Mother Africa Smiles

Mother Africa Smiles...

Africa Smiles...
As Her Captured Children's Strength Survives
Africa Smiles...
As Her Cultures and Comportment Thrives
and As Anglo / Caucasian-Persuasion Desires
Joins Euro... To Ancient Kush and Congo Lives
In Manner and Speech and Slang and Strides
and Intergrated-Jives and New Age Styles
and Black Berry Lips of Voluptuous Size
... Yes, Mother Africa Smiles

Africa Smiles...
Covered In Coal Dust of Diamonds Pressurized
Africa Smiles...
With A Star-Lit-Sparkle, In Her Big, Dark Eyes
and Like A Milky, White Moon - Her Full Teeth Shines
Saying, 'You Too, Will Dance The Dance of My Child'
... O' Yes, Mother Africa Smiles

Africa Speaks...
Calling To Our Hips, Our Bosoms, Our Feet
Pounding and Pulsing - Even Strained, She Seeps
At First, Her Voice Was Soft and Weak
Then Vocal Tremor Became Tribal Deep! 
Across The Earth, Her Sound Sways and Sweeps
Saying, 'You Too, Will Feel My Heart's Drumbeats'
And Like A Sultry Siren - Africa Sings So Sweet
Songs So Warm-Bodied and Sleek
... Africa Smiles, Singing Us To Sleep

Yet, Africa Bleeds...
Almost Bled Dry As Her Arabian Sands, Shifts & Increase
Africa Bleeds...
Even Tho' Her Resources Are As Rich As Jeweled Sheiks
Africa Bleeds...
As Her Continental Beauty, She Struggles To Keep
Africa Bleeds...
Like Poured-Out-Souls, Inked Upon Ledger Sheets
Africa Bleeds...
Like A Slow, Boiling Passion of Lava-Flowing Heat
Africa Bleeds...
Into Far Away Fields and Neighborhood Streets

Africa Bleeds...
And One Drop of Her Blood Floods Like The Power of Seas
and It Makes Her Children Hold Out Their Arms To Reach
And At Her Tears, Her Children Fall To Their Knees
But One Day, Dear Mother... GOD Will Heal The Breach

and Teach - That Mother Africa Holds A Place Unique
And When We Remember - How We Ate Her Seeds
And Climbed Up Her Bosom Like Proud Pyramid Peaks
And Kissed Her Rivers of Glowing Sunset Cheeks...

Africa Smiles Again and Dries The Blood, She Weeps
And Africa's Smile Will Transform The World's Waiting Scene
Rising From Forgotten Shadows To GOD's Garden of Peace
For When Africa Smiles All Civilization Will Greet...

Africa's Smile


Written & Copyrighted ©: 12/22/2013
by: MoonBee Canady 

MoonBee Canad

Our Music

You will agree with me that rhythm is natural in Africans. We start singing at a very young age; whether you sing alto, or base or even off tune(like my friend does all the time)! you just sing. I don't remember any game that we played as children that didn't have a song in it. Be it hide-and -seek, skipping rope, playing ball...you name it, they all had songs to accompany with. As a woman cooks,washes dishes or soothes her baby to sleep,you will hear her sing. As a man cleans his bicycle, you will hear him whistle or hum some type of song. We are just naturally musical!

Most African songs were never written and the composers are not known, but the songs last generations. They are passed down orally from one generation to the other. Don't be surprised that the song you are singing has been around for ten generations! When we say 'sing', we actually mean singing, dancing and playing instruments. We use different locally made instruments producing amazing sounds and each nation in Africa has beautiful songs and dances.

When do we sing, one may ask...well, we sing when we are happy, we sing when we are crying, we sing when we are grateful, we sing when praying...basically, we sing in every situation! Different songs hold meaning for different occasions. For instance Zaffa music is played in Egyptian weddings and Mang'oma dance is performed in southern Tanzania during the harvest season.
Our music is extraordinarily special. The instruments used; carefully stringed and curved from our very own wood, The dancing moves that are danced uniformly through out, the ululating sounds made by our mothers and the bases sang by our men! You'v got to love our music...You'v got to love Africa.

