I (an American native) have been invited to attend a dinner at the home of a colleague and his wife who are both from Nigeria. I have read about proper Nigerian etiquette/expectations but can't find any information on whether or not I should bring anything to contribute. I responded to the invite, asking if there is anything I should bring but he did not address it in his response. I am hoping someone can give me some advice or suggestions. Thank you in advance!

Disclaimer: I'm a Brazilian Musician and Percussionist, based in Brazil. This history is both bound by oral history, as well as scientific studies (there are more sources in Guide, link below).

First off: What is Samba?

Samba is a general term for various cultural manifestations that take place in Brazil. It’s a fruit of the African Diaspora and the interplay between different cultures within Brazil. It originated in Bahia, in the Reconcavo region, and became one of the most important symbols of Brazilian Culture.

Where did Samba Begin?

Salvador was the original Brazilian capital, the first effort to organize the exploitation of the Colony. It became an important port for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

One of the most expressive examples of the African Exodus, Diaspora molded the city as is today. It’s known to be the blackest city out of Africa, where African Culture and Religion are still worshiped, such as the worship of Orixás, Voduns, and Nkissis.

Brazil alone stood for 40% to 45% of all Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Even after being the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery, illegal slavery and corruption rolled on for decades. From 1826 to 1850, 1.662 enslaved Africans disembarked in the United States. In Brazil, there were 1.099.018 disembarkments in the same period. Source

It’s evident why Brazil has the most African descendant population in the Americas, as well as why it has the second largest Black population in the world, after Nigeria.

Salvador and the outlying regions of the State of Bahia were the African melting pot of the 19th Century. African Cultures encountered in Diaspora, from the Muslim West-African people to Occidental Africans. These Africans brought their spirituality, and in Brazil, they made Candomblé. This new religion was based on old roots, the major being: the Yoruba, Bantu, Gêge, and Fon people. A rich cultural mix was present, nurturing cultural expressions and rhythms present in Brazil, such as capoeira and Samba de Roda.

Samba de Roda is the first form of Samba

Samba de Roda, which could be freely translated as Samba of Circle (of People) is recognized as the first form of Samba. Its origins are in the middle 1800s in the region of ‘Recôncavo’. It is home to the Historical cities founded within close reach of Salvador.

‘Recôncavo‘ was all coastal and interior regions of the ‘Bahia de Todos os Santos’, which can be translated as All Saints Bay.

When asking what is Samba, it is important to understand that there were many other traditional cultural expressions on its side.

The word Samba comes from the Bantu Semba or Massemba terms which remount to the "Umbigada" (navel), a dance that survived the Trans-Atlantic voyage and is basically a part of the Samba de Roda dance, where the person in the circle does a navel-to-navel (Umbigada) dance move, and the person who received it goes to the center to dance. It's the same origin of the word Semba, an Angolan rhythm, although they are different rhythms and traditions, stemming from similar origins.

In Brazil, Samba de Roda was part of a group that also contained rhythms such as Barravento, Capoeira, and Congo, all united within the Afro-Brazilian Communities. The rhythms were also permeated by the symbols, chants, and culture that originated in Candomblé houses, the ‘Terreiros’.

Samba de Roda is ever-present in Candomblé and other Afro-Brazilian religions. The rhythm is especially played to the spiritual entities from the Brazilian ground. Cabila or Cabula, sometimes called Samba de Cabila or Samba de Caboclo, is certainly one of the main rhythmic sources and origins of Samba de Roda.

Samba de Cabila, Samba de Caboclo, and Samba de Roda are played to ‘Caboclos’, ‘Marujos’ and ‘Boiaderos’ are examples of spiritual entities understood to be native to Brazil. They are believed to be of mixed indigenous and African ethnicity. They embody what is known as the native Brazilian spirits, called ‘Encantados’ which translates to ‘enchanted’.

Capoeira, as part of Bahian Traditional Culture has helped, alongside the Terreiros (Candomblé worship centers), to preserve Samba de Roda traditional chants, and playing forms, generally used in a similar way as Candomblé: The Rhythm that closes ceremonies with joy, celebrating life through percussion, singing, and dancing, embodying Afro-Brazilian and Bahia Traditional culture.

