The Development and Recording of Early African History

Africa’s Discovery of Europe, written by David Northrup and much as its name implies, is a monograph detailing Sub-Saharan Africa, starting from 1450 to 1850. This broad timespread starts just before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and ends just beyond the Industrial Revolution. Originally published in 2002, Northrup intended for readers to see Europe from a different perspective; from the lense of African people. The title, Africa’s Discovery of Europe, is interesting within itself. In many cases, majority of people believe it was Europe that opened up the world and conquered the Americas and discovered all this new land, and a sliver of that is true, so many countries surrounding Europe were already major, active players in the modernizing world already. In this case, as Europe was discovering Africa, Africa was also discovering Europe. It switches the mind of the reader from a Eurocentric role to an African one. Northrup discusses how contact was not one-sided, and depicts accurate descriptions of African interactions amongst other Africans and Europeans. Northrup shows the reader that African people were discovering Europe very actively, not passively; African people physically go to European countries and have first-hand experiences with European people and lifestyles.

The Interesting Narrative conveys the first-hand experiences of an African who is stripped of the basic rights given to humans and is forced into slavery, while at the same this individual fights for freedom. This autobiography is a reliable source for historians, educators, and students. After analyzing the literature, I concluded that the autobiography’s main criteria included content, tone, perspective, and the structure of his writing. The authors ability to manipulate this criterion, allows for the successful creation of an environment that builds a connection between the audience and his journey.

In Basil Davidson’s video “Different but Equal,” he outlines the European perception of Africa upon their discovery of the continent. Claims that the Europeans were making about African culture, however, were far fetched and did not depict Africa in a positive manner. History according to pre-European Africa was rich and diverse, but once Europeans saw for themselves how different their continent was from Africa, they began to make up their own version of African history.

The cultural diversity and advancements portray the progression developed in African history. The growth of these two subcontinents prove that American and European historians were incorrect on how advanced and civilized Africa was.

Slaves who arrived on our shores were characterized by a strong attachment to their traditions and ancestral beliefs, intimately linked to their dances and music. Among the African groups that influence ethnic and cultural formation of the island are the Ashanti and Fante of Ghana, Carabalis southern shore of the Niger River, the Congos and Equatorial Africa from the late eighteenth century until the middle nineteenth century and the Yoruba of West Africa.

I think it is important to understand that African people have been present on this Earth for a very long time, long before white people decided to rip them from their homes. Many people of America don’t know the true history of Africa and that Africans are the true creators of civilization. Because of this lack of knowledge about our history, I think many people don’t know the greatness that black people are capable of. We come from a long legacy of kings and queens, but many people think of us as thugs and felons and unfortunately some of our people perpetuate this myth. The study of the African experience is important because it is necessary to know where we come from in order to understand where we can go. Reading is the best way to learn more about our history. This semester one of the books that we are reading is Something Torn and New by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong 'o and he talks about the disembodiment of the African people.

Sundiata an epic of old Mali is a story about Sundiata Keita who was the founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa. This story is an oral tale of a young king’s rise to power and is narrated by Djeli Mamoudo Kouyate’ who was a griot or traditional storyteller. Griots are known to be ancient historians, keeping track of their culture and passing down this information which lasts, generation after generation. In Sundiata an epic, Kouyate’ expresses how important it is to the Malinke culture to preserve this oral history. “I teach kings the history of their ancestors so that the lives of the ancients might serve them as an example, for the world is old, but the future springs from the past” says Kouyate’ ( 1 ).  Preserving Malinke culture and history was ideal in teaching the younger generation of their rich heritage and what it means to live the life of a Malinke.

1. “The particular cultures and societies of Africa and of the Americas discussed in this chapter

In my research, to understand how we undertake the study of the African experience you have to start in the beginning of time which dates back hundreds of thousands years ago and go into one of the first civilizations known as ancient Egypt. Understanding where the people come from and where they are at today does not even cover a quarter of understanding the true African experience. To understand truly how to undertake the African experience you must understand the social structure, governance, ways of knowing, science and technology, movement and memory, and cultural meaning (The six conceptual categories). With these concepts you understand that in a cosmograph known

In the eighteenth century, a common perception of Africa among Europeans and Americans was that Africa was a dangerous place inhabited by uncivilized individuals; individuals lacking socially and/or culturally. This misconception is known as the Dark Continent myth. In actuality, within Africa, multiple languages were being spoken and trade was occurring. Overall, the Dark Continent myth is false because Africans had established societies through the use of language and trade. During the time of the Dark Continent myth, Africans communicated through the use of multiple languages.

Asante then precedes to delve into the historic relationship between African culture

In Sundiata: An Epic of Mali and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the importance of storytelling and recording history is prevalent throughout both stories. In Sundiata, the griot serves as the narrator of the story recounting the tale of Sundiata told to him by his father who learned it from his father and so on for countless generations. Griots travel amongst their people using oral history as a way of preserving African culture and heritage throughout generations. They treasure the superiority of oral history above written history because the written word “lacks the warmth of the human voice.” Conversely, Olaudah Equiano explores the written word as a method of spreading his story throughout the world. He writes a biography because it can be translated into countless different languages because his purpose is to educate as many people about his story in an effort to end the atrocities of the slave trade. While the function of the griot is to connect Sundiata with his ancestry via oral storytelling and music, Equiano’s written testimony distances himself from his indigenous African heritage.

Through the African films, Camp de Thiaroye and Le Grand Blanc de Lambarene there are new views and topics that arise, which are not emphasized in the usual representations of African colonial experiences. Usually there is a Western, impersonal side of the history, which is not examined further and widely accepted. Through the films of African filmmakers, people are able to encounter the unmentioned perspectives and perceptions of historical events that affected the Africans substantially.

Imagine being able to tell stories for generations to come without ever having to write down a single word. Oral tradition is used to pass stories down from generation to generation through different forms of communication without any writing system. Oral tradition stories are told by word of mouth, riddles, storytelling, and songs. It cannot be changed although the narrator might embellish it. Oral tradition is how Africans perceived the past. The significance of oral Tradition is due to the stories holding so much information and knowledge. Oral tradition contributed to understanding pre-colonial history because the pre-colonial Africa was influenced by two major movements which are the expansion of islam and the dispersion of the bantu. Oral tradition gave us the perspective as to why the expansion and dispersion took place. Oral tradition has its strengths and weaknesses. A strength of oral tradition is that it is being told from word of mouth and more people will listen to a good storyteller than to go read a book about the history. However, a weakness of oral tradition is that many of the stories get forgotten, left out, or embellished. With each re-telling the story gets further and further away from the original. Oral tradition is a primary way of conveying culture and is a way of life in African history.

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” (Albert Einstein Quotes) Albert Einstein says that using imagination can take you everywhere, meaning that you can become anything or anyone and understand what is going on while you are that person or thing. Fiction activates your imagination and has you connect with the character to better understand what that character is going through. Fiction would then be valuable to historians because it helps them see the emotions of people during the time they are studying. To prove this, this essay will test the historical accuracy of The Headstrong Historian , by Chimamanda Adichie, by comparing it to nonfiction accounts, the vital truth of colonial Nigeria will be established,