Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé B . Kambon | University of Ghana (original) (raw)

Papers by Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé B . Kambon

Research paper thumbnail of Legacies and the Impact of Trans-Atlantic Enslavement on the Diaspora

The Journal of Pan-African Studies, Oct 1, 2015

On 28th July, 2014 as a panelist at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organ... more On 28th July, 2014 as a panelist at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Pan African Diaspora Coalition's commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Slave Route Project, I was given the task of discussing and condensing the legacies and impact of trans-Atlantic enslavement on the Diaspora, more properly referred to as the Maafa 'catastrophe' or Maangamizo 'destruction'. Given the 395 years (1619-2014) since the first enslaved Africans were recorded as being taken to the United States, I was given fifteen minutes; making for 2.27 seconds per year. This was quite a task, yet much ground was covered.With regard to this topic, in my thinking, the first issue in need of attention is the terminology used in the context of the 20th anniversary commemoration. Primary among these terminological issues is the use of the term "Legacy".Although not exclusively so, the term "legacy" may tend to carry a positive connotation for many native speakers of English. When we think of legacy, we may think of the legacy of Ancient Kmt (Egypt) or the legacies of various prestigious African empires and the like. Indeed, when we look at the actual usage of English from the British National Corpus (a 100 million word collection of samples of written and spoken language from a wide range of sources, designed to represent a wide cross-section of British English, both spoken and written, from the late twentieth century) and the American National Corpus (a text corpus of American English containing 22 million words written and spoken data produced since 1990 which may at some point of time include a range of genres comparable to the British National Corpus), we see recurring instances of legacy as something positive as in:1. The historic landmarks of England are a wonderful legacy that must be preserved for the future.2. Preserving a Legacy: A Tribute to Houston's Blues Concert featuring3. But he is leaving behind an enduring legacy of innovation.4. A-listers who look up to her father to show their respect for his life and legacy as a humanitarian.5. He's got to feel there's a legacy of importance that can be embodied.6. I go out and train every day to leave a legacy and to compete at the highest level. (Consortium, 2007; Davies, 2008-)Other positive uses include "Building a legacy to stand the test of time". In this idea of building or bequeathing a legacy, we may consider the following:The word legacy - used exclusively as a noun for nearly 500 years - expands the original meaning and now signifies a "gift" or "bequest" transmitted from one person (or one generation) to another. Used as a noun in this fashion, legacy carries a wholly positive meaning and represents an act of love, charity and care. Creating and preserving a legacy thus becomes the work of a lifetime, as it cannot be forged quickly and it certainly cannot be purchased. The great effort people put into "legacy building" testifies to its enormous importance. (Voss, 2012)On the other hand, in the British National Corpus (BNC) we can find negative uses such as:1. The legacy here was the musical incompetence of some soloists2. This was partly due to the legacy of the bitterness over the 1990 budget [see p. 36969]3. Behind the dramatic and sudden political, economic and social shifts sweeping through Middle Europe looms a grim legacy of 40 years of resource exploitation and environmental neglect.4. Her father had been at pains to exclude all thought of his more immediate and darker legacy.5. This "Red Scare" died down quickly, yet it left a legacy of suspicion about radicals and "foreign" agitators.6. ...a programme to overcome the legacy of inequality and injustice created by Apartheid... (Consortium, 2007)Thus, we can find both positive and negative usages of the word legacy. Again, from a technical denotative perspective, the definition of 'legacy' is simply "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past" (Merriam-Webster, 2014) which is a pretty innocuous and neutral definition. …

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Haiti, Morocco and the AU: A Case Study on Black Pan- Africanism vs. anti-Black continentalism

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Singing Truth to Power and the Disempowered: The Case of Lucky Mensah and His Song, “Nkratoɔ”

