There are several reasons for the protracted and continuing conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, two countries that are situated in the horn of Africa. While Eritrea had been formerly part of the larger Ethiopia, it won its independence in 1993 after thirty years of struggle. Ever since, there have been contentions over territory, trade rules…
Tag: Africa
How did photography reflect the values and stereotypes that underlay European colonialism?
On par with the written word, photography is a potent tool of historical documentation. The advent of still picture devices, as they were crudely called during their initial days, coincided with the peak years of European colonialism. While the concept of photography is a valuable aid for a historical scholar in presenting “facts”, the prevailing…
Two African musical themes and their musical, social and cultural relations.
One of the predominant themes in African music is the close relationship between music and language. For instance, “African tone languages, with their inter-syllabic relational pitch structure, manifest a musical aspect that in turn constrains melodic contour. Second, the popular and popularizing phenomenon of talking drums, the idea that drums (and other speech surrogates) “speak”…