African Roots

Yaa Asantewaa, the Asante warrior queen

A strong-willed woman who had the courage to stand by her convictions, throughout her life Yaa Asantewaa defended what she believed to be the sanctity of her land, culture and language. If need be, by fighting. When did Yaa Asantewaa live? Yaa Nana Asantewaa was born in 1840 in Besease, then Ashanti Empire. She died in exile on the Seychelles on 17th October 1921. What was Yaa Asantewaa renowned for? She inspired and supported what is today known as the War of the Golden Stool. The Golden Stool was the Asante nation's most sacred possession, and the British representative at the time, Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, demanded for it to be brought for him to sit on, in the name of Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom. She commented on the shilly-shally of the Asanti men regarding the British representative's demand with the remark: "Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be! I must say this: If you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls on the battlefield. If you chiefs will not fight, you should exchange your loin cloths for my undergarment.” She was nominated by a number of regional Asante kings to be the war-leader of the Asante fighting force – as the first and only woman in Asante history. She was at the war front at different times to give advice and refresh supplies for the Asante fighters – at the age of 60! What is Yaa Asantewaa's legacy? Yaa Asantewaa is a very important role model and an inspiration to girls and women in Ghana and throughout Africa because of the bravery she displayed. A lot of women who go into professions that were previously dominated by men are often nicknamed Yaa Asantewaa as a way of encouragement and support. In 2000, a museum in Ejisu was dedicated to the memory of the great warrior queen. www.dw.com

Thomas Sankara, the upright revolutionary

Dubbed the "African Che Guevara," Thomas Sankara led a revolution in the former Upper Volta, reinventing the state as Burkina Faso. Even though he was murdered only years later, his influence lasts until today. When did Thomas Sankara live? Born in 1949, Captain Thomas Sankara took power during the revolution which started on August 4, 1983. With his comrades in arms, he renamed the Upper Volta, a name inherited from the French colonial power, into the Democratic and Popular Republic of Burkina Faso, which means "the land of upright men." He was later ousted by one of his closest comrades, Blaise Compaore, then murdered on October 15, 1987 along with twelve of his companions. What is Thomas Sankara known for? Trying to turn his West African country into an agricultural laboratory in order to achieve food self-sufficiency. He was ahead of his time and promoted products made in Burkina Faso. He also attempted to boost local manufacturing and consumption. "The comrade president of Burkina" wanted to improve the health system and the education in a country that was one of the poorest in the world. He lived a modest lifestyle himself. The emancipation of women was also one of his political priorities. What has Thomas Sankara been criticized for? His links to Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, but also for disrupting the established order. In 1985, a conflict even occurred with Mali about the border between the two countries. Did Thomas Sankara speak out against the powers that be? In a historical speech pronounced in July 1987 at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Sankara denounced the debt owed to the Bretton Woods institutions - World Bank and International Monetary Fund - which according to him were inherited from colonialism. Almost three decades after his murder, the captain was still seen as a hero by the protesters who brought down the regime of Blaise Compaore in October 2014. Many people consider him an icon for African youths. www.dw.com

Sunjata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire

West African storytellers still sing the praises of Sunjata Keita today. Crippled as a child, he overcame his disability to unify the fragmented kingdoms of the region, creating the vast medieval Mali Empire. Who was Sunjata Keita? Sunjata Keita, also spelled Sundiata or Soundiata, is a heroic figure still praised today in the songs of griots - traditional storytellers and keepers of history in West Africa. According to these epic oral chronicles as a child Sunjata was physically disabled. But through sheer determination (and a little bit of sorcery), he managed to start to walk. He became a great hunter, a mighty warrior and a skilled military strategist who unified the West African kingdoms of the Mandingo people - also known as the Mandinka or Malinke. Born around the end of the 12th century in the northwestern corner of present-day Guinea, Sunjata was the son of a king. While living in exile for reasons that remain unclear, he rallied Mandingo chiefs to rebel against the cruel King of the Sosso (another Western African tribe), who had conquered much of the Mandingo's territory. Around 1235, Sunjata led the chiefs into a decisive battle and won. The victory marked the beginning of the Mali Empire. Why is Sunjata Keita famous? He is renowned for several reasons. He is celebrated above all for laying the foundations of the Mali Empire, which, at the height of its power, stretched from West Africa's coast 2,000 kilometers inland to the Niger River and beyond. It was one of the largest empires in African history. Sunjata is also credited with introducing a system of central government and unifying dozens of different ethnic groups living within the empire. This ensured the Mali Empire's future unity and helped make it prosperous. He assigned land, rights and duties to everyone and is also said to have proclaimed, in Kurukan Fuga, the Manden Charter, what is considered to be one of the first charters of human rights in the world (albeit in oral form). www.dw.com

