Happy New Year!

A very belated but sincere wish that you have a very happy New Year!

Please forgive the extended absence; we were overtaken by a number of unexpected events that made putting up regular posts of the standard we like to produce very difficult. We hope to rectify this as 2011 kicks of.

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Ramadan Mubarak!

The National Mosque, Independence Avenue, Abuja, FCT Nigeria.

Muslims across West Africa and the world began observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this week, (most on the 11th of August 2010). Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a month of fasting during which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, (smoking and sexual activities!) between dawn and sunset. There are some exceptions including children below a certain age, travellers and the infirm. The day begins with a declaration to fast and a recommended light, pre-dawn meal , suhoor, and any consumption of food or drink should end at least five to ten minutes before the onset of dawn. At sunset, iftar, a light snack consisting of dates or desserts, along with liquids, such as water, juice or milk is taken, breaking the fast.


The fasting is intended to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality, and is a time during which more prayer is offered to Allah. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint including refraining from using angry words and indulging in selfish behaviour and charitable acts like giving to the poor. Common greetings for the start of Ramadan include - "Ramadan Kareem!" (Noble or Generous Ramadan!) and "Ramadan Mubarak!" (Blessed Ramadan!). 


As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary depending on the moon and the beginning is determined by observing the stages of the moon. Traditionally, the beginning of Ramadan is declared when the slight crescent moon (hilal) marking the beginning of the month is sighted. If the hilal is seen at night, the next day is the first day of Ramadan and thus the first day of fasting. At the end of the month, when the community sights the hilal again, Ramadan is at an end. Using the traditional method can result in varying start dates as different parts of the globe may sight hilal on different days so in some communities astronomical calculations are used instead.

Photo source

At the end of the