This chapter focuses on language use in Lucky Mensah’s song Nkratoɔ “Message,” which gained popul... more This chapter focuses on language use in Lucky Mensah’s song Nkratoɔ “Message,” which gained popularity in 2010, as an example of the emerging voice of the ostensibly voiceless in Africa’s nascent democracies and the freedom of speech engendered in such dynamic political and cultural milieus. Lucky Mensah transforms himself into a veritable modern ɔkyeame “spokesperson/intermediary”—a fixture of traditional Ghanaian governance structures and the intermediary between the indigenous ruler and the ruled (Yankah, Speaking for the chief: Ɔkyeame and the politics of Akan royal oratory. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995). This analogy notes that the traditional system works in a different way than the modern manifestation exemplified by Mensah. Whereas the ɔkyeame “spokesperson/intermediary” would have set contexts, such as in the palace, whereby he would perform his traditional intermediary function, Mensah uses song and modern digital media. The major parallel being drawn is the key function of being the intermediary between the ruler and the ruled. Further, we will discuss the sociocultural and political meanings of the lyrics of Nkratoɔ as well as the overall significance of the song in the Ghanaian context. By primarily focusing on the use of proverbs, idioms, analogies, allusion, and insinuation as tools of political communication directed to the overarching power structure while simultaneously addressing the ordinary citizenry, the chapter emphasizes that popular music functions largely as a forum for commentating on the ills and frustrations of society, for uniting the citizenry, and even undermining the power and prestige of the ruling government by singing truth to power and the disempowered in Africa.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Retracted: Combating cultural imperialism & cultural misorientation to preserve Afrikan intangible cultural heritage

Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies, Jun 10, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Combating cultural imperialism and cultural misorientation to preserve Afrikan intangible cultural heritage

Legon Journal of the Humanities, Sep 20, 2022

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Humanities and Sciences as Complementary Aspects of an Afrikan=Black Whole: Evidence from Archeoastronomy

Legon Journal of the Humanities, Dec 31, 2019

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Theory of endogenous and exogenous motivation in L2 migration

Per Linguam, Sep 22, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Akan Ananse Stories, Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales, and the Dikènga Theory: Worldview and Structure

Contemporary journal of African studies, Jun 20, 2017

In this paper, we aim to use Dikenga, the cosmogram of the Bakongo, as an Afrikan cosmological, p... more In this paper, we aim to use Dikenga, the cosmogram of the Bakongo, as an Afrikan cosmological, philosophical, conceptual, and theoretical framework to analyze the structure of Akan Ananse and Yoruba Ijapa stories. According to Fu-Kiau, “nothing exists that does not follow the steps of the cyclical Kongo cosmogram” (Fu-Kiau 1994: 26). This bold hypothesis is tested in this study by applying what we term the “Dikenga theory of literary analysis” to the aforementioned stories. We find that this theoretical framework can help us shift away from concepts of “storylines” and “timelines” to reveal the patterned and cyclical nature of material, spatial and temporal phenomena. Further, we find such an approach may deepen our understanding of these stories as manifestations of a shared Afrikan worldview. ResumeDans cet article, nous visons a utiliser Dikenga, le cosmogramme du Bakongo, comme un cadre cosmologique, philosophique, theorique et conceptuel Afrikan pour analyser la structure des histoires d'Akan Ananse et Yoruba Ijapa. Selon Fu-Kiau, "il n'existe rien qui ne suit pas les etapes du cosmogramme Kongo cyclique" (Fu-Kiau 1994: 26). Cette hypothese audacieuse est testee dans cette etude en appliquant ce que nous appelons la «theorie Dikenga de l'analyse litteraire» aux histoires susmentionnees. Nous trouvons que ce cadre theorique peut nous aider a nous eloigner des concepts de «scenarios» et de «delais» pour reveler la nature structurale et cyclique des phenomenes materiels, spatiaux et temporels. De plus, nous trouvons une telle approche peut approfondir notre comprehension de ces histoires comme des manifestations d'une vision du monde Afrikan partagee.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of MꜣꜤt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife

Journal of Religion in Africa, Apr 27, 2023

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of An Intertextual Analysis of J i ́ mi S ̣ o ́ la n ́ k e ̣ ́ ’ s O ̣̀ n a L a (In The Path) via the Multiple Star System Theory of Mutual Illumination and Interaction

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), May 1, 2017

The concept of mutual illumination between texts, genres, arts, and disciplines has been used in ... more The concept of mutual illumination between texts, genres, arts, and disciplines has been used in scholarly work for decades (Weisstein, 1973, 1993). Nevertheless, much of this literature lacks a firm anchor with regard to a literal source of the analogy "mutual illumination." We argue that by observing natural phenomena that actually mutually illuminate, influence and otherwise affect each other, greater insight into how texts interact in similar ways can be achieved. Thus, drawing concepts from astrophysics, with specific reference to multiple star systems, a conceptual framework is derived in which analogous relations are proposed and interrogated. This framework couches the discussion in a stylistic analysis of our primary text, Jimi Solanke's Ona La, which is analyzed both on its own and also with reference to other texts which are interconnected, interrelated, and serve to "mutually illuminate" each other. We find that when considered in light of other related texts, the analysis of Ona Lạ̀ becomes much richer and, in the process, the understanding of the other texts is also enriched. Stylistic tools used in the analysis include various types of intertextual and intratextual parallelism, repetition, and silence.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A Cross-Linguistic Study of Body Part Expressions in Classical and Contemporary Afrikan Languages