Siti binti Saad, the mother of taarab

A famous Zanzibari singer and composer, Siti binti Saad established taarab as a performing art and as a mouthpiece for women in East Africa. In the process, she became a pioneer in many ways. When did Siti binti Saad live? Siti binti Saad was born in 1880 in the Fumba village on Zanzibar's main island of Unguja, which is today part of Tanzania. Born into a poor family, she sold pottery on the street before moving to Zanzibar town in 1911. There she started working with musicians and became famous as a taarab singer. She practiced music until old age and died in 1950. What is Siti binti Saad renowned for? Siti binti Saad was a star of the taarab musical style, a music she herself greatly influenced. Endowed with a beautiful and powerful voice, she was invited to perform at the sultan's palace. But Siti binti Saad didn't only sing for the elite: She also performed for the working class and her house was a place of exchange and debate. What was Siti binti Saad's pioneering role? efore her, taarab was usually performed by educated men who mostly sang in Arabic - the language of Zanzibar's small elite. Siti binti Saad, who had no formal education, was the first famous female singer of the genre and she popularized taarab music by using the Swahili language. Her role was such that the British Gramophone Company brought her all the way to Bombay, in India, to capture her voice, making her the first East African to ever make commercial recordings. What are Siti binti Saad's songs about? Always listening to the working population, Siti binti Saad put their concerns to music. Her songs are about everyday life in Zanzibar and talk about actual events. They contain social criticism, denouncing class oppression, corruption, the abuse of women by men and the shortcomings of the legal system. To this extent, taarab, the women's performing art as it was shaped by Siti binti Saad, is highly political. www.dw.com

Sarah Baartman: Reclaiming an African venus

Changing from domestic servant to wondrous attraction, Sarah Baartman was considered an ape in Europe. Though people paid in droves to stare at her body, she died in poverty far from her South African home. When did Sarah Baartman live? Sarah Baartmann, also known as Saartjie Baartman, was born circa 1789 in the vicinity of the Gamtoos River, in what is now South Africa's Eastern Cape province. She belonged to the Khoikhoi people. Orphaned at an early age, Baartman moved to Cape Town where she worked as a servant for a "free black man" and later moved with him to Europe. After touring Great Britain, she moved to Paris where she died famous, but poor, in 1815. What was Sarah Baartman's claim to fame? In Europe, she was exhibited as an exotic attraction. Her body features, not uncommon with South African Khoikhoi women, were considered a sensation in England and France: Baartman had a slender waistline with big buttocks and large sexual organs. She was nick-named the Hottentot Venus. Hottentot was a European name for the Khoikhoi people, while Venus alludes to the Roman goddess of love Was Sarah Baartman a victim of racism? It is not clear whether she traveled to London of her own accord or if she was forced. Neither do we know exactly how much say she did have in the revues where she presented herself to audiences. But Baartman definitely suffered from the racist mindset that dominated Europe's view on the world in the early 19th century. Generally, following cultural and biological, Africans were considered to be lesser developed human beings. The Khoikhoi people of Southern Africa, rarely seen in Europe, were even de humanized. After her death, Napoleon's surgeon, the renowned naturalist Georges Cuvier, dissected Baartman's body, concluding she had ape-like features. For almost 160 years, her remains were displayed at the French National Museum in Paris, making her a victim of scientific racism. www.dw.com