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Gurasa is a popular snack in Northern Nigeria, resembling bread. It is made by baking a mixture of wheat flour, eggs, yeast, and sugar. The baked gurasa is cooled, dipped in water, coated with kuli kuli powder (made from groundnut cakes), and warmed over a fire. It is served with sliced vegetables and more kuli kuli and yaji seasoning, accompanied by a chilled drink.
Anansi, a trickster figure from Ghanian mythology is often depicted as a spider who uses his intelligence and cunning to outsmart his opponents and achieve his goals.
The Igbo cuisine is usually made from yam, Cassava, Cocoyam, Bambara nut, melon seeds, Cow Peas, Breadfruit seeds and various local vegetables. Palm oil is also a dominant ingredient utilized in the preparation of Igbo dishes especially for cooking soups.
The musical life of Àyìnlá Ọmọwúrà is chronicled in this article which examines his music, life and impact. An Apala musician from Abeokuta, Ayinla's music discussed various societal ills.
African folklore is rich with stories of spirits and demons. These supernatural beings are said to inhabit various aspects of the natural world and can take many different forms.
An ode to Masa, a Northern Nigerian breakfast staple. A flavourful cake with a crunchy exterior and soft sponge like interior, Masa is often eaten with Yaji or Miyan Taushe.
For the month of June, 2023, Oriire is going to be accepting submissions for its second Writing Contest. Submissions will be accepted for three main categories: History, Mythology and Food. Oriire's Writing Contest awards writers from all over Africa an opportunity to tell stories about their culture and to showcase their knowledge about the African Continent in compelling and boldly imaginative ways.
Oriire is requesting paid submissions related to African mythology, history and food.
Music has long been a tool for resistance and protest in Africa. Throughout history, African musicians have used their art to express political dissent, challenge oppressive regimes, and promote social change.
The South African Braai, which is also known as a barbeque or BBQ, is a cultural and social institution that has become a celebrated way of cooking and sharing food in South Africa. It is a unique style of cooking that blends the art and science of preparing meat and vegetables over an open flame.
Kano city, located in northern Nigeria, is one of the oldest and most significant cities in the country's history. Its socio-cultural identity has been shaped by a variety of factors, including its history, traditions, and myths.
African history has been shaped by numerous women who have made significant contributions in various fields. Despite facing numerous challenges and barriers, these women have emerged as leaders, pioneers, and trailblazers, breaking stereotypes and paving the way for future generations of women.
Africa has a rich history of spiritual and cultural beliefs, with a central focus on the elements of nature. One of the most intriguing practices is that of the Rain Maker, a person with the ability to control the weather and bring forth rain in times of drought.
Injera, a staple food in Ethiopian cuisine, is a sourdough flatbread that is made from a mixture of teff flour and water. This spongy and tangy bread is enjoyed throughout Ethiopia, Eritrea, and other parts of the Horn of Africa, and is considered a crucial part of the region's cultural heritage.
"For Alkebulan, you are not the "dark continent", but a beacon of hope, power, and brilliance."
The Yoruba people are an ethnic group that originated in West Africa, specifically in present-day Nigeria and Benin. However, their influence and traditions have spread far beyond their place of origin, including to South America. The Yoruba culture, and its associated religions, has played a significant role in shaping the societies and cultures of many South American countries, particularly Brazil, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The evolution of currency in West Africa spans centuries and encompasses a wide range of cultures and civilizations. From bartering to cowrie shells, beads, metal objects, European currencies and now digital currencies like Bitcoin. The use of foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar, remains widespread in West Africa, and digital currencies offer a number of advantages over traditional forms of currency, including lower transaction costs and increased security.
Do you want to be a guest on the Oriire Podcast? We want to hear from you. Every episode we have a discussion about a new topic. Our aim is to celebrate African mythology, history and food.
One remarkable attribute of the Ivorian people is their hospitable nature and their exquisite cuisine. As such, what is Christmas in Abidjan without good food? Let us take a dive intosome Ivorian cuisines you should try out this season.
Oriire is requesting submissions related to African mythology, history and food
Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye is a Nigerian juju singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who goes by the stage name King Sunny Adé. He is known as one of the first African Pop artists to become popular around the world, and he has been called one of the most influential musicians of all time.
Hairdressing and hairstyles are strong features for identification and social status among the Yoruba.
African art became an instrument of aesthetics, an embellishment of worth and cultural glorification, as well as an exploration of anthropological details and the globalisation of African cosmology.
In 1874,a German traveler, Karl Leche, sent a letter to newspapers across the United States and Europe. His letter gave vivid details of a tree he came across in Madagascar, an island on the east coast of Africa, and how that tree consumes humans, so much that the Mkodo tribe people made human sacrifices to said tree.
The Mau Mau Uprising is another African history relating to the national activist movement for freedom in Kenya. It was a bloody war of liberation that lasted from 1952 to 1963 and is said to be the foundation of Kenyan independence.
Myths, legends, magic and masquerades, folktales and fables, spells, spirits, spooky tales, spilling the tea – Oriire is seeking submissions for its publication: a compilation of 25 African-themed spooky stories.
The Maasai are an ethnic group who inhabit Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania. A semi-nomadic group, they are one of the most popular locals in the world, not least because they dwell close to the African game parks but because of their peculiar dress, customs and food.