For the rest of the history, you can look at the guide on Brazilian Samba!

Hello, I am a curious artist from Europe that is working on an art project and I find African traditional fashion inspiring and I'd like to apply it to a few characters.

I saw many clothes with quite neat vivid colors, and I would like to know how was that achieved without modern machines and dyes? I also heard about mudclothes and I wonder how are they cleaned without the color coming off? Or do they get re-painted after cleaning?

I would like to find information before designing my characters because, unfortunately, the little stuff I know is probably just stereotypes, and I want to avoid those at all cost.

Candomble is one important and historical part of the Africans Traditions in Brazil, amongst other more syncretic cults such as Umbanda. Candomblé is responsible for the continuity and maintenance of much of present-day African Heritage in Brazil.

Disclaimer: I'm an Afro-Brazilian Musician and Percussionist, based in Salvador. This history is both bound by oral history, as well as scientific and historic studies (there are more sources in Guide, link below).

First off: What is Candomblé?

Candomblé is the name given for a series of Afro-Brazilian religious communities of Bantu, Fon (Gbé), and Yoruba origins. These differentiate themselves from other Afro-Brazilian spiritualities as they access majorly African entities, such as the Órixas, Voduns, and Nkissis, without inserting catholic elements into their rituals.

Spirit and energy in Candomble

Candomblé is not concentrated on immortality or resurrection as the monotheistic religions. There is a life in the Orum where the spirits rest, and can even guide and influence their descendants.

In Candomblé, we go through life and gather Axé, the vital force, which is anywhere in nature. When we pass away, the body gives its energy to the new life, while the spirit passes its journey to make sure that they can give the Axé back to the earth.

Candomblé holy places are called Terreiros, which are formally known as Ilê (House) Axé (Vital energy). The name of the terreiro pictured below is Ilê Axé Oya Ominidê, where Opanije.com professor Junior Pai de Santo is ‘Otum Alabê’, a high-ranking Atabaque player for the Orixas.

In Brazil, differing from Africa, many different entities are being worshipped in the same Terreiro, whereas in Africa there is typically only one per region or city. Also differing from most regions in Africa where only men do divination and are high priests, in Candomblé there are many great Yalorixás, female heads of Terreiros.

In the centuries that followed the embarkment of the first Africans to the Americas, many different ethnic groups were put together in forced labor. They were systematically divided from those of the same language, to avoid communication in African languages, forcing them to speak Portuguese, to avoid their organization.

The Bantu, Jeje, Fon, Yoruba, and Malê were the most common ethnic makeups of the enslaved Africans, most of which arrived in Salvador, then the capital of Brazil.

These African civilizations, represented by their enslaved people, were the base upon which Candomblé religion drew its basis. The Africans, based on oral traditions, kept their knowledge through hidden rituals, chants, and rhythms, that were often of a mixed ethnic base, reflecting the multiple African cultures present in Colonial Brazil.

It is impossible to date when these hidden cults began to take the forms presented in modern Candomblé, but is possible to establish the first three centuries as the period where African culture changed and gave birth to Candomblé as we know it.

Syncretism and Candomblé:

The syncretic aspect of Candomblé, often misunderstood even in Brazil, is because the enslaved Africans were forced to display Christian symbols to their captors. This systematic oppression strongly influenced how the African cults displayed themselves, often masquerading the African Deities for catholic saints, to continue their cults however possible.

Enslaved Africans were thought to be evangelized and Catholic, as it was very important to preserve the appearance of Christianity according to Portuguese oppression.

The Catholic method of praying to saints was used as a way of masquerading the Órixas faith within Portuguese oppression. As an example, Yemanjá, the Sea deity, and mother of most Orixas, was worshiped through Holy Mary figures, while the king of Ketu, Óxossi was worshipped through Saint George. There were even figures covertly concealed inside the sculptures of Catholic saints. This was a way that Catholic saints were connected with Candomblé’s Deities, to avoid persecution and keep the tradition. This is a culture that continued through Umbanda, another Brazilian Afro-Religion, and while individuals from Candomblé still worship Catholic Saints, within most Traditional Candomblé there is no more insertion of any Christian Saints.

