerful question: why stay? Why didn't four million freed black people leave the United States and return to Africa ? The answer is much more nuanced and insightful than the question suggests.  After Slavery: Why Not Leave? It's a question that seems logical at first glance. After enduring the unimaginable horrors of centuries of chained bondage, why would freed Black people choose to remain in a country that had enslaved them? Why not simply go back to Africa? The answer is far more complex and revealing than the question implies. The choice to stay or go was not simple, and the decision made by the vast majority tells a powerful story about identity, belonging, and the fierce determination to claim a rightful place in Ameri...

Unlike Halloween’s spooky, fear-driven festivities, African spirit festivals like Nigeria’s Awuru Odo and Ghana’s Homowo are vibrant celebrations of ancestral connection. These sacred rituals honor the dead as revered guides, blending music, dance, and offerings to foster reunion, not repulsion. Explore the profound meanings and distinctive African traditions that are distinguished from Halloween’s macabre playfulness. Not Happy Halloween, But Honoring Ancestors  It’s that time of year again. The air turns crisp, pumpkins appear on doorsteps, and store shelves are stocked with costumes and candy. For many, Halloween is a night of spooky fun—a chance to be someone else for an evening. But across the globe, and within many African diasporic communities , the end of October and beginning of November mark a time of profound spiritual significance. It’s a period not for fearing the dead, but for honoring, celebrating, and communing with them. At first glance, Halloween and African spi...

Supernatural Contracts , rather than relying on a lawyer and a pen, utilize magical rituals and personal items, such as a lock of hair or a drop of blood. Breaking a legal contract might cost you money, but breaking this magical contract is believed to bring terrible consequences—like illness, death, or disaster upon your family—enforced by a spirit or god. Exercising Ancestral Authority  A juju curse is a powerful form of West African supernatural spirituality . Imagine the most powerful and unbreakable promise you can think of, combined with a terrifying supernatural threat. It is also similar to the most potent form of brainwashing or hypnotic suggestion . A corrupt priest or trafficker uses the ritual to implant an absolute belief in the victim's mind: "If you escape, you will be punished by magic."  The victim's own belief and fear become the jailer, making them comply even when they have a chance to run away. Discover why the juju curses  used by traffickers ...

The Stinky Shadow: A chilling modern African folk tale for kids. Pouweri's anger creates a terrifying, smelly monster that haunts and curses his home, school and village.  What If Your Bad Choices Created a Monster? Discover Pouweri's story. In the heart of our traditions, we know that a single rot can spoil the whole harvest. A sour spirit does not fester in secret; it seeps out, a poison that sickens the entire community. This is the African Folktale of how one boy’s anger summoned a darkness that could be smelled, a chilling lesson that the funk of bad choices cannot be hidden. The Stinky Shadow Pouweri’s anger was a live coal in his chest. Betrayed by his best friend Afi, who now laughed with a new boy on the soccer field, and haunted by the sharp whispers of his parents’ money worries, he let the coal ignite. He hissed that Afi was a traitor, his words leaving a visible wound on her face. He lied to his teacher, the falsehood sour on his tongue. He ignored his chores, lea...

Cartoons turned African voices into mockeries, using artificial, exaggerated accents to portray characters as backward, comical, or evil. From The Lion King’s mystical Rafiki and the criminal hyenas to DuckTales ’ naive locals and Fat Albert’s Mushmouth, these portrayals reinforced stereotypes, often masking harm with a false sense of authenticity by Black performers. Today, shows like Iwájú and Mama K’s Team 4, led by African creators, reclaim authentic voices and African representation. How African Voices Became a Cartoon Punchline When African characters—or characters meant to evoke a vague African setting—appear in older Western cartoons, they are almost always given a heavy, artificial accent. These voices are rarely authentic. Instead, they are clumsy imitations of colonial British speech , blended with invented syllables or mushmouth dialects . The effect is not representation but caricature. It signals to young viewers that such characters are primitive, comical, or threatenin...

Bedrock and Bigotry: How The Flintstones Shaped a Generation’s View of Africa We all remember The Flintstones . The catchy theme song, Fred’s iconic “Yabba-Dabba-Doo!”, and the clever stone-age puns for modern appliances. For decades, it’s been a beloved staple of childhood, a nostalgic look at a simpler time. But what happens when we rewind the tape and look back with a critical eye? As a product of the early 1960s, The Flintstones didn’t just parody American suburban life ; it also reflected, and subsequently reinforced, some of the era's most pervasive and harmful stereotypes. Nowhere is this more evident than in its portrayal of Africa—a portrayal that, for many young viewers, formed a foundational and deeply flawed understanding of an entire continent. The “Modern Stone-Age” Had a Very Old-Fashioned Worldview First, some context. The Flintstones (1960-1966) was a satire of contemporary American life. Its genius was in translating 1960s suburbs into a prehistoric setting. But t...