Ghana journal of linguistics, Aug 3, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of What was Israel in Relation to Black People? The Danger of a Single Story

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A case for revisiting definitions of serial verb constructions: Evidence from Akan serial verb nominalization

Studies in African linguistics, Jun 15, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial Book Critique: The Origin of the Word Amen

Ghana journal of linguistics, Jun 30, 2020

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Ku Nseke and Ku Mpèmba: The Dikènga Theory as Evinced Through Content and Function of Akan Ananse Stories and Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales

Contemporary journal of African studies, Nov 30, 2019

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Maat vs. The statue of Égalité: A critical analysis of Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw: The way of companions

Legon Journal of the Humanities, Jan 28, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Pro-Indo-Aryan Anti-Black M.K. Gandhi and Ghana’s #GandhiMustFall Movement

Rhodes Must Fall, 2018

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Maat and the rebirth of Kmt ‘Land of Black People’: An examination of Beatty’s Djehuty Project

Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions, 2021

In this paper we examine Ɔbenfo Mario H. Beatty’s chapter, ‘Maat the Cultural and Intellectual Al... more In this paper we examine Ɔbenfo Mario H. Beatty’s chapter, ‘Maat the Cultural and Intellectual Allegiance of a Concept’ in terms of its articulation of MꜢꜤt ‘Maat’. This examination sets out to delineate how a return to the principles inherent in MꜢꜤt ‘Maat’ can serve to bring about the Wḥm Mswt ‘Rebirth/Renaissance’ of Kmt ‘Land of Black People’ and Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ economically and politically. This research is significant in that it points us away from the semantically vacuous and etymologically opaque terms “Africa” and “Africans” to terminology, principles and practices that restore our original identity as Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Fiction vs. Evidence: A Critical Review of Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw and the Eurasian Rhetorical Ethic

African and Asian Studies, 2021

At the 2018 Outstanding African Thinkers Conference on Nna Chinweizu, attendees – the first autho... more At the 2018 Outstanding African Thinkers Conference on Nna Chinweizu, attendees – the first author included – took a pledge that “In all branches of our lives, we must be capable of criticizing and of accepting criticism. But criticism, proof of the willingness of others to help us or of our willingness to help others, must be complemented by self-criticism – proof of our own willingness to help ourselves to improve our thoughts and our actions. This is a sacred principle and it is my sacred duty to apply and defend it at all costs” (Chinweizu 2018). In response to that call to action, this article represents an effort to restore MꜢꜤt ‘Maat.’ Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw: The Way of Companions epitomizes undeclared fiction masquerading as an accurate reflection of the mythology of classical Kmt ‘Land of Black People.’ By cross-checking Ataa Armah’s undeclared fiction with actual historical, iconographical, and archaeological data, we are able to debunk his numerous misreprese...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of T.R.H. Nana Marcus Mosiah Garvey's "Universal Negro", Nana Kwame Nkrumah's "All-African," and the Theory of Intraspecific Aggressive Ideological Mimicry (AIM)

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Legacies and the Impact of Trans-Atlantic Enslavement on the Diaspora

