₦airaland Forum

2prexios: He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. My ancestors are not demons sir, maybe yours are.

Your ancestors were christian? Or adherents to colonialism?

2prexios: Well I'm a christian too. This morning, before stepping out, my random reading of the Holy Scripture was Ps. 28:18. Meantime, there is a place for people's Historical tradition in the word of God. The word of God has not annul history and records of the inhabitants of the world.

Jesus said, "search ye the scriptures..." Yoruba historical/religious tradition is Yoruba scripture before the Hebrew scripture (bible) came on board at the advent of British west Africa.

So, it is part of the scripture meant to be searched for our salvation to be verified. And talking about tradition, the book of wisdom gave a candid instruction in the following:

Proverb 6

My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
22When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24to preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

Olokun or Ifa tradition is our mother's teaching, it has preserved our fathers when they roam and so on, and now that we are awake, it is part of what will speak with us, we wont throw away the baby with the bath water.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things
Phillipians 4:8

awaken by the demons.

Radoillo: Perhaps the Portuguese in Kongo had something to do with it?

Possibly, but I noticed this too
[img]http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/SlaveTrade/collection/large/VILE-180.JPG[/img]
Notice the wheel...
Looms have been in Africa since antiquity, in fact, they were and independent invention. Plus carts and caravans have been used in north Africa since 5000bc during the end of the wet phase.
[img]http://3.bp..com/_dH3ZETZ8ZlM/SAYy91N3k9I/AAAAAAAAAC8/JiU0jOwH7Qo/s320/chariots.jpg[/img]

KidStranglehold: https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lg5zbsqq1K1qgfbgio1_r1_1280.jpg

More proof of the presence of wheeled vehicles in the pre-colonial times. Why hasn't this been noticed by "scholars" yet?

I'd say anyone who defaces their own people and distorts their own history negatively for the sake of painting the whiteman as a savior is a coon, Nigerians, Ghanaian, Caribbeans included. Sure the Indians might exhibit some self-hate tendencies, but the blackman is the trailblazer of brainwashed slave.

OXYGEN01: n nigerians ain't black abi?

Shhh. He doesn't like to think so

macof: Every culture in the world practiced cannibalism at one point

But OP, cannibalism was not against any moral code back in these times.

even now, Yoruba Obas are said to eat the heart of their predecessor...I don't know if it still holds but Obaship rites are very important to us Yoruba, so I believe it still holds

It all boils down to the people's mentality

each culture should be respected

That is a ceremonious and isolated incident. Kind of like a mother eating her placenta. My link still states that many West Africans during those days regard cannibalism as anti-social behavior.

PhysicsMHD: The Adrinka/Akan symbols are a good example of pre-colonial African ideograms, (but not a fully developed writing system).



http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra_index.htm


http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/books.htm#adinkra_dictionary


http://www.africawithin.com/akan/akan_architecture.htm


[img]http://3.bp..com/_kJLrriuC968/SlsykVCYvtI/AAAAAAAABTQ/UYyTnLusRys/s400/adinkra-symbols.jpg[/img]

https://www.africawithin.com/akan/COLLAGE1.JPG

This might sound like a stretch, but the method the Akan use to print the symbols on cloth sounds alot like a type of printing-press.

I would prefer to go back to the 1860s, or before colonial rule. I would love to see the exquisite level of art, technology and civilization my forefathers had achieved, in person. Then I would help them build from there.

chulla12: Africans care about their cultures as necessary. I however don't believe that many of our indigenous African cultures are that essential to thriving in the modern world.

I study various Nigerian cultures by lurking in the cultural section here, mostly because i appreciate human anthro-diversity but I learned to get over my chauvinism to appreciate the benefits of non-african cultures.

The most advanced cultural and spiritual philosophies are from Asia, IMO.

Convention ascribes this to the middle east but I know that that area only birthed the world's biggest dogmatic religions. Christianity, Islam.and Judaism are such pains in the asses at times.

African culture is good for what it is but humanity would not be missing much if African cultures were extinct...except maybe some appreciation of a primordial way of life which is anachronistic to contemporary needs (cultural and otherwise).

Maybe its not important to the world, but its the only way to develop Africa back to its advanced state. Our forefathers were clearly more advanced than us so why should we turn away from (African)ways of advancing?

Cannibalism was not widely tolerated in the pre-colonial times across West Africa and was considered criminal activity to be punished.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=XsHB69txxdEC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=cannibalism+myth+in+pre-colonial+africa&source=bl&ots=DGbOSQnHT_&sig=IpNt1whcp4u1WLcLSw0AryikewY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3AL2U7i7OoiLyASH6IKoBg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=cannibalism%20myth%20in%20pre-colonial%20africa&f=false

Not sure why the Op is restricting such a worldwide view to only Africa. Colonial mind demonizing anything African I guess.
The previous poster said it best.

