Art & Culture

African Cultural Knowledge

Nyadhi” – A Luo Philosophy of Self-love, Self-virtue, Achievement and Honour

When we approach nyadhi philosophically, we find that it relates more to self-love and self-virtue. It is akin to what Aristotle called Philautia (in Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics) – “to love yourself” or “regard for one’s own happiness or advantage”. Philautia, understood as self-love, can be positive or negative/ healthy or unhealthy.

by Richard Oduor Oduku
Art & Culture LONGREADS

Possibilities for Literary Translations in the Digital Age

The paper was presented at the “SOAS African Literatures Conference – 55 Years After the First Makerere African Writers Conference” by Richard Oduor Oduky. The conference was organized as a memorial event and took place on 28 October 2017, at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), with a keynote speech by Wole Soyinka

by Sisi Afrika Magazine -
Art & Culture

Shaka Zulu is back in pop culture – how the famous king has been portrayed over the decades

Shaka Zulu is one of the most famous figures in South African history, even though not much is actually known about him. The subject of a hit 1980s TV show and of many books, Shaka is reframed by each generation. Now he’s back in popular culture with a major new South African TV series, Shaka iLembe. Dan Wylie is an English professor who has written two academic books on Shaka. We asked him four questions. Who was Shaka Zulu and what did you learn from writing about him? Shaka kaSenzangakhona is universally recognised as the founder of what would become known as the “Zulu nation”. He ruled from about 1817 until he was assassinated by his half-brothers in 1828.

by The Conversation
Book Reviews & Literary Criticism

New Book Alert! ‘Slave, Interpreter & Commissioner-General’ by Richard Oduor Oduku

The story starts nearly 200 years ago with the kidnapping of Songoro by slave-catchers — a 12-year-old boy from Ngindo in present-day Malawi. His journey across distant lands began in the mid-1800s as a captive of Salim bin Abdullah, a Swahili-Arab slave trader and the progenitor of the Nkhotakota Slave Route, with a thousand other captives, herded across thousands of kilometers to Kilwa in present-day Tanzania, to be loaded as cargo in slave ships headed for Zanzibar.

by Sisi Afrika Magazine -
Fiction & Poetry

The Safari

Three childhood friends — Aasir, Sira and Adira — embark on a Safari, to climb to the peaks of Oldoinyo Oibor and conquer the torments of the wandering waters of Mto Mkuu, as initiation for selecting the Chosen Ones: the Enlightened Elders of Songhai. Of every thousand who embark on the Safari, less than five ever return. And for almost all of them, their bodies are never recovered, and empty coffins are buried by their people instead. Only those who can choose to die are ready to know the truth. They must confront the tragic and bizarre consequences of their bravery.

by Martin Wagah