West Africa

 

The last part of the BBC four part series on Lost Kingdoms of Africa. Art historian travels to West Africa to discover the ancient history of Benin, Mali, Nigeria etc. 

He starts off at Benin where he discovers bronze sculptures dating back to more than 2000 years ago. The craftsmanship and technology to produce such exquisite pieces of art were very much present in those times. 

Next stop for him at Timbuktu in Mali, which was at one point of time a busy trading hub with traders from Arab coming to sell their wares and take home local items. Timbuktu has entered into a state of decline for many centuries now. 

Djenne and Jenne Jena which are nearby and Timbuktu did have some olden bronze & pottery sculpture history some evidence still being retained because Jenne Jena is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are evidence of archeological remains at these places. The sculpture is unique in the sense that lot of animist influences have been found in the form of shapes of snake, leopard, etc. in the sculpures. The locals revere the animism because they feel that the animals protect them. 

Djenne has got some Islamic influences because of the Arab traders who built a Grand Mosque in the city. All the houses in the city are made of mud and each house has a separate and distinct style of architecture depending upon the number of females in the household and the number of children. 

Dogon country in Mali is another place which has a rich cultural history. Interesting series this and not boring at all. Dr. Gus has kept it nice short and crisp and being an expert himself he dwells into more detail at each level of his visit. 

Great Zimbabwe

 

BBC four part series on the lost kingdoms of Africa, this is part 3 where Dr. Gus Casely-Hayford goes to Greater Zimbabwe. 

Greater Zimbabwe is a city in the southern part of Zimbabwe which was the capital of a kingdom but not certain which king ruled here. They have stone walls with narrow passages that had some significance. 

Before that he went to Manyikeni an architectural site in Mozambique which has got some connection with the Greater Zimbabwe style of buildings. 

The Kingdom of Mapungubwe in present day South Africa is also another place where gold trading used to take place and there were links to the Swahili Coast of East Africa. Its a world heritage site 

Two other places that Gus visited were Kilwa Kisawani and Rhapta and both were gold trading centres. Kilwa Kisawani is in Tanzania and now a World Heritage Site. Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta apparently visited Kilwa and was mightily impressed by it. Lot of trade used to take place in the ancient past between the east coast of Africa and the Gulf Arab regions, India and China. 

Good series to watch so far. 

Nubia

 

Interesting BBC documentary on the lost kingdoms of Africa. This four part series starts in Nubia, the extinct kingdom which once encompassed the present day Egypt and Sudan put together. 

Interesting to note that there are apparently more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. The documentary shows the ancient rock drums which were used by people to communicate with each other, the rock cut paintings of cattle, the hieroglyphics depicting the life in ancient Nubia more than 5000 to 7000 years ago. 

The whole area was full of vegetation and life and commerce in those days but desert started creeping up over the years and centuries making it what it is today. The presenter goes to a few village settlements to understand their life and the history of the area. 

Apparently frequent battles used to take place over the vegetation of the land and there was one cremation spot where apparently more than 200 men and 5000 heads of cattle were sacrificed. The documentary is a mix of commentary and interviews, so its a good series to watch.   

Going Crazy

"Going Crazy" by Otto Friedrich is a kind of biography or a history of insanity or madness through the ages. Otto does a good job in keeping the narrative flowing throughout the pages with first hand accounts by many patients. Apart from celebrated cases he has also dwelt on the ordinary people's lives disrupted by what he calls as "craziness" - by all accounts all of us are somewhat crazy at some times or other - it only varies by degrees, but while majority are able to keep their thoughts clear there are many who lose control of their minds. He has also written about the cures which in medieval times ranged from cruelty itself like chaining the patients to drugs, therapies etc. It was surprising to read that so many celebrated people had problems in their lives. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in different genres like non-fiction, biographies etc. Rating 5/5