Great thread, but whats keeping the medicinemen from responding to the Ebola outbreak like they did with the sleeping sickness in Uganda? Distrust in traditional practices?

fightforchange1: Yes. but it's a free country and people can say whatever they want. try not to take what other people say the heart is a free country.

Don't tell me that, tell them that. There are whole threads started by people complaining about teasing and ostracizing by these same ones.

Kanoro: I've heard of this before.This was not a formal script taught in schools or made into books though was it? I'm pretty sure it was restricted to secret societies and mostly used on pottery.

Sort of. Wikipedia says it was "once taught to children in schools" but does not elaborate on that. It was also used to record events such as court cases.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Ikpe_nsibidi.jpg/400px-Ikpe_nsibidi.jpg

The record is of an Ikpe or judgement case. (a) The court was held under a tree as is the custom, (b) the parties in the case, (c) the chief who judged it, (d) his staff (these are enclosed in a circle), (e) is a man whispering into the ear of another just outside the circle of those concerned, (f) denotes all the members of the party who won the case. Two of them (g) are embracing, (h) is a man who holds a cloth between his finger and thumbs as a sign of contempt. He does not care for the words spoken. The lines round and twisting mean that the case was a difficult one which the people of the town could not judge for themselves. So they sent to the surrounding towns to call the wise men from them and the case was tried by them (j) and decided; (k) denotes that the case was one of adultery or No. 20.

Kanoro: Since when was China isolated?? You obviously haven't heard of the silk road.

I took a class on Ancient history and had been quizzed on this, so I think I might have some idea of what their situation was.
https://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080416194206AAwSXkd
This is common knowledge. They referred to themselves as the "middle kingdom" for a reason.

I would quote and link it but it's not letting me do it on phone for some reason. Anyway it says that the silk road shaped civilizations like China, Arabia, Persia, and India. The exchange of ideas bolstered their development. Notice all of the civililizations on the silk road were the most advanced? Europe was only able to catch up to them in the last few hundred years because of their advanced seagoing ships. Search silk road on Wikipedia.

The silk road came very late in their history which btw stretches back to around the 17th century, long after their ingenuity took route.

fightforchange1: what u mean by that..?

I'm saying the other people criticizing the images need to be aware of those who appreciate it and keep to themselves.

fightforchange1: beautiful....

Yep. Don't mind the brainwashed barbarians on this thread. They can keep with their fantasies.

Fulaman198: He shouldn't even be talking to you like that in the first place. The problem is that they are building a new mosque there instead of building a new school that educates people in the maths and sciences. Sometimes I think religion <> progress

I agree, secularism needs to be promoted badly.

HolyHolla: Quite true! But I'll wonder why they did not forge ahead into further development of iron into industrial machinery! It would have projected a cultural advancement for Africa.

Same reason it didn't happen elsewhere other than England, not the right conditions. They did however produce iron on a "semi-industrial" scale by the 19th century.
http://der.org/resources/study-guides/blooms-of-banjeli-study-guide.pdf

AmunRaOlodumare: For some reason the spam bot doesn't allow me to post this information with all the quote. I will try to post it in sequence.

There's some controversies within archaeologists about the earliest dates for West African metalworking, but the latest date everybody agree with seems to be around 500BC. Other dates range from 3000BC to 500BC by using radiocarbon dating.

Actually wasn't the agreed date around 1400 BC? Thats what I've read. But the 3000BC thing is being taken seriously though.

anonimi: We need to constantly REMIND ourselves of our PAST achievements as a source of INSPIRATION for our current & future capabilities!
Why do you think the "developed" oyinbo societies spend so much on museums

OP, I have read some African history book that expressed the opinion that the slow down of African technological development could be linked to the desertification of the Sahara thus cutting off/reducing regular exchange/travel that promotes exchange of ideas.

China was isolated for millenia but that didn't stop them from being on top. More archaeology needs to be done in Africa before such assertions are made. Did you know Africans have been documented building submarine-like equipment in the 19th century?
[url]http://books.google.ca/books?id=XsHB69txxdEC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=sierra+leone+alligator+society+submarine&source=bl&ots=DGbNOSsGV0&sig=fO2Cxi4VdLD4L9JHVMxdM8EV3X8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dwfhU5GYC4qayASh_ILADA&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=sierra%20leone%20alligator%20society%20submarine&f=false[/url]

AkoEja: The main problem with Africa of the prehistoric era is that there has been no documentation of what we did in those days. Most of the history is based on oral tradition. Many achievements of Africans are therefore not provable

Not exactly true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nsibidi

HolyHolla: The Nok culture culture had developed the technology of mining and refining cast iron as far back as 900 BC. The civilization appeared in Northern Nigeria around 1000 BC and history has it that it vanished under unknown and mysterious circumstances around 300AD.

