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Say My Name and Other African Stories...
Cultural difference elicits both essentialist and hybrid conversations from diverse fields, particularly the humanities and social sciences. For Africa, essentialist voices, for instance, underscore the need to reject Western culture and return to the African ways of the past. In the 1956 conference of Black Writers, essentialists were represented by Aime Cessaire. In their view, the great Africa could only be founded on its past cultural ways.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Obi Wale bolster Cessaire’s proposition in their defence of African languages with respect to the writing of African literature. In their opinion, writing African literature in European languages in tantamount to transmitting European values. Frantz Fanon, on the other hand, contented that Africa can only succeed through a mix of Western and African ways.
Referring to Fanon, Homi Bhabha associates essentialist discourses with the politics of polarity. For him, the return to traditional culture is a recipe for cultural othering that could threaten national aspirations.
It is in the backdrop of these divergent conversations that the stories in Say my Name and Other African Stories from Home and Away we selected. While Joy Chenyenyozi, Yvonne Wamuyu, Maurice Simbili, Virginia Asenath and James Nderitu stand for a cultural mix of what seems inevitable in Africa, Denis Waswa, Muruli Muhande, Imali Abala and Ann Namatasi Lutomia are concerned with representation of Africa’s lost past. Using autobiographical style, the authors capture among other things, the physical environment, childhood activities, initiation rites, parenting styles, dances, food, cherished values and other aspects that show the cultural diversity of the Kenyan populace.
Korondo-Panic: A Satirized Diary of a...
“Articles in this book overflow with humour and thought provoking jokes. The way Araka twists and plays around with names of public figures, their actions and inactions, and blends it with the joys and disappointments of ‘ordinary’ citizens is on another level. The style is readable and appealing. The articles revolve around the novel Coronavirus disease. This is a time to be told and retold to present and future generations.” - Rose Kong’ani Keya, Book Editor and Teacher
“The author has banked on wordplay to offer his contribution in chronicling a critical moment in our lives when COVID-19 threw the world into panic and confusion. The book tells of humanity’s inadequacies, hits and misses. Through his trademark satire, Araka shows that as human beings, we deserve better and can do better even when caught up in difficulties. - Edna, Gutenbergschule, Leipzig
“Many occurrences happen in everyday life and can go unnoticed despite being significant. Araka is a gifted writer that makes such occurrences memorable through satire and humour. The themes in the articles including: political manipulations, exploitation, corruption, family relations, hypocrisy, traditions, and modern technology are well intertwined in the writer’s rich narrative style with vivid descriptions that capture the reader to achieve reading this collection in the shortest time possible. I recommend this collection to readers that wish to relive occurrences in their lives and surroundings in a laughable way.” - George Onkundi, Principal, Nyamira School.
About the Author: Joshua Nyangau Araka is a journalist, creative writer and biographer. His other published works include: Peppered Path, Chronicles of the Idler-Volume One, and Beaten Odds, a Biography of Stephen Mabea.
Mwendo Wenye Busara
Baada ya kuchinjwa, matumbo hukaguliwa na iwapo hakuna ishara yoyote ya ugonjwa, sherehe hutangazwa kuwa njema. Iwapo kondoo atapatikana na ishara ya ugonjwa, hii ikiwa nadra kwa kuwa umakinifu uliwekwa unapochaguliwa, mwingine hutakaswa na kuchinjwa tena. Rafiki zake bwana harusi wanapopeana habari njema, wazazi na wale kina mama wa ubatizo hunyunyiza maziwa na pombe…
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Riwaya hii ni ya kihistoria ya jamii ya Wanandi. Inamulika masuala ainati ya asili katika utamaduni na mila zao. Namna jamii ya Wanandi ilivyojisuka na kujitawala katika uongozi, imani na matumaini katika maisha yao na majukumu yao katika kujikidhia matakwa ya kimsingi katika maisha. Riwaya hii ni mfano bora wa kazi zinazosimulia utamaduni wa Mwafrika na mfumo wa kujikuza na mielekeo ya maisha.
Najivunia Kuwa Mnandi Na Ishamel Rono...
Baada ya kuchinjwa, matumbo hukaguliwa na iwapo hakuna ishara yoyote ya ugonjwa, sherehe hutangazwa kuwa njema. Iwapo kondoo atapatikana na ishara ya ugonjwa, hii ikiwa nadra kwa kuwa umakinifu uliwekwa unapochaguliwa, mwingine hutakaswa na kuchinjwa tena. Rafiki zake bwana harusi wanapopeana habari njema, wazazi na wale kina mama wa ubatizo hunyunyiza maziwa na pombe…
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Riwaya hii ni ya kihistoria ya jamii ya Wanandi. Inamulika masuala ainati ya asili katika utamaduni na mila zao. Namna jamii ya Wanandi ilivyojisuka na kujitawala katika uongozi, imani na matumaini katika maisha yao na majukumu yao katika kujikidhia matakwa ya kimsingi katika maisha. Riwaya hii ni mfano bora wa kazi zinazosimulia utamaduni wa Mwafrika na mfumo wa kujikuza na mielekeo ya maisha.