(You can listen to some incredible African songs on the purple music bar at the top of the page)

"If we stand tall it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before us"

-African proverb

Pregnancy & baby naming

Soon after marriage in Africa, in-laws, the clan and the entire village awaits for a baby to be born. In fact if there is no sign of pregnancy few months in marriage, both families begin to worry. it is believed that a child seals the marriage and bonds the two families by blood for eternity.

A soon as a woman finds out that she is pregnant, she tells her mother and aunts. they then tell other extended family members and news travel fast to the rest of the village. News about pregnancy isn't taken lightly. Through out the pregnancy, an expecting mother does minimal or no work at all. She sometimes moves to her mother or her mother in law so that she can be taken good care of. Fetching water from the river is prohibited for her because the baby may be born 'with nothing but water in the head!!' Traditional healers work day and night giving her her tones of herbs to ensure the safety of the baby.

Delivery of a baby is a celebration and measures to determine how long or how powerful the baby will grow up to be are taken. In Zaire, Gambia, Senegal and Uganda, a chick is taken from its mother and kept separately with no food or water for several days.(poor thing!!). If it survives then chances are the child will grow and thrive.

In most parts of Africa, naming is done during the first eight days after birth, depending whether the child is a boy, a girl or a set of twins. It is done in the evening, when the chickens are coming back home. A name is given only after the traditional experts have taken time (even days) to study the baby and determine who of the hundreds of departed relatives the child resembles most. After this is done, villagers gather and the baby is given to the namer (usually the oldest woman or man. She then whispers the appropriate words and lifts the baby high announcing all its names. The first name is that of the departed one that the baby resembles most, then the rest of the names are given by both families. some are named after the season they were born in. This is why it is not a surprise to find an African with seven names!!

In other parts of Africa for instance Zambia, they make the baby start crying. As it cries, they shout different names of the departed relatives. When the baby stops crying at the mention of a certain name, it means that relative has come back in form of that baby, so the baby keeps the name.

There are two things that i particularly adore about these old African ways. One is the unity and support they give to an expecting mother. Every one who got news knew that he/she had a part to play. Young boys and girls helped her fetching water and firewood, women helped her prepare for delivery, traditional doctors provided medicine and preyed for her. They all shared the blessing. Two is the naming. Apart from giving departed relative's names, Africans gave meaningful names. They did not combine two names to form one, they just picked really meaningful names that takes the child's character.

Here are some meaningful African names

Kirabo meaning gift(Luganda-Uganda), Amara meaning Grace(Igbo-Nigeria), Adofo meaning fighter(Egyptian), Furaha meaning happiness(swhahili-Tanzania), Mlungisi meaning brings order(zulu-South Africa), Nyambura meaning rain(Kikuyu-Kenya) and many more.

Let us appreciate by commenting our African names, origin and meaning.You might get a name for your new born!! i'l go first..

A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches.

-An African proverb

Our gorgeous Men

Honestly, i don't think we give enough credit to our men. we know and talk of the many bad characters they have but seldom remember of the good qualities.

An African man today may ignore the very strong qualities that he naturally posses. He concentrates more on making himself handsome, takes pride in dating many women and strives to be "cool". Lets see the natural African qualities that our fathers possessed, that lured our mothers and gave them confidence, qualities that i yearn to see our men embrace them today.

Surely our fathers were not any good at romantic gestures such as sending flowers or breakfast in bed (which i'm thankful our men do today). An African man took pride in being the:

# protector: Every time we heard some weird noise outside and our dog 'tyson' barking, my father would take a torch and a humongous stick and start walking towards the door leading outside. My mum.....well my mum would just tiptoe behind him whispering "be careful" and she would repeat this so many times!!!