The modern insertion of Catholic saints and Christian philosophies is not part of Candomblé. In Brazilian Afro-Religion, it is the Umbanda tradition that kept catholic saints and the figures of Jesus within their Cults.

Candomblé still traditionally preserves respect for the Christian religion, however, the last forms of catholic idols and representations in traditional candomblé are fading, as one of the greatest Yalórixas, the Priestess Mãe Stella de Oxóssi once said:

“Previously when we initiated in Candomblé, and in certain periods of the year, it was traditional to go to the church. After I became responsible for this house, this has stopped, because it is a custom that is not needed anymore, we move on with the times”

TLDR: Candomblé is a set of different creeds from West Africa that established itself through the enslaved people of Brazil, with different deities such as the Yoruba Orixás or the Bantu Nkissi. The religion is responsible for a great part of the present day African heritage in Brazil.

Article with visuals here

I am from Turkey. I am a doctoral student of Journalism of Istanbul University. I am writing my thesis this semester. My thesis is about African freelancers. I am especially focused on Angola, Nigeria and South Africa. The title of my thesis is: Reproduction of Inequality in Digital Capitalism in the Context of Digital Labor: The Example of Africa. I want to speak with freelancers to get knowledge about the work process and experiences. I prepared questions for this. And my university approved the questions be ethically right. So if you want, I want to talk with you. And if you accept, I can send you the questions and consent form. It takes maximum one hour to answer the questions. And I am okay that you can write the document that I can send you. The consent form involves more details. Have a good day.

What kind of content would you expect from an ig page that promotes African culture and vibes ?

Hi, I'm researching some African cultures for a personal writing projects. I would like to genuenly get to know different African mythologies, religions and moral codes. Does anybody know a good book (or pdf) about African cultures? Maybe some Youtube channell. Anything would be great!

I'm mostly interested in Zulu people and Ivory Coast culture but others are probably just as interesting.

As far as ancient and medieval history goes, we often hear of Greco-Roman philosophers or those from the Islamic golden age or the scholastic in Europe. But were there African philosophers during this time to? If so, what did they leave behind if anything?

I have a question about if something is cultural appropriation. I'm a white female from europe. When I was growing up my aunt worked for Vlisco, they produce amazing waxed fabric that is sold a lot in African countries. I have always loved fashion and I studied it as well. For most of my birthdays my aunt would gift me fabric since she got company discounts and she knew that buying nice quality fabric was really expensive for me. I created so many things from those fabrics, dresses, skirts, cushions, lamp shades and during the lockdown I made facemasks out of them.

now to my question, I was wearing one of my dresses to a party and someone commented that I should not wear a dress made out of "that kind of fabric" since it is cultural appropriations and since then I have wondering if she was right.

I would love some input if I can wear them or not.

​

thank you all in advance

Hello, I studying a song called 'Wanawange' by Kinobe and I was wondering if anyone had any idea of what language he is singing or what the lyrics are? Here is a link to the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr-P5sWx-V0

Thanks for your help!

They seem to have their own methodology thats unique

Hello, I would first like to say I find African culture so beautiful and spiritually bound. I myself am Puerto Rican and many of my current relatives are very connected to their African roots amd ancestors but I want to learn more on my own. 

I've been interested in Waist beads for a while now but I feel I need to learn properly and respectfully before purchasing or wearing them. I've learned only a bit but I do know they should be purchased from black owned companies and small businesses for more authenticity. I also know a bit of the color significance: green for prosperity, pink for feminity, etc. I also know they should be worn under my clothes and I am married so I know my husband should be the only man to see them. I also know a woman of great significance should tie it (I do prefer traditional tie on) but I do not have a significant woman role model in my life... so I figured I will be her one day so I will tie it myself. Or my higher-self will.

I hope I can learn more because with everything in my heart and soul I want to learn and use them properly, with permission and blessings 🙌 🙏

 Also if there is anything else I should know, I would love to learn.
 
  Thank you. ❤

It can be anything. A website, a Youtube channel, a book I can order online or in-store. I want to learn about the various amount of Mythology from all over the continent of Africa. It can be a source with a full on encyclopedia of every African Mythology that exist, or a source dedicated to only one mytho, or even just one figure from a God to a mythological creature. Thank you for reading and taking the time to answer.