Dau lazama na Kulei G. Serem
Dau Lazama inatoa picha halisi ya mambo yanayoendelea katika jamii hususan katika bara la Afrika. Walalahoi katika taifa la Ngomeni wanapitia madhila yasiyo na kifani kutoka kwa walio na mamlaka ya dola. Ni bayana kwamba uongozi katika taifa hili ni wa kiimla.
Tembo anatumia mbinu kali kuwakaandamiza wapinzani wa sera zake. Vilevile pana asasi muhimu za jamii kama vile dini, zinazofaa kuyanyosha maadili katika jamii ila sivyo katika taifa la Ngomeni: Mchungaji Kombo anauunga mkono ukoloni mamboleo na kushirikiana nao.
Si hayo tu, siri kubwa inayozingira maisha ya kijana Bahati kuihusu usuli na hatima yake ya maisha inateka bakunja nadhari ya msomaji.
From The Cradle To The Cradle By Tony...
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Oloo and Aloo were guided to go forth and fill the earth, giving rise to our diversity as brothers and sisters in the world today.
Many generations later, jo luwo rech, better known as the people who follow fish, found themselves at Nam Lolwe - Lake Victoria, as the source of this abundant supply.
This book traces the historical journey of the Luo from the Garden of Eden to the land of Kush and describes the life of a member of the community from birth to rebirth in the circle of life.
Inspired by stories from the author’s grandmother, it is a representation of her answers to his many questions on the ways of his forefathers and enables the descendants of Kush to understand how they found themselves where they are and the ancestors they have in common with the Dinka, Maasai, Kalenjin, Samburu, and Turkana.
Waridi Tamthilia Na Kyelanzi Matei
Chomz: A Novella by Nanu (No:1 Umbea ...
Mombaaz is known for two things: supernatural creatures called yovulis that live among humans and, Umbea – gossip. One of them is bound to bewitch you.
Chomz is a fantasy fiction novella about Angie, a Nairobian who comes to Mombaaz after her family’s fall into chaos following her father’s tragic death. Angie, determined that becoming an influencer will make her life easier, finds a surprisingly cheap AirBnb in Old Town, overlooking the channel.
The AirBnb rumored to be built by Kitwana, a long-forgotten mythological figure, is filled with antiques as perfect as the day they were made and a grande wall-length mirror. Angie’s curiosity is piqued when the local street food vendor, Mheshimiwa Fatma, warns her against the AirBnB’s mysterious past and strange happenings.
Angie is intrigued but disbelieving of Mheshimiwa Fatma’s warnings until she meets Chomz, the talking goat and host of the AirBnb, appears offering a fantastical adventure through history, revealing Kitwana’s history and an unforgivable curse that killed his whole family. Chomz offers Angie a gift from Kitwana’s private collection. The only catch, she needs to enter the grande mirror, into a pocket world to pick it.
Angie quickly finds herself entangled in Kitwana’s past as she comes face to face with creatures and myths that were long believed to be dead, and a curse that threatens to steal her soul.
Ten Cities: Clubbing in Nairobi, Cair...
A nocturnal journey through local histories of clubbing in Africa and Europe
The image of the DJ dragging his record case through international “non-places” and deejaying in clubs around the globe is a contemporary cliché. But these club scenes have rich, geographically differentiated local histories and cultures. This book expands the focus beyond the North Atlantic clubbing axis of Detroit–Chicago–Manchester–Berlin.
It looks at ten club capitals in Africa and Europe, reporting on different scenes in Bristol, Johannesburg, Cairo, Kyiv, Lagos, Lisbon, Launda, Nairobi and Naples. The local music stories, the scenes, the subcultures and their global networks are reconstructed in 21 essays and photo sequences.
The tale they tell is one of clubs as laboratories of otherness, in which people can experiment with new ways of being and assert their claim to the city. Ten Cities is a nocturnal, sound-driven journey through ten social and urban stories from 1960 through to the present.
Swahili State and Society by Ali Mazrui
Zoo By Charles Chanchori
Chronicles from the Land of the Happi...
In an imaginary Nigeria, a cunning entrepreneur is selling body parts stolen from Dr. Menka's hospital for use in ritualistic practices. Dr. Menka shares the grisly news with his oldest college friend, bon viveur, star engineer, and Yoruba royal, Duyole Pitan-Payne--the life of every party-- who is about to assume a prestigious post at the United Nations in New York. It now seems that someone is determined that he not make it there.
Neither Dr. Menka nor Duyole knows why, or how close the enemy is, how powerful.
Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth is at once a literary hoot, a crafty whodunit, and a scathing indictment of Nigeria's political elite.