The Journal of Pan-African Studies, Oct 1, 2015

On 28th July, 2014 as a panelist at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organ... more On 28th July, 2014 as a panelist at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Pan African Diaspora Coalition's commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Slave Route Project, I was given the task of discussing and condensing the legacies and impact of trans-Atlantic enslavement on the Diaspora, more properly referred to as the Maafa 'catastrophe' or Maangamizo 'destruction'. Given the 395 years (1619-2014) since the first enslaved Africans were recorded as being taken to the United States, I was given fifteen minutes; making for 2.27 seconds per year. This was quite a task, yet much ground was covered.With regard to this topic, in my thinking, the first issue in need of attention is the terminology used in the context of the 20th anniversary commemoration. Primary among these terminological issues is the use of the term "Legacy".Although not exclusively so, the term "legacy" may tend to carry a positive connotation for many native speakers of English. When we think of legacy, we may think of the legacy of Ancient Kmt (Egypt) or the legacies of various prestigious African empires and the like. Indeed, when we look at the actual usage of English from the British National Corpus (a 100 million word collection of samples of written and spoken language from a wide range of sources, designed to represent a wide cross-section of British English, both spoken and written, from the late twentieth century) and the American National Corpus (a text corpus of American English containing 22 million words written and spoken data produced since 1990 which may at some point of time include a range of genres comparable to the British National Corpus), we see recurring instances of legacy as something positive as in:1. The historic landmarks of England are a wonderful legacy that must be preserved for the future.2. Preserving a Legacy: A Tribute to Houston's Blues Concert featuring3. But he is leaving behind an enduring legacy of innovation.4. A-listers who look up to her father to show their respect for his life and legacy as a humanitarian.5. He's got to feel there's a legacy of importance that can be embodied.6. I go out and train every day to leave a legacy and to compete at the highest level. (Consortium, 2007; Davies, 2008-)Other positive uses include "Building a legacy to stand the test of time". In this idea of building or bequeathing a legacy, we may consider the following:The word legacy - used exclusively as a noun for nearly 500 years - expands the original meaning and now signifies a "gift" or "bequest" transmitted from one person (or one generation) to another. Used as a noun in this fashion, legacy carries a wholly positive meaning and represents an act of love, charity and care. Creating and preserving a legacy thus becomes the work of a lifetime, as it cannot be forged quickly and it certainly cannot be purchased. The great effort people put into "legacy building" testifies to its enormous importance. (Voss, 2012)On the other hand, in the British National Corpus (BNC) we can find negative uses such as:1. The legacy here was the musical incompetence of some soloists2. This was partly due to the legacy of the bitterness over the 1990 budget [see p. 36969]3. Behind the dramatic and sudden political, economic and social shifts sweeping through Middle Europe looms a grim legacy of 40 years of resource exploitation and environmental neglect.4. Her father had been at pains to exclude all thought of his more immediate and darker legacy.5. This "Red Scare" died down quickly, yet it left a legacy of suspicion about radicals and "foreign" agitators.6. ...a programme to overcome the legacy of inequality and injustice created by Apartheid... (Consortium, 2007)Thus, we can find both positive and negative usages of the word legacy. Again, from a technical denotative perspective, the definition of 'legacy' is simply "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past" (Merriam-Webster, 2014) which is a pretty innocuous and neutral definition. …

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Haiti, Morocco and the AU: A Case Study on Black Pan- Africanism vs. anti-Black continentalism

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Singing Truth to Power and the Disempowered: The Case of Lucky Mensah and His Song, “Nkratoɔ”

This chapter focuses on language use in Lucky Mensah’s song Nkratoɔ “Message,” which gained popul... more This chapter focuses on language use in Lucky Mensah’s song Nkratoɔ “Message,” which gained popularity in 2010, as an example of the emerging voice of the ostensibly voiceless in Africa’s nascent democracies and the freedom of speech engendered in such dynamic political and cultural milieus. Lucky Mensah transforms himself into a veritable modern ɔkyeame “spokesperson/intermediary”—a fixture of traditional Ghanaian governance structures and the intermediary between the indigenous ruler and the ruled (Yankah, Speaking for the chief: Ɔkyeame and the politics of Akan royal oratory. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995). This analogy notes that the traditional system works in a different way than the modern manifestation exemplified by Mensah. Whereas the ɔkyeame “spokesperson/intermediary” would have set contexts, such as in the palace, whereby he would perform his traditional intermediary function, Mensah uses song and modern digital media. The major parallel being drawn is the key function of being the intermediary between the ruler and the ruled. Further, we will discuss the sociocultural and political meanings of the lyrics of Nkratoɔ as well as the overall significance of the song in the Ghanaian context. By primarily focusing on the use of proverbs, idioms, analogies, allusion, and insinuation as tools of political communication directed to the overarching power structure while simultaneously addressing the ordinary citizenry, the chapter emphasizes that popular music functions largely as a forum for commentating on the ills and frustrations of society, for uniting the citizenry, and even undermining the power and prestige of the ruling government by singing truth to power and the disempowered in Africa.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Retracted: Combating cultural imperialism & cultural misorientation to preserve Afrikan intangible cultural heritage

Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies, Jun 10, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Combating cultural imperialism and cultural misorientation to preserve Afrikan intangible cultural heritage

Legon Journal of the Humanities, Sep 20, 2022

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Humanities and Sciences as Complementary Aspects of an Afrikan=Black Whole: Evidence from Archeoastronomy

Legon Journal of the Humanities, Dec 31, 2019

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Theory of endogenous and exogenous motivation in L2 migration

Per Linguam, Sep 22, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Akan Ananse Stories, Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales, and the Dikènga Theory: Worldview and Structure

Contemporary journal of African studies, Jun 20, 2017

In this paper, we aim to use Dikenga, the cosmogram of the Bakongo, as an Afrikan cosmological, p... more In this paper, we aim to use Dikenga, the cosmogram of the Bakongo, as an Afrikan cosmological, philosophical, conceptual, and theoretical framework to analyze the structure of Akan Ananse and Yoruba Ijapa stories. According to Fu-Kiau, “nothing exists that does not follow the steps of the cyclical Kongo cosmogram” (Fu-Kiau 1994: 26). This bold hypothesis is tested in this study by applying what we term the “Dikenga theory of literary analysis” to the aforementioned stories. We find that this theoretical framework can help us shift away from concepts of “storylines” and “timelines” to reveal the patterned and cyclical nature of material, spatial and temporal phenomena. Further, we find such an approach may deepen our understanding of these stories as manifestations of a shared Afrikan worldview. ResumeDans cet article, nous visons a utiliser Dikenga, le cosmogramme du Bakongo, comme un cadre cosmologique, philosophique, theorique et conceptuel Afrikan pour analyser la structure des histoires d'Akan Ananse et Yoruba Ijapa. Selon Fu-Kiau, "il n'existe rien qui ne suit pas les etapes du cosmogramme Kongo cyclique" (Fu-Kiau 1994: 26). Cette hypothese audacieuse est testee dans cette etude en appliquant ce que nous appelons la «theorie Dikenga de l'analyse litteraire» aux histoires susmentionnees. Nous trouvons que ce cadre theorique peut nous aider a nous eloigner des concepts de «scenarios» et de «delais» pour reveler la nature structurale et cyclique des phenomenes materiels, spatiaux et temporels. De plus, nous trouvons une telle approche peut approfondir notre comprehension de ces histoires comme des manifestations d'une vision du monde Afrikan partagee.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of MꜣꜤt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife

Journal of Religion in Africa, Apr 27, 2023

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of An Intertextual Analysis of J i ́ mi S ̣ o ́ la n ́ k e ̣ ́ ’ s O ̣̀ n a L a (In The Path) via the Multiple Star System Theory of Mutual Illumination and Interaction

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), May 1, 2017

The concept of mutual illumination between texts, genres, arts, and disciplines has been used in ... more The concept of mutual illumination between texts, genres, arts, and disciplines has been used in scholarly work for decades (Weisstein, 1973, 1993). Nevertheless, much of this literature lacks a firm anchor with regard to a literal source of the analogy "mutual illumination." We argue that by observing natural phenomena that actually mutually illuminate, influence and otherwise affect each other, greater insight into how texts interact in similar ways can be achieved. Thus, drawing concepts from astrophysics, with specific reference to multiple star systems, a conceptual framework is derived in which analogous relations are proposed and interrogated. This framework couches the discussion in a stylistic analysis of our primary text, Jimi Solanke's Ona La, which is analyzed both on its own and also with reference to other texts which are interconnected, interrelated, and serve to "mutually illuminate" each other. We find that when considered in light of other related texts, the analysis of Ona Lạ̀ becomes much richer and, in the process, the understanding of the other texts is also enriched. Stylistic tools used in the analysis include various types of intertextual and intratextual parallelism, repetition, and silence.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A Cross-Linguistic Study of Body Part Expressions in Classical and Contemporary Afrikan Languages

Ghana journal of linguistics, Aug 3, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of What was Israel in Relation to Black People? The Danger of a Single Story

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A case for revisiting definitions of serial verb constructions: Evidence from Akan serial verb nominalization

Studies in African linguistics, Jun 15, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial Book Critique: The Origin of the Word Amen

Ghana journal of linguistics, Jun 30, 2020

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Ku Nseke and Ku Mpèmba: The Dikènga Theory as Evinced Through Content and Function of Akan Ananse Stories and Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales

Contemporary journal of African studies, Nov 30, 2019

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Maat vs. The statue of Égalité: A critical analysis of Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw: The way of companions

Legon Journal of the Humanities, Jan 28, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Pro-Indo-Aryan Anti-Black M.K. Gandhi and Ghana’s #GandhiMustFall Movement

Rhodes Must Fall, 2018

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Maat and the rebirth of Kmt ‘Land of Black People’: An examination of Beatty’s Djehuty Project

Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions, 2021

In this paper we examine Ɔbenfo Mario H. Beatty’s chapter, ‘Maat the Cultural and Intellectual Al... more In this paper we examine Ɔbenfo Mario H. Beatty’s chapter, ‘Maat the Cultural and Intellectual Allegiance of a Concept’ in terms of its articulation of MꜢꜤt ‘Maat’. This examination sets out to delineate how a return to the principles inherent in MꜢꜤt ‘Maat’ can serve to bring about the Wḥm Mswt ‘Rebirth/Renaissance’ of Kmt ‘Land of Black People’ and Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’ economically and politically. This research is significant in that it points us away from the semantically vacuous and etymologically opaque terms “Africa” and “Africans” to terminology, principles and practices that restore our original identity as Kmt(yw) ‘Black People’.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Fiction vs. Evidence: A Critical Review of Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw and the Eurasian Rhetorical Ethic

African and Asian Studies, 2021

At the 2018 Outstanding African Thinkers Conference on Nna Chinweizu, attendees – the first autho... more At the 2018 Outstanding African Thinkers Conference on Nna Chinweizu, attendees – the first author included – took a pledge that “In all branches of our lives, we must be capable of criticizing and of accepting criticism. But criticism, proof of the willingness of others to help us or of our willingness to help others, must be complemented by self-criticism – proof of our own willingness to help ourselves to improve our thoughts and our actions. This is a sacred principle and it is my sacred duty to apply and defend it at all costs” (Chinweizu 2018). In response to that call to action, this article represents an effort to restore MꜢꜤt ‘Maat.’ Ataa Ayi Kwei Armah’s Wat Nt Shemsw: The Way of Companions epitomizes undeclared fiction masquerading as an accurate reflection of the mythology of classical Kmt ‘Land of Black People.’ By cross-checking Ataa Armah’s undeclared fiction with actual historical, iconographical, and archaeological data, we are able to debunk his numerous misreprese...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of T.R.H. Nana Marcus Mosiah Garvey's "Universal Negro", Nana Kwame Nkrumah's "All-African," and the Theory of Intraspecific Aggressive Ideological Mimicry (AIM)

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 2021

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Is Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies a predatory journal?

Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies, 2021

Some of you reached out to me with regard to why I retracted two articles that appeared briefly h... more Some of you reached out to me with regard to why I retracted two articles that appeared briefly here at researchgate.net. It became apparent that based on the evidence I had collected, Mgbakọigba: Journal of African Studies was engaging in predatory practices, fleecing desperate researchers looking for an outlet for publication without peer review for the going price of ₦20,000 (about $50 per paper) to be paid into the personal bank account of the Editor-in-Chief there, one Professor Okechukwu Nwafor.
This is the email that we sent to AJOL, where Mgbakọigba: Journal of African Studies is hosted requesting retraction.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Is Mgbakọigba: Journal of African Studies a predatory journal?

Mgbakọigba: Journal of African Studies, 2021

Some of you reached out to me with regard to why I retracted two articles that appeared briefly h... more Some of you reached out to me with regard to why I retracted two articles that appeared briefly here at researchgate.net. It became apparent that based on the evidence I had collected, Mgbakọigba: Journal of African Studies was engaging in predatory practices, fleecing desperate researchers looking for an outlet for publication without peer review for the going price of ₦20,000 (about $50 per paper) to be paid into the personal bank account of the Editor-in-Chief there, one Professor Okechukwu Nwafor.
This is the email that we sent to AJOL, where Mgbakọigba: Journal of African Studies is hosted requesting retraction

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of AKAN ANANSE STORIES, YORÙBÁ ÌJÀPÁ TALES, AND THE DIKÈNGA THEORY: WORLDVIEW AND STRUCTURE

