Artsy Swag » Africa

Akodessewa Fetish Market in Togo

sanela — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:19:54 +0000

Togo’s Akodessewa Fetish Market is recognized as the largest fetish market in the world, a place where Voodoo practitioner can find anything they need for their rituals. The practice of voodoo began in West Africa, before being taken to America by slaves, and in countries like Togo, Ghana, or Nigeria the religion is very much alive. Many people believe healers using animal parts and strange talismans can invoke spirits with their bizarre rituals, and solve their problems. And if there’s one place where voodoo priests can stock up on their creepy supplies, it’s the Akodessewa Fetish Market, in Togo’s capital city, Lome. Just think of it as an outdoor pharmacy where various animal parts, bone statues and herbs take the place of conventional medicine.

Although from afar it might look like just a dusty deserted lot lined with wooden tables, as you approach and see the piles of heads, tails, skins and limbs of various animals, you realize you’ve arrived at Akodessewa Fetish Market. You’re soon greeted by the place’s voodoo chief who offers to give you a tour of the market, and before you know it you’re bargaining over an ape paw or a gazelle head. It’s a crazy place, and the people here know how to get under your skin and make you buy at least a souvenir. Voodoo merchants have products gathered from all over West Africa and no matter your problem they’re bound to have something for you. They claim they can help everybody in the world, and whenever someone has a problem and runs out of options they come to Akodessewa to look for solutions.

Couples that can’t have babies, goalkeepers who want to do wonders in a football match, people who want extra stamina to run a marathon, they can all be helped at the world’s biggest voodoo market. All it takes is a black powder made from ground up animal parts and herbs that has to be rubbed into the flesh of the “patient”. Sure the person has to be cut on the chest or back three times before they apply the magic powder, but you didn’t need to know that.

Even if you’re not into voodoo, the Akodessewa Fetish Market is one of those exotic attractions that pulls you in and doesn’t let go. If you don’t like animal heads staring at you, you can just check out the protective statues and talismans, or learn about the various herbs voodoo priests use. As the merchants say, there’s something here for everybody.

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The Life of the Mighty Lions

sanela — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:53:03 +0000

In the 1966 edition of LIFE Photographer John Dominis went to Africa with a mission: to capture the life of wild cats at close range. After chasing cheetahs and stalking leopards, Dominis started taking pictures of the greatest cats in savanna: the mighty lions. Here go those pictures. Enjoy!

Dandies from Congo

sanela — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:51:23 +0000

Congolese capital Brazzaville has a subculture known as Sapeurs. This is a society of elegant people. Men of all ages dress up in designer clothes to look like French colonialists from the 50’s and 60’s even if they really can’t afford stylish outfit. A lot of people in Congo are starving and even get into debt in order to create their wardrobe.

The fashion of Congolese dandies hasn’t changed in the last 50 years. Andre Grenard Matsoua is still the “God” of the SAPE movement. He became the first Congolese who returned from Paris in 1922 dressed like a French “Monsieur”. His portraits can be found in many apartments throughout the cities of the Congo.

Most of local dandies don’t only elegantly dress but also have “European” nicknames, such as Benoit “Christian Dior”, Pierre “Rolex”, Serge “Mercedes”, etc.

To create a “dandy” wardrobe the members of the SAPE have to spend a minimum of $300, or 5-months average salary in Brazzaville. Many men who wish to dress like a “Frenchman” borrow money from the banks or starve saving $10-$15 each month.

Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni who documented the life of Congolese dandies says that only the Europeans find such a combination of fashion and poverty strange. The Congolese think different. For them wearing nice clothes is feeding the soul.

Rare African bats

sanela — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:33:42 +0000

National Geographic, or more specific, Michael Curran and his team brought us some amazing shots of the rarest African bats that can usually be found in Mozambique and Malawi forests. I hope you’ll enjoy watching this gallery, and maybe broaden your knowledge about bats and see some rare and lesser known bat species. Enjoy!

Rhinolophus Blasii

This is a Rhinolophus blasii from Mount Mabu in northern Mozambique. We spent 13 nights sampling in a remarkably intact montane rain forest. Although capture success was low, we recorded a very diverse yet even community of bats in this forest. In areas of West Africa, a similar pattern was observed in intact wild habitat: low levels of abundance but a highly diverse community.

Rhinolophus Blasii

This is one of the last captures from a busy night sampling near a hydroelectric dam in the heart of a forested gorge on Mount Mulanje in Malawi. This species of horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus blasii, was very common, making up roughly 70 percent of all the individuals that we captured in and around this site.

Rhinolophus Simulator

This is another species of horseshoe bat called Rhinolophus simulator. Although very similar in size and general appearance to R. blasii, the horseshoe (nasal) structure differs and it calls at a completely different echolocation frequency. Interestingly, we observed that on Mount Mulanje, one species was common, while the other was rare; whereas in lowland forests, it was the other way around. This may be due to competition for feeding niches, roosting sites, or differences in life history traits. Although this individual is colored a rusty orange, there is a separate form of the same species that is a dull brown.

Rhinolophus Simulator

This is another Rhinolophus simulator captured in lowland forest. This shares the same coloration as the other.

Kerivoula Lanosa

This is a fully grown woolly bat, Kerivoula lanosa. Weighing only 4 to 5 grams, they are specialists in dense forest environments. In Australia, members of this genus were found to be feeding almost exclusively on spiders that are gleaned from webs hanging over small forest paths or between the foliage. The common name of the genus refers to their elegant fur, which in this species is grizzled with long white hairs.

Miniopterus

This is a species of the genus Miniopterus, (long-fingered bats). A molecular study (including samples from our work) is showing that this particular family of bats appears to have endemic species to almost all the major mountain ranges of Africa. And yet they are almost indistinguishable based on external appearance. This represents such a large degree of “cryptic” diversity that one prominent researcher described the family as Africa’s “cichlid fish of the skies.”

Miniopterus

This is a second species of the genus Miniopterus. While a similar size to the first, the skull length is slightly greater and the pelage is a rich dark brown, rather than dark grey. We captured this individual while sampling the standing forests of Mulanje cedar, an endemic tree that acts as the emblem and namesake of this mountain. Unfortunately, the tree is on the verge of extinction as illegal logging of the timber continues and a planned bauxite mining project will see large tracts of remaining forest destroyed.

Miniopterus

This is a third species of the genus Miniopterus (long-fingered bats). This is a separate species to the darker Miniopterus shown previously, and the form is generally larger, with lighter fur.

Myotis Tricolor

This is Myotis tricolor, a relatively common savanna species that is widespread across Africa. Its name refers to the three colors present on each hair—a dark base leads to a cream-colored middle and terminates in a beautiful rusty orange. The open mouth nicely shows two glands in the cheeks, behind the rows of teeth. In other species, males have been observed marking territorial areas of a cave wall by rubbing these glands against the surface.

Myotis Welwitschii

This is a very rare species called Myotis welwitschii. Known from only scattered few records across the continent, this catch was a fabulous record. The species is thought to have a paramontane distribution—i.e., it is found associated to, but not restricted to, mountain environments. It is possible that they migrate altitudinally with season. The coloring on the wings is a stark red, pockmarked with black spots and blotches.

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Kings in Africa

sanela — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:35:07 +0000

Between the years of 1988 and 1991, French photographer Daniel Laine spent about 12 months on the African continent tracking down and photographing figures of royalty, and leaders of kingdoms. During this time he managed to photograph 70 monarchs and descendants of the great African dynasties with his work on this series.

Bouba Abdoulaye – Sultan of Rey-Bouba – Cameroon

Aliyu Mustapha – Lamido of Adamawa – Nigeria

Oni (King) of Ife – Nigeria

Oba Joseph Adekola Ogunoye – Olowo of Owo – Nigeria

Abubaka Sidiq – Sultan of Sokoto – Nigeria

Isienwenro James Iyoha Inneh – Ekegbian of Benin – Nigeria

Agboli-Agbo Dedjlani – King of Abomey – Benin

Igwe Kenneth Nnaji Onyemaeke Orizu III – Obie Of Nnewi – Nigeria

Nyimi Kok Mmabiintosh III – King of Kuba – D. R. Congo

Hapi – VI – King of Bana – Cameroon

Joseph Langanfin -Benin

goodwill Zwelethini – King of Zulu – South Africa

el Hadji Mamadou Kabir Usman – Emir of Katsina – Nigeria

Halidou Sali – Lamido of Bibemi – Cameroon

Ngie Kamga Joseph – Fon of Bandjun – Cameroon

Greg’s frog perspective

sanela — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:43:29 +0000

Greg Du Toit – 32 year old photographer, animal painter, who always wanted to photograph the animals at the watering. He sat on the trees, and hid in the bushes – all in vain, animals, barely hearing suspicious noises, used to forget about the water and run away. As a result, Greg found a way out – he spent three months in the water up to his neck, armed with a camera. As a result, he received a unique “frog perspective” and … a whole bunch of tropical diseases.

