Don't set sail on someone else’s star.

<br>Don't set sail on someone else’s star.



Chic African Culture Blog

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. African tech startups raise billions of dollars annually, seven African start-ups were included in the World Economic Forum 2021 cohort of 100 Technology Pioneers.

African Culture is World Heritage

Appreciate Africa through African art, food, proverb sayings, folklore, biographies, spirituality and African living history.

Four most effective medicinal plants to grow in your garden

Amaranth, Calendulas, dandelions and stinging nettles are the 4 most effective plants used in herbal remedies throughout Africa to grow in your home or neighborhood garden. Four most effective African medicinal plants to grow in your garden.

Harvest these 4 natural herbal remedies for simple, homegrown medicine.

Stinging nettles is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.

Stinging Nettles are easy to grow; the root is also used for joint ailments, as a diuretic, and as an astringent. Stinging nettle above ground parts are used for anemia, poor circulation, urinary tract infections, allergies, kidney stones or as a general tonic.  In foods, young stinging nettle leaves are eaten as a cooked vegetable. Do not forget to wear gloves when harvesting. Nettles have a harmless but unpleasant sting, if brushed. Stinging nettle leaf has a long history of use. It was used primarily as a diuretic and laxative in ancient Greek times.

Amaranth is a broad-leafed, bushy plant that grows about six feet tall. Tanzanian Mchicha amaranth healing African green tea may provide a unique traditional health benefit reducing blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. 

Amaranth is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.
Amaranth is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.
Amaranth is an important plant to the nutrition of Southern Africa. Cooked Amaranth leaves are eaten as vegetables, soups, stews and relishes.  Leaves and young plant stems are cooked as spinach and have a mild flavor and the seeds of the Amaranth plant are ground into flour. Amaranth produces a brightly colored flower that can contain up to 60,000 seeds.

Dandelion is often considered a weed and a problematic to lawn care workers. Dandelions are one of the most multipurpose herbs.  Dandelions are used for loss of appetite, upset stomach, intestinal gas, gallstones, joint pain, muscle aches, eczema, and bruises. 

Dandelions is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.
Dandelions is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.

Dandelion is also used to increase urine production and as a laxative to increase bowel movements. Dandelions are also used as skin toner, blood tonic, and digestive tonic. In foods, dandelion is used as salad greens, and in soups, wine, and teas. The root is also used, dried and ground as a substitute for coffee.

Calendula is an important addition to a healer's garden. The flower petals of the calendula plant have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries.  Calendula has been used to treat stomach upset and ulcers, as well as relieve menstrual cramps, and an ointment applied to the skin. 

Calendulas is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.
Calendulas is a plant used in herbal remedies that is found in your garden or in the wild.
It is believed Calendula helps, wounds heal faster, improve skin hydration and firmness. It's orange flowers are used as a tea and edible pretty addition to a salad as well.

Together we build awareness that boost harmony, education, and success, below are more links to articles you will find thought provoking.

  1. Deadliest routes for refugees
  2. Cooking with shea butter oil
  3. Worst serial killers recorded in history are women
  4. Indigenous healers and plants used
  5. Night running illness or magic
  6. What is back to Africa

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

This Week’s Best Posts and Pages

What's Your Dagara Cosmology Sign

Image
Dagara Cosmology. In the Burkina Faso Dagara Cosmology tradition, there are two terms both pointing to the same Earth, Tingan and Tenbalu; Tingan is male, and Tenbalu is female. What is Your Dagara Cosmology Sign. Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture. Dagara Cosmology. The Burkina Faso Dagara Cosmology tradition is similar in thought to string theory where it is the theory of everything. Every particle in the universe contains a vibrating string which leads to other dimensions, nothing dies; instead, Tingan and Tenbalu are continually reshaping into other forms of matter. Dagara Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé explains in Dagara Cosmology, the masculine and the feminine have little to do with biology.  The masculine is Tingan similar to fire with an endless propensity to consume . The feminine is Tenbalu because of its nurturing and caring instinct.  Earth is therefore a man and a woman with an endless capacity to generate and regenerate, to give a
Learn More

Using Amen and Ashe or Ase

Image
Usage of Amen and Ashe or Ase Ashe to Amen learn about the custom of using the words Ashe and Amen historically. Where did the word Amen and Ashe come from why is it said and what does it mean? In Judaism, 3,500 years old and Christian religions 2,000 years old, Amen, means may it be so. In the African Yoruba language among the Yoruba people whose culture is as old as time, Ashe or Ase means may it be so. Ase or Ashe means power, commandment, and authority, the ability to make whatever one says happen from the spiritual to the physical realm. In the Yoruba language, Ashe is omnipresent spiritual energy. Followers of Judaism and Christian religions use the word Amen. It is the word utilized to end prayers as an affirmation for the requests to be provided by God. Yoruba is as old as time, Ashe refers to the life force within all living things, the spark that animates life. It is used as a term used in the same manner as Amen at the end of appeals and prayers as an affirmati
Learn More

Beware of the naked man who offers you clothes African Proverb

Image
It is easy to talk the talk and give advice African Proverb African Proverb It's easy to talk the talk and give advice on love, careers or even recycling on how things should be done. But, the person giving the advice does not act in a way that agrees with the advice they are giving. The proverb implies that a person should back up their talking with action. It is easy to talk the talk and give advice Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture 1-30-2015 Beware of the naked man who offers you clothes is a proverb used to call out hypocrites; people who are single but give advice on how to have a happy marriage, a person who is overweight supplying dieting tips, environmentalists who do not recycle, people on social media who want to show you how to become rich when they are poor, and politicians who send their children to private school while making speeches on the virtues of public school. Hidden Agenda of Gift-Giving Def
Learn More

South African Beef Curry Recipe

Image
Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe South African beef curry recipe is a South African food recipe to share around the world while learning about South Africa rainbow nation food history and favorite recipes of Black African, Colored mixed race ancestry, White, and Indian. South African Beef Curry Recipe When it comes to quick and satisfying slow cooker crockpot meals South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe is at the top of the African food dinner recipe list. Use your slow cooker for this simple South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe, it is full of apricot jam, spices and tender beef to serve with rice and grilled bread. How to Make Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture By Chic African Culture African food recipe South Africa food is one of the most diverse on the African continent. South African apricot beef curry is an easy delicious slow cooker dinner recipe to make on a weeknight. South Afr
Learn More

African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

African cultures express, encourage, and communicate energy

Support African History and Culture

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet are dedicated to discovering, collecting and sharing African history and heritage celebrating 14 years of service in 2021. Share and support in the pride of being part of an important cultural and educational resource.


Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

Chic African Culture

Be better than average and support African history and culture. Since 2008 Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet highlight Africa through her food and culture. Contact us culture1africangourmet@gmail.com

More LOVE from Africa to Read About

Tasting African History Through Street Food African proverbs are to speech what salt is to food What is a person from Africa called