*Apologies for the reduced quality in this episode. Nonetheless, listen and enjoy as we break down why and how the secret society existed and what the Europeans have to do with it.
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REFERENCES:
1. Leib, Elliott, and Renee Romano. "Reign of the Leopard: Ngbe Ritual." African Arts, vol. 18, no. 1, Nov. 1984, pp. 48–57, 94-96.
2. Ishemo, Shubi L. "From Africa to Cuba: An Historical Analysis of the Sociedad Secreta Abakuá (Ñañiguismo)." Review of African Political Economy, vol. 29, no. 92, Jun. 2002, pp. 253-272.
3. Ottenberg, Simon, and Linda Knudsen. "Leopard Society Masquerades: Symbolism and Diffusion." African Arts, vol. 18, no. 2, Feb. 1985, pp. 37–44, 93-95, 103-104.
4. Saint Louis Art Museum. (n.d.). Leopard Society Emblem (nkpa) [Collection object no. 38375]. Saint Louis Art Museum. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/38375/
Join us in Congo for a short story about how an animal whisperer brought the sun back to his homeland!
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REFERENCES:
1. Lynch, P. A. (2010). African Mythology A to Z second edition (J. Roberts, Ed.; Second). Cheslea House.
2. https://www.robertmellors.notts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/English-Thursday-and-Friday.pdf
A society without war, a kingdom without an army, a place where the shedding of blood or abuse of another human are abominations that will rain curses on you and your household. Sounds fictional, but learn about how the Nri of Igboland in Nigeria did it.
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Outro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403
REFERENCES:
1. Onwuejeogwu, M. A. (1981). An Igbo Civilization: Nri Kingdom & Hegemony. Ethnographica, London; Ethiope Publishing Corporation, Benin City, Nigeria
2. El Fasi, M. (Ed.). (1988). General history of Africa, Vol. 3: Africa from the seventh to the eleventh century. UNESCO Publishing
3. Ogot, B. A. (Ed.). (1992). General history of Africa, Vol. 4: Africa from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. UNESCO Publishing
4. Isichei, E. (1997). A history of African societies to 1870. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
How did African families avoid unplanned pregnancies before modern science? In this episode we discuss some practices in certain areas of the continent.Follow us:Twitter (apparently now X): https://twitter.com/Africas_UntoldSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/africasuntoldstories/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuTYzTqseXvH1RkmxV-1XAOutro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403
REFERENCES:• Bansode OM, Sarao MS, Cooper DB. Contraception. [Updated 2023 Jul 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536949/
• Bertrand, Jane T., W. E. Bertrand and Miatudila Malonga. 1983. "The Use of Traditional and Modern Methods of Fertility Control in Kinshasa, Zaire." Population Studies, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Mar., 1983), pp. 129-136.
• Mulaudzi FM, Lebese RT, editors. 2022. Working with indigenous knowledge: Strategies for health professionals [Internet]. Cape Town: AOSIS. doi: 10.4102/aosis.2022.BK296.05. (Specifically drawing from Chapter 5: "Child spacing and prevention of pregnancy among African indigenous people" by Rachel T. Lebese, Tebogo M. Mothiba, Mercy T. Mulaudzi, Ntsieni S. Mashau, and Lufuno Makhado).
• Jinadu, Musa K. and Bade Ajuwon. 1997. "Traditional Fertility Regulation Methods Among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria: II. A Prospective Study of UseEffectiveness." African Journal of Reproductive Health / La Revue Africaine de la Santé Reproductive, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 65-73.
• Moroole, Molelekwa A, Simeon A Materechera, Wilfred Otang-Mbeng and Adeyemi O Aremu. 2020. "African indigenous contraception: A review." African Journal of Reproductive Health / La Revue Africaine de la Santé Reproductive, Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 2020), pp. 173-184.
• Rossier, Clémentine and Jamaica Corker. 2017. "Contemporary Use of Traditional Contraception in sub-Saharan Africa." Population and Development Review, Vol. 43,
Fertility Transition in sub-Saharan Africa (2017), pp. 192-215
In this episode we focus mainly on the Arab Slave Trade in Africa. This was a hard episode to make. Hope it leaves an impact on all who listens. We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode.
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Outro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403
REFERENCES:
1. Lovejoy, P. E. (2000). Transformations in slavery: A history of slavery in Africa. Cambridge University Press.
2. Rowlandson, J. L., Bagnall, R. S., & Thompson, D. J. (Eds.). (2024). Slavery and dependence in ancient Egypt: Sources in translation. Cambridge University Press.
3. Bennett, N. R. (1960). Christian and Negro slavery in eighteenth-century North Africa. The Journal of African History, 1(1), 65-82.
4. Prince-Eichner, E. (n.d.). Embodying the Empire: Singing Slave Girls in Medieval Islamicate [Unpublished master's thesis]. Claremont Colleges.
5. Kehinde, M. (2018). Trans-Saharan Slave Trade. In F. D. Bean & S. K. Brown (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Migration (pp. 1-4). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6179-7_29-1
6. Kloss, M. M. (2023). Slavery in Medieval Arabia. In D. A. Fargues & J. Schiel (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery Throughout History (pp. 139-108). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15260-5_8
7. Marmon S. Intersections of Gender, Sex, and Slavery: Female Sexual Slavery. In: Perry C, Eltis D, Engerman SL, Richardson D, eds. The Cambridge World History of Slavery. The Cambridge World History of Slavery. Cambridge University Press; 2021:185-213.
8. Alexander, J. (2001). Islam, archaeology and slavery in Africa. World Archaeology, 33(1), 44–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438240120047627
9. Clarence-Smith, W. G. (2006). Islam and the abolition of slavery. Oxford University Press.
10. Miran, J. (2022, April 20). Red Sea Slave Trade. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.868
11. Savage, E. (1992). Berbers and Blacks: Ibāḍī Slave Traffic in Eighth-Century North Africa. The Journal of African History, 33(3), 351-368.
12. Uzoigwe, G. N. (1973). THE SLAVE TRADE AND AFRICAN SOCIETIES. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, 14(2), 187–212. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41406525
Your favourite storytellers are back ! Upcoming topics this season:
Arab slave trade*, African climate history, Nri kingdom, Lesser known diaspora, pre-modern communications: drums, secret societies, etc.
Remember to reach out in the comments or any of the social media platforms to provide your suggestions or questions.
*Too late to take suggestions on the Arab slave trade episode
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Next up on the road of discomfort...Central & Southern Africa. Here we focus on a few examples and zoom in on the unique impacts of European arrival on African societies.
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuTYzTqseXvH1RkmxV-1XA
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Outro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403
REFERENCES:
Lovejoy, P. E. (2011). Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Niekerk, V., & Gardiol, J.M. (2004). Slavery in pre-contact Africa. Fundamina: a Journal of Legal History, 2004, 210-223.
General History of Africa, Volume 5. Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century-UNESCO (1992)
Kalle Gustafsson. (2005). The Trade in Slaves in Ovamboland, ca.1850-1910. African Economic History, 33, 31–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4617604
Welcome back! We continue our exploration of slavery, this time in East Africa, where we zoom in on the practices of the Swahili, Ethiopian and Unyamwezi folk.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuTYzTqseXvH1RkmxV-1XA Follow us: Twitter (apparently now X): https://twitter.com/Africas_UntoldS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africasuntoldstories/ Outro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403 REFERENCES:
Rodney, W. (1969). GOLD AND SLAVES ON THE GOLD COAST. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, 10, 13–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41406348
Röschenthaler, U. (2013). The Blood Men of Old Calabar – a Slave Revolt of the Nineteenth Century? In A. Bellagamba, S. E. Greene, & M. A. Klein (Eds.), African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade (pp. 445–465). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Obichere, B. I. (1983). The Social Character of Slavery in Asante and Dahomey. Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 12(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/F7123017144 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/72k2n7m2
Manning, P. (2006). Slavery & Slave Trade in West Africa 1450-1930. In E. K. Akyeampong (Ed.), Themes in West Africa’s History (pp. 99–117). chapter, Boydell & Brewer.
A. E. M. GIBSON, SLAVERY IN WESTERN AFRICA BY A WEST AFRICAN, African Affairs, Volume 3, Issue IX, October 1903, Pages 17–52, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a093262
Rodriguez J. P. (1997). The historical encyclopedia of world slavery. ABC-CLIO
Lovejoy, P. E. (2011). Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
General History of Africa, Volume 5. Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century-UNESCO (1992)
Lane, Paul, and Kevin C. MacDonald (eds), Slavery in Africa: Archaeology and Memory, Proceedings of the British Academy (London, 2011; online edn, British Academy Scholarship Online, 31 Jan. 2013)
Medard, H., & Doyle, S. (Eds.). (2007). Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa. Boydell & Brewer.
Today we take a lighthearted route through the painful history of slavery but with a focus on slavery among Africans in West Africa. This is the beginning of a mini-series to explore slavery throughout the continent up until the present day. Hope you stick with us all the way! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuTYzTqseXvH1RkmxV-1XA Follow us: Twitter (apparently now X): https://twitter.com/Africas_UntoldS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africasuntoldstories/ Outro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403 REFERENCES:
Rodney, W. (1969). GOLD AND SLAVES ON THE GOLD COAST. Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, 10, 13–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41406348
Röschenthaler, U. (2013). The Blood Men of Old Calabar – a Slave Revolt of the Nineteenth Century? In A. Bellagamba, S. E. Greene, & M. A. Klein (Eds.), African Voices on Slavery and the Slave Trade (pp. 445–465). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Obichere, B. I. (1983). The Social Character of Slavery in Asante and Dahomey. Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 12(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/F7123017144 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/72k2n7m2
Manning, P. (2006). Slavery & Slave Trade in West Africa 1450-1930. In E. K. Akyeampong (Ed.), Themes in West Africa’s History (pp. 99–117). chapter, Boydell & Brewer.
A. E. M. GIBSON, SLAVERY IN WESTERN AFRICA BY A WEST AFRICAN, African Affairs, Volume 3, Issue IX, October 1903, Pages 17–52, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a093262
Rodriguez J. P. (1997). The historical encyclopedia of world slavery. ABC-CLIO
Lovejoy, P. E. (2011). Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
General History of Africa, Volume 5. Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century-UNESCO (1992)
Did you know some kings in Africa were seen as divine in some form? In this episode we discuss the upsides and downsides of kings being regarded as divine in some cultures in Africa and add some very interesting examples.
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REFERENCES:
1. General History of Africa, Volume 4. Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century-UNESCO (1984) 2. General History of Africa, Volume 5. Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century-UNESCO (1992) 3. Shank, M. K. (2010). The meaning of the reliefs at the temple of Abu Simbel.
Hi guys! We're back! We're kicking things off with a folklore episode from the Dinka of East Africa, the demigod Aiwel Longar. It's an unusual legend that gives us a view into the psyche of the Dinka and a key difference between some African and Western folklore.
PS. We're also resurrecting our YouTube channel so please subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuTYzTqseXvH1RkmxV-1XA
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What happens when you have a series of stories and accounts about an empire that left behind little evidence of its existence? Listen as we recount the work historians have done to create a picture of the rise and fall one of the few empires of East Africa - The Bachwezi Empire.
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Outro music provided by DCQ BEATZ: https://player.beatstars.com/?storeId=97074&trackId=2559403
REFERENCES:
1. General History of Africa, Volume 4. Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century-UNESCO (1984)
We have guests once more! Haleemah and Sesi from Oriire join us to discuss the many angles and changes in the way we tell stories on the continent, what it means to us as young Africans. Check out Oriire's podcast, articles, etc. on their website: https://www.oriire.com
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