Kumbwada is an ancient kingdom with a population of about 33,000 people which is located in Niger, a state in the Northern part of Nigeria
Banga soup is made out of palm nut extract and it is most popular among the Delta/Urhobo and Igbo people. When it comes to Banga soup, its method of preparation varies according to each tribe and even down to its ingredients as well.
The marriage traditions of the Hausa ethnic group in Nigeria
The point of this article is to help you make an informed decision when next you are at a buffet, and you get to choose what African meal to have, or whenever you decide to do some continental dish experimentation in your kitchen to celebrate during this festive season.
Meanwhile, traditional practices are considered detrimental after being subjected to and evaluated under objective lenses of biological, social, psychological and natural sciences and deemed not to meet the psycho-social needs of man nor are necessary for his development and physical well-being, and therefore negate scientific theory and best practices. Such traditions are known as Harmful Traditional Practices (HTP).
In any case, attention should be awarded to how we tell our stories so that they can garner the attention of incoming generations. If drastic actions are not taken, our cultural heritages and our pristine identities may not recover from this slippery slide and unguarded free fall into the bin of forgotten history.
A folktale about 'Anansi', the legendary Ghanian god.
Sàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; and as Jakuta or Badé is an Orisha, a deity in Yoruba religion. He is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alaafin of the Oyo Kingdom prior to his posthumous deification.
An account of an encounter with a Mami-Wata aka Mermaid
It is surprising how much similarity is yet to be uncharted between the African diaspora and the motherland. Here, therefore, we try to draw a nexus between the Brazilian Acaraje and Nigerian Àkàrà.
The myths surrounding people with albinism are too numerous to mention and these have been deeply ingrained in the minds of those who believe it.
A retelling of the 'Queen Moremi' folktale about a legendary Yoruba queen.
The events in this folktale led to a new custom in Uganda in the old days; but now there is a new law, and no one may go to a witchdoctor at all, and if the police find a man telling fortunes they take him to prison. But still some people are naive enough to go in secret, and have their fortunes told, even though they know this story.
The Hausa myth of Bayajida accounts for the origin of the Hausa. As a wanderer, he came to a place currently called Borno. He was noted for his intelligence and bravery to the extent that the king gave him his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Growing up, I heard tales of the famous Bush Baby from the older boys in my village that attended the only boarding school in the whole of the district. Whenever they returned home for the holidays, they always had stories and adventures to tell the smaller boys who hoped to be like them someday.
Efik history traces the origin of Ndem worship to their god’s basin (usan Abasi) which tradition says was a sacred companion of the Iboku people from their oriented home. All through their migrations and sojourn among known and unknown host communities, the Iboku people remained attached to their “usan Abasi” before which they presented requestsof all nature.
This tale explores the concept of àyànmò (predestination).
Esunsun aka Termites are edible insects eaten in parts of Nigeria.
Although African myths may be mysterious and sometimes illogical, judging them from a typical western standpoint is not right. This is because some scientific information could be gotten from the explanatory stories, origin stories and didactic stories which constitute thesemyths. African myths embody the multifaceted African thought systems which are transmitted in ritual practice, with manifestations in the form of African spirituality.
Botswana is well known for its music, wildlife, national parks, diamonds, traditional dances, and its traditional meals. It is known for its different tribes along with their different clothing. Sounds good right? Today’s focus is Tswana traditional dishes, yum!
This fiction story is coined from a non-written tale of water beings, the unsure trait of treachery and wickedness they possess. And the possibility that a man could be sacred to Ngene.
Pioneered by women from the Owerri and Calabar provinces of south-eastern Nigeria, the “Women’s War” in Igbo history or the “Aba Women’s Riots of 1929” in British colonial historywas an immense rejoinder to the oppressive and repressive administration of the British colonial administrators in south-eastern Nigeria. This riot became one of the meanest challenge against British rule in the colony and an epochal case of feminist thought and tendencies as well as anti-colonial revolt.
The advent of the European world left Africa with little or no choice. It was indeed a brutal condition of either immediate adaptation or cultural annihilation. Therefore, the question that remained pertinent in the minds of early writers was the issue of African autonomy and cultural splendor.
The essence of this folktale does not only lie in its entertaining abilities, but in its educating dimensions as virtues are rewarded, truth is vindicated and vices are punished.
Jinns are simply spirits that were known to have been created by God himself according to the Islamic religion. Although they possess supernatural powers which are apparently not inclusive rights of human beings such as strength, invisibility, teleportation, trickery and transformation, Jinns are parallel to humans in an extra-terrestrial plane and, like humans, they possess the ability to eat, drink, and marry and the freewill to choose between good and evil.
Queen Amina is a heroine known in and outside Africa. More than a myth, Queen Amina’s legend is a replica of history and it lays claims to historical places, faces and figures. Her story has at its core a moral and inspiring dimension and also imbues a sense of self-worth among the people. As such, retelling her story and preserving the legend does not only educate the African reader and give him confidence in his cultural heritage, but also enlightens the foreign reader about Africa, putting an end to years of cultural misrepresentation.
Jollof Rice is special not least because it allows for a variety of condiments that vary from person to person and from country to country. Onions, bell pepper, tomatoes, black pepper, green pepper, groundnut oil, butter, fried beef, chicken, and probably a hundred other dressings could decorate and fit with this dish.
Oral poetry in Africa has been an artistic compendium of the beliefs and culture of the African people. There are many forms of oral poetry in the African society such as the invocative poetry, didactic poetry, praise poetry, special occasion poetry, lyrics, funeral poetry, ritual poetry, satirical poetry and epic poetry.
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