Anyone interested may want to check on these few links for more on the Nok culture or google other links for more information.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nok_culture

africanhistory.about.com/od/kingdoms/a/NokCulture.htm

www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/highly-advanced-and-mysterious-ancient-civilization-nok-00679#!bddtcH

It might also be of interest to note that it is the development made by other civilizations in processing iron into steel that gave them the advantage of developing technology of arms and industrial machinery production. Although also made from iron, steel is harder and more maleable than iron and it's production requires a slightly more technical process. However, it is not known that the Nok civilization was able to develop iron into steel. But generally, it is believed that it is this advantage of producing steel that was used in advancing development of firearms and industrial machinery by other civilizations.

Tanzania was one of the first in the world to produce high quality carbon-steel that couldn't be matched else where(expect possibly India) until approximately the 18th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haya_people

macof: Did u just say North Africa is more advanced?? Wat rubbish that useless desert region

The only thing pure African and black about North Africa was Nubia and some parts of Egypt, now Egypt and Sudan like other North African countries are nothing but Arab shiit holes.
I pity for the few remaining true black Africans in body and consciousness

Don't mind these self-haters. That what their masters have turned them into, intellectually lazy, self-loathing, forefather disrespecting cesspool. And the few remaining real Africans have to suffer for it.

Civilization has existed since 1000bc in Nigeria since the Nok era and has declined technologically and morally thanks to colonialism. Plus many of those listed are either anti-African propaganda or misconducted non-sense. Op, stop, its becoming pathetic.

nexstorm: . So quick to pull the trigger..you aren't different from them either.Had such understanding But gave it up easily over Some foreign or imported language and writing skill. instead of defending their effort.in ur understanding "if you do have" do you think your children would forefeit English that has strive for this..This is a simple display of unbelief in their works.

How is actually researching, translating and encouraging teaching/literacy of nsibidi written records from our forefathers equivalent to what you do?
Are you sure you read the same post I wrote?

@ nexstorm

Wikipedia: The record is of an Ikpe or judgement case. (a) The court was held under a tree as is the custom, (b) the parties in the case, (c) the chief who judged it, (d) his staff (these are enclosed in a circle), (e) is a man whispering into the ear of another just outside the circle of those concerned, (f) denotes all the members of the party who won the case. Two of them (g) are embracing, (h) is a man who holds a cloth between his finger and thumbs as a sign of contempt. He does not care for the words spoken. The lines round and twisting mean that the case was a difficult one which the people of the town could not judge for themselves. So they sent to the surrounding towns to call the wise men from them and the case was tried by them (j) and decided; (k) denotes that the case was one of adultery or No. 20.

Illiterates on here are boasting about superiority/enlightenment over their forefathers?
I laugh in twi.

TerryCarr: the admixture is small. for the most part they are their own thing

Clearly, they are not the same khoisan that inhabited the area thousands of years ago. The skulls don't match.

TerryCarr: oh please most Africans that are not north or Khoisan are dark. like pygmies
[img]http://datingafrica.files./2010/08/pygmy3.jpg[/img]

That's pretty much what I said. The Hadza are a result of admixture.

mcfarlin: Am half yoruba

And colonialism didn't bring adulterated practices.

Abominable practices actually flourished under paganaaaism

As stated by a christan zealot. This is why no-one asks christians/muslims for history, all we get is the theme park, religion-centric version instead of the facts. Keep up preeching ignorance and primitive views of history, becoming more like your masters everyday.

[quoet]Without whites we wouldn't even have the internet.[/quote]Without Africans, we wouln't even have the foundations for the invention of the internet.

So shut up and agree that whites are actually progressive thinkers.[/quote]More sad brainwashing from the church. Wonder we are all living worse than our progressive forefathers. And some people actually believe the basket case they live in is actually better than Benin, Oyo, Asante
Smh.

TerryCarr: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Unlabeled_Renatto_Luschan_Skin_color_map.svg/1280px-Unlabeled_Renatto_Luschan_Skin_color_map.svg.png

Your point? That map says most of Africa is the same skin shade; a result of southward migration over the indigenous groups.