It is a stirring call to arms against the abuse of power from one of that country's fiercest political activists, who just happens to be a global literary giant.
The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla ...
The House of Rust is an enchanting novel about a Hadrami girl in Mombasa. When her fisherman father goes missing, Aisha takes to the sea on a magical boat made of a skeleton to rescue him. She is guided by a talking scholar’s cat (and soon crows, goats, and other animals all have their say, too).
On this journey Aisha meets three terrifying sea monsters. After she survives a final confrontation with Baba wa Papa, the father of all sharks, she rescues her own father, and hopes that life will return to normal. But at home, things only grow stranger.
Khadija Abdalla Bajaber’s debut is a magical realist coming-of-age tale told through the lens of the Swahili and diasporic Hadrami culture in Mombasa, Kenya. Richly descriptive and written with an imaginative hand and sharp eye for unusual detail, The House of Rust is a memorable novel by a thrilling new voice.
Tom Mboya: Life, death and the disint...
Tears of the Crocodile: From Rio to R...
'A lucid, stinging critique' Environmental Politics a critical, radical perspective ... bringing reality home to the reader' international Energy and development
Contents: Road to Rio * Climate & Energy * Biodiversity & Biotechnology * Forests * Trade Versus Aid * Agriculture & Land * Water * Waste * Women & Other 'Groups' * Debt is Bad For Your Health
Killing for Conservation: Wildlife Po...
Is African wildlife threatened by the economic practices of Africans? Should trade in ivory and rhino horn be banned altogether? The issue of wildlife conservation in Africa has captured the public imagination in the industrialized world, where the prevailing view is that wildlife must be saved and preserved at all costs in the interests of global environmental good.
However, casting wildlife conservation as a politically neutral issue masks the complex economic, political, and social realities of African communities. In Killing for Conservation, Rosaleen Duffy presents the search for a solution to the human versus wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe as a case study of wider issues in the realm of global environmental politics.
What are the economic consequences of a strict preservationist policy for local economies versus a more balanced approach to sustainable utilization? Should the international community deprive developing countries of the right to use their natural resources for the economic benefit of their populations?
How can community development and wildlife preservation be welded together to serve the needs of both? Duffy’s keen analysis underlines the essentially political nature of conservation amid international rhetoric that presents it as an apolitical matter of saving animals.
National Policy and a Regional Respon...
The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa commissioned case studies of higher education provision in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, as part of its effort to stimulate enlightened, equitable, and knowledge-based national development, and to provide guides to understanding.
A radical reform of South African higher education started after the first democratic elections of 1994: higher education was confronted with social, political and economic demands, of a kind not encountered during the apartheid era.
In association with Partnership for Higher Education in Africa
Custodians of the Land: Ecology and C...
Farming and pastoral societies inhabit ever-changing environments. This relationship between environment and rural culture, politics and economy in Tanzania is the subject of this volume which will be valuable in reopening debates on Tanzanian history.
In his conclusion, Isaria N. Kimambo, a founding father of Tanzanian history, reflects on the efforts of successive historians to strike a balance between external causes of change and local initiative in their interpretations of Tanzanian history.
He shows that nationalist and Marxist historians of Tanzanian history, understandably preoccupied through the first quarter-century of the country's post-colonial history with the impact of imperialism and capitalism on East Africa, tended to overlook the initiatives taken by rural societies to transform themselves.
Yet there is good reason for historians to think about the causes of change and innovation in the rural communities of Tanzania, because farming and pastoral people have constantly changed as they adjusted to shifting environmental conditions.
The Midnight Sun by J.B. Omukangala
Making the World Safe for Dictatorshi...
Authoritarian states try to present a positive image of themselves abroad. They invest in foreign-facing media, retain public relations firms, and showcase their successes to elite and popular foreign audiences. But there is also a darker side to these efforts. Authoritarian states try to obscure or censor bad news about their governments and often discredit their critics abroad.
In extreme cases, authoritarian states intimidate, physically attack, or even murder their opponents overseas. This book is about how authoritarian states manage their image abroad using both “promotional” tactics of persuasion and “obstructive” tactics of repression. They adopt these practices to enhance their internal and external regime security or, put differently, to make their world safe for dictatorship.
To substantiate these arguments, the book uses a diverse array of data, including fieldwork and author interviews, cross-national data on extraterritorial repression, examination of public relations filings with the United States government, analysis of authoritarian propaganda, media frequency analysis, and speeches and statements by authoritarian leaders.
It builds a new data set—the Authoritarian Actions Abroad Database—that uses publicly available information to categorize nearly 1,200 instances in which authoritarian states repressed their critical exiles abroad, ranging from vague threats to confirmed assassinations.
It also selects three cases for closer examination to understand in more detail how authoritarian states manage their image abroad using combinations of promotional and obstructive tactics: China, Rwanda, and North Korea. The result is a new way of thinking about the international dimensions of authoritarian politics.