This was a very typical scenario. The father of the house simply had to be the man, period! He was raised up being told by his father to look after his sisters and cows and goats, even the chicken! He knew that he was responsible for all of them. The boy carries this trait to his manhood. He prowls around his wife and children. Any threat to the is dealt with immediately. He brings a sense of security to the family.

#provider: At a young age an African boy is taught that he, as a man must make sure that he provides for his family. He would see how his father comes back home with a deer and his mother receiving it happily. An African man does not only provide for his immediate family, but also for both his and his wife's extended family. He takes his responsibility very seriously that even when things get tough, he never stops trying.

Now these were lions of Africa.

It is the eye that has seen the smoke that will perceive the fire.

A Hausa proverb

Niger men

Maasai man-Tanzania

our phenomenal women

Our mothers had it all!! From Egypt to Angola, South Africa to Libya, Senegal to Tanzania....they had it all. Their curves, their smile, their kitchen skills, their humility and humbleness, but most of all their caring and loving nature.

Do you remember long a go when your friend's mother would punish you for misbehaving?...and you would be lucky if she wont tell your mom because she would punish you as well!! this is how they made sure their children grew up to be responsible people. This is how we learned to call every woman mama, because every mother was a mother to every child in the society.

Africa is sometimes referred to as a country because of the many things countries within it share. our dressing for instance; a Nigerian woman in her abaya, a Rwandise lady in her Mushanana, a Tanzanian mama in her kitenge and a Somalian in her guntiino. They all have something in common; they are conservative, colourful attires. An African woman dressing portrayed respect for herself, her father(family) and her husband. Our mothers dressed gracefully!

Who can beat mama's food!!? with all going on in her life; taking care of children(probably five!), doing house chores and gardening, she never failed failed to put food on the table for her family. Not just any meal, but a delicious one that she learned from her mother. She knew exactly what to cook to change her husband's mood, a special ingredient to include to make her sick daughter eat and the exact amount to give her son for him to have enough strength to rear cows.

I am not sure how they did it, but our mothers were strong! both physically and emotionally. I can personally testify of women who went through hell and came back alive. These were no-nonsense women but were wise and humble. They knew when to speak and when to keep quiet, when to argue and when to let go. Through these, they gained respect and dignity.

our mothers beat us with one hand and pamper us with the other.

Now these were African Beauties!!

It takes a whole village to raise a child

-An African Proverb

A reminder

so what is culture?
It is generally the way a certain society lives. This includes their values, beliefs, languages, dressing, daily practices and much more. This means each society has its own culture: the Chinise culture, European culture, Asian culture etc, and no culture is superior to the other.
It seems to me today that people are disturbed by the word culture. It is associated with some bad myths and disgusting practices. But the truth is, our culture is our identiy. when we identify ourselves as Africans, we are automatically associated with its cultures.
Cultures evolve, adapting itself to new environment and circumstances and Africans have had to deal with multiple changes in their cultures. But does this mean we abandon our cultures? Nope! it just means we learn to incoporate the modern lifestyle with our own cultures. It means we develop without abandoning our identiy or perhaps use our identity to develop.
Our culture is in danger of being totaly forgotten. We,(The modern generations) either don't know it well or we just don't want anything to do with it or we find it easier to just move with the current. We are reminded more of our problems and failures than our resilient selves. Our grand parents are dying without telling us of the old golden stories (probably because they have been replaced by TV).
well, let us remind ourselves of how it used to be....
"Sometimes you need to swim against the current for you to achieve what you want"
-M.Zulu

Be grateful to the tree so that it may yield more fruits
-A Shona Proverb

overview

Are you passionate about Africa and its cultures? Do you want to learn more about it? Do you want to share your views and experiences? well, if so then lets do it together. The objective here is appreciate African culture and show its relevance to the modern era. To remind ourselves of our beautiful ways of living that we should embrace. To share our views on how we can develop without losing our identity. but most of all, to appreciate our roots, our heritage!

A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything

African Proverb.