The African tribe of hadza

sanela — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:11:35 +0000

Hadza, the indigenous people of northern Tanzania, live in the province of Arusha, Singida and Shinyanga near the Lake of Eyasi. They talk on the isolated eponymous language. Traditional clothing for women – leather apron, men – an apron and belt of modesty. They are usually walking barefoot and in the transitions from burrs they wear sandals. Families of Hadza form small, nomadic groups. Typically, the transition to a new location takes place once every two weeks. The composition of such groups is not constant, at the request of their members, they may be combined or separated. The territories occupied by communities or “resident groups” have no clear boundaries, virtually every Hadza may live, hunt and gather food, where desired. In the dry season Hadza live together in groups of 100-200 people, and in the rainy season – re-live separate communities.

1. Like his ancestors, the young Nij grows around the lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania. Unless, of course, the pressure of the surrounding breaks the freedom of its people.

2. Expansive open spaces and dry vegetation make it possible to see and sharp gaze prey for many miles ahead. With the wind bend the trees man named Mahiya looks through the rugged territory habitat Hadza people.

3. Everyone takes something from the place of hunting in their camp. For Kapali it is the head kudu. His group of friends and relatives, will revel until he eats all the meat.

4. Onvas (rear left) laughs with men and boys from their camp until the poison from roses thorns is boiled in a pot for their arrows.

5. Some rustle is heard in the bushes. A man missing his bow and bent down, silently moves towards its prey. While large prey is much more attractive, Hadza hunters can be satisfied by a smaller game, such as dik-dik antelope, birds or calves galago.

6. His time as a hunter has passed, but as a storyteller, it is just beginning. Onvas – a key figure for one of the many groups of people Hadza, who are still hunting and living an ancient way of life.

7. Hunters are tracking down a wounded warthog in the footsteps of blood, using skills passed down from generation to generation. In this photo made near the edge of the Serengeti plains, Hadza hunters stumbled upon a bigger prey – a giraffe. A good shooter Garah (right) gets most of the meat.

8. While the men are hunting, women split the baobab fruit to get the resin, which is located inside the fruit. The diet of the Hadza tribe includes fruit and fruit extracts, which is much more important meat. Only several hundreds of groups from all Hadza population rely on food grown by themselves, despite the proximity of the agricultural community.

9. Surrounded by their few belongings, Tembo sits beside ashes in a “dormitory suburb” of their camp in the open. Most Hadza are sleeping outdoors in the dry season, because, as they say, the wind drives away mosquitoes.

10. Women of Hadza people, like herself, are independent and free, they are free to marry and divorce. The scars on her cheeks go all the way back to her childhood. They have been taught to restrain their tears.

Ritual masks of Africa

sanela — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:52:06 +0000

Recent interpretation of rituals supplements Émile Durkheim’s views that rituals are formalized and symbolic rites—controlled and repeated behavior in the presence of the sacred—which enact society’s separation of the sacred and the profane. In the work of Edmund Leach and Mary Douglas, rituals constitute a system of symbolic actions that communicate values about society. The Manchester School of Manchester University’s Department of Social Anthropology championed a processual view that interprets rituals as a symbolic mechanism in which form, content, meaning, and a dynamic process guides, confirms, and reorders individual as well social experience and practices. Victor Turner argued that in Ndembu rituals and rites of passage, symbols are employed to stabilize individuals and society, create new social locations, and anticipate transformation by establishing a communitas, or fellowship. Jean Comaroff has argued that rituals reenact the historical and social practices of a community.

Rituals give content and meaning to religious life. Life crisis and developmental rituals are transformative and stabilizing. Life cycle rituals such as funerals honor the dead and prepare them for transition into ancestors; ceremonies honoring dead chiefs take on cosmic proportions. The Wimbum people often suspend farm work for the duration of the celebrations. Rituals of affliction are performed to rebuff a spirit that causes illness, misfortune, failure, and barrenness. Certain afflictions may be a call for the afflicted to become a healer or assume an important ritual office. In such a case, the afflicted receives ritual treatment from a specialist and is initiated into the practice. Rituals of rebellion offer opportunities for transformation and the creation of alternative social alliances. Religious rituals also involve propitiation of the ancestors and of gods who have the power to remove afflictions.