Contemporary Journal of African Studies, 2017

Is it possible to use endogenous African cosmological, philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual... more Is it possible to use endogenous African cosmological, philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual frameworks to analyze indigenous African phenomena? Why should one even try? In this article, it is argued that such analyses are not only possible and plausible, but they are imperative. It is further argued that just such frameworks can add insight to our understanding of the structure of Akan Ananse and Yorùbá Ìjàpá stories and the shared African worldview from which they arise. According to Fu-Kiau, "nothing exists that does not follow the steps of the cyclical Kongo cosmogram " (Fu-Kiau 1994: 26). This bold hypothesis is tested in this study by applying Dikènga, the cosmogram of the Bakôngo, to an oral (and/or written) literary analysis of the structure of Akan and Yorùbá stories. This application is what we term the "Dikènga theory of literary analysis." We find that this theoretical framework can help us shift away from concepts of "storylines" and "timelines" to reveal the patterned and cyclical nature of material and immaterial phenomena and to deepen our understanding of these stories as manifestations of a shared African worldview.

RÉSUMÉ
Est-il possible d'utiliser cosmologique endogène africaine, philosophique, théorique et cadres conceptuels pour analyser les phénomènes indigènes africains? Pourquoi devrait-on même essayer? Dans cet article, il est soutenu que ces analyses ne sont pas seulement possible et plausible, mais ils sont impératifs. Il est en outre fait valoir que seulement ces cadres peuvent ajouter un aperçu à notre compréhension de la structure des Akan Ananse et Yorùbá Ìjàpá contes et la vision du monde africaine partagée à partir de laquelle ils se produisent. Selon Fu-Kiau, «existe rien qui ne suit pas les étapes de la cosmogramme Kongo cyclique» (Fu-Kiau 1994: 26). Cette hypothèse audacieuse est testée dans cette étude en appliquant Dikènga, le cosmogramme des Bakongo, à un oral (et / ou écrite) analyse littéraire de la structure des contes Akan et Yoruba. Cette application est ce que nous appelons la «théorie Dikènga de l'analyse littéraire.» Nous constatons que ce cadre théorique peut nous aider à se détourner des concepts de «scénarios» et «calendriers» pour révéler la nature à motifs et cyclique des phénomènes matériels et immatériels et approfondir notre compréhension de ces contes comme des manifestations d'une cosmologie africaine partagée.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Singing Truth to Power and the Disempowered: The Case of Lucky Mensah and his Song, “Nkratoɔ”.

Kambon, O. and G. K. Adjei (2017). Singing Truth to Power and the Disempowered: The Case of Lucky... more Kambon, O. and G. K. Adjei (2017). Singing Truth to Power and the Disempowered: The Case of Lucky Mensah and his Song, “Nkratoɔ”. Political Communication in Africa. A. Olukotun and S. Omotoso. Berlin, Springer: 133-158.

ABSTRACT: Political communication in Africa increasingly manifests characteristics of a dialogue rather than a monologue especially in light of the proliferation of new media and innovative means of dissemination (including the internet and concomitant mobile apps). As such, this paper focuses on language use in Lucky Mensah’s song Nkratoɔ, which gained popularity in 2010, as an example of the emerging voice of the ostensibly voiceless in Africa’s nascent democracies and the freedom of speech engendered in such dynamic political and cultural milieus. Further, we will discuss the sociocultural and political meanings of the lyrics of Nkratoɔ as well as the overall significance of the song in the Ghanaian context. Our analysis will primarily focus on the use of proverbs, idioms, analogies, allusion and insinuation as tools of political communication directed to the overarching power structure while simultaneously addressing the ordinary citizenry. In giving voice to the concerns of everyday citizens, Lucky Mensah transforms himself into a veritable ɔkyeame ‘spokesperson/intermediary’–a fixture of traditional Ghanaian governance structures and the intermediary between the indigenous ruler and the ruled. As such, his de facto position parallels his call on the imaginary “Uncle Tawia” to tell his very real brother–the President of Ghana, John Evans Atta-Mills–that things are not going well for the common citizen. The song by all standards is a commentary and a biting criticism of the socioeconomic state of the country attributed to the governance (or perceived lack thereof) by the current political party (the National Democratic Congress a.k.a. NDC) and, as evinced by its popularity, reflected the sentiments of various constituencies in the country. The paper concludes by emphasizing that popular music has functioned and continues to function largely as a forum for commentating on the ills and frustrations of society, for uniting the citizenry and even undermining the power and prestige of the ruling government by singing truth to power and the disempowered in Africa.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact