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Hey guys, I'm new here, glad to see a forum on African history to be so active. I previously posted on historium and browsed allempires but found that there were only a small amount of posters interested in discussing african history.
A good friend of mine called Son of Ra directed me here and I could not be happier. This forum does focus on history as well as anthropology( ethnicity and genetics generally bore me, I want to know about a people's culture and way of life. I want to know about their religions and political systems, their architecture and weapons of war,I don't care about their skin color) but that's OK, I'm just happy people are talking about Africa.
I'm originally from Somalia but I've called Canada home for a long time now. My specialty is Somali history and while I am nothing close to being an authority, I would be happy to ask any questions you may have on Somali history. I've recently gained an interest in the distant Kongo Kingdom an d I've been reading up on it as much as I can. I'm also hoping to write some short stories/books on alternative and fictional african history. Glad to be here!
Posts: 74 | From: Kanata | Registered: Oct 2013
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Welcome to EgyptSearch, I'm sure your knowledge is and will be helpful.
Posts: 22234 | From: האם אינכם כילדי הכרית אלי בני ישראל | Registered: Nov 2010
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Welcome PreColonialAfrica13, may I call you "pre"?
Perhaps you can provide a service right away pre.
In my own research I have found that the Albino people, when confronted by a portrait of a Black person in Europe, or even just a Black person in European dress. Always describe that Black person as: a descendant of a Slave, an African servant, Saint Maurice, or an Emissary or Ambassador of the King of Kongo.
Since you say that you are researching Kongo, what can you tell me about the kingdom and it's relationship with the outside world.
This is part of the wiki for Kongo.
In 1483, the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cćo sailed up the uncharted Congo River, finding Kongo villages and becoming the first European to encounter the Kongo kingdom.[11] During his visit, Cćo left his men in Kongo while taking Kongo nobles and bringing them to Portugal. He returned with the Kongo nobles in 1485. At that point the ruling king, Nzinga a Nkuwu, converted to Christianity.[12] Cćo returned to the kingdom with Roman Catholic priests and soldiers in 1491, baptizing Nzinga a Nkuwu as well as his principal nobles, starting with the ruler of Soyo, the coastal province. At the same time a literate Kongo citizen returning from Portugal opened the first school. Nzinga a Nkuwu took the name of Joćo I in honor of Portugal's king at the time, Joćo II.[13]
Joćo I ruled until his death around 1506 and was succeeded by his son Afonso Mvemba a Nzinga. He faced a serious challenge from a half brother, Mpanzu a Kitima. The king overcame his brother in a battle waged at Mbanza Kongo. According to Afonso's own account, sent to Portugal in 1506, he was able to win the battle thanks to the intervention of a heavenly vision of Saint James and the Virgin Mary. Inspired by these events, he subsequently designed a coat of arms for Kongo that was used by all following kings on official documents, royal paraphernalia and the like until 1860.[14] While King Joćo I later reverted to his traditional beliefs, Afonso I established Christianity as the state religion of his kingdom.[13]
King Afonso I worked to create a viable version of the Roman Catholic Church in Kongo, providing for its income from royal assets and taxation that provided salaries for its workers. Along with advisers from Portugal such as Rui d'Aguiar, the Portuguese royal chaplain sent to assist Kongo's religious development, Afonso created a syncretic version of Christianity that would remain a part of its culture for the rest of the kingdom's independent existence. King Afonso himself studied hard at this task. Rui d'Aguir once said Afonso I knew more of the church's tenets than he did.
The Kongo church was always short of ordained clergy, and made up for it by the employment of a strong laity. Kongolese school teachers or Mestres were the anchor of this system. Recruited from the nobility and trained in the kingdom's schools, they provided religious instruction and services to others building upon Kongo's growing Christian population. At the same time, they permitted the growth of syncretic forms of Christianity which incorporated older religious ideas with Christian ones. Examples of this are the introduction of KiKongo words to translate Christian concepts. The KiKongo words ukisi (an abstract word meaning charm, but used to mean "holy") and nkanda (meaning book) were merged so that the Christian Bible became known as the nkanda ukisi. The church became known as the nzo a ukisi. While some European clergy often denounced these mixed traditions, they were never able to root them out.
Part of the establishment of this church was the creation of a strong priesthood and to this end Afonso's son Henrique was sent to Europe to be educated. Henrique became an ordained priest and in 1518 was named as bishop of Utica (a North African diocese in the hands of Muslims). He returned to Kongo in the early 1520s to run Kongo's new church. He died in 1531 as he was about to go to Europe for the Council of Trent.
Today, Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in Angola, the Portuguese-speaking section of the former Kongo kingdom.
From this wiki it seems that Kongo's human exchange with the outside world was "One-Way": Europeans going INTO Kongo, and only Slaves going out.
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Good to see you here too, PrecolonialAfrica. I joined here a few days ago. Nice to see someone familiar. Posts: 100 | From: Canada | Registered: Oct 2013
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Good to see you guys here from historium PreColonialAfrica13, and blingdogg.
Posts: 2560 | From: Somewhere | Registered: May 2012
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lol uh mike I should've clarified, I'm only now really starting to read up on Kongo, their connection with the Portuguese is interesting though. The spread of Roman Catholicism in Kongo and their adoption of the latin alphabet is just one of the few tidbits i've read on them so far. They also exchanged emissaries and diplomats with the Portugal. I believe a Kongo diplomat is actually buried in Portugal. This is during the heyday of the Atlantic slave trade too, where despite Europeans views on Africans, both the Dutch and Portuguese vied for trade and alliances with them. It's easy to understand why, a "friendly" non-Muslim African kingdom who is fairly close to Portuguese Brazil who can supply thousands of slaves? I'll bet the Portuguese were tripping over themselves trying to establish relations with them.
Posts: 74 | From: Kanata | Registered: Oct 2013
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As you can see Kongo people had a HUGE influence on Caribbean and South American cultures. Meanwhile Sahelian/Upper West Africans mostly influenced African American culture.
Posts: 1135 | From: Top secret | Registered: Jun 2012
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Yes I am Jamaican American,I do know of the connections above another good read that includes Kongo influences in the New-world Flash OF The Spirit.
One more thing I do drop by from time to time but do not post much here as I do not know when the clock will run out on this site so I tend to do my posting and threads over at ESR.
Posts: 6546 | From: japan | Registered: Feb 2009
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I'm sure everyone gets a laugh out of Doxie, that poor Albino woman, who is never moved by even the most perfect evidence, as a matter, I'm sure she never reads any out it. All she knows is that Whites are native to Europe and they are not Albinos. Even European scientist in their research, conclude that Whites are not native to Europe.
Likewise, in their definitions of Albinism it is clear that Europeans are, or derive, from Albinos. Doxie is unmoved by all of that, so she close's her eyes and covers her ears, and keeps repeating: We are from Europe, and we are not Albinos! And we all laugh.
What amuses me is that the African apologists are no different from Doxie. Regardless of what they learn about the slave producing kingdoms and cultures of Africa; they swear that these places and people were worthy of respect and admiration.
Being mindful that these histories are told by Albino people, and knowing the Albinos proclivity for lying gives me pause. But then again, one might ask: where are these Africans own self written histories? Worthy people and places do keep their own histories as we know. Some might say Mali, but those manuscripts seem to be more about external science and religion. Not national history or experience.
The point being that we must make do with what we have concerning those Kingdoms. An interesting note here: In the many years that I have been on this forum, I have heard many bemoan the lack of threads and conversations about sub-Saharan Africans. And I would always tell them to do some research and make their own threads - nothing ever happened!
And now I'm beginning to wonder if they have the same experience as me, but they are too cowardly to admit it. I don't research sub-Saharan kingdoms, because all it does is depresses me. As everyone knows, I consider Mansa Musa the original "Dumb Nigger" for being such an ignorant "Show-off" as to have given away his nations wealth just to impress some low Turks.
But skimming through the Wiki on the Kongo kingdom took things to new lows. Here I was not only embarrassed that these were Black people, I was revolted. What pathetic, child like creatures they were. But with an innate brutality and disregard for human life that would rival any slave master of the American hemisphere. As I disgustingly perused that Wiki, the thought kept coming to me: Damn, I hope I don't descend from those people.
Brada-Anansi, you mealy-mouthed person, here is the link: read it and then tell me where I'm wrong.
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And your Europeans that you fawn over??..what?? were they more moral in their dealings with one another??..come on Mike you admitted yourself you did fuk all about studying Civilizations south of the desert..yes Africans like anyone else had their share of heroes and vile men you study Euro-civs often naming obscure kings with or without some black genetic stuff...well good for you,leave Euros off the hook as Slave dealing their own to foreigners among themselves.
Posts: 6546 | From: japan | Registered: Feb 2009
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quote:Originally posted by Brada-Anansi: Yes I am Jamaican American,I do know of the connections above another good read that includes Kongo influences in the New-world Flash OF The Spirit.
One more thing I do drop by from time to time but do not post much here as I do not know when the clock will run out on this site so I tend to do my posting and threads over at ESR.
Interesting. Thanks for posting this.
Posts: 1135 | From: Top secret | Registered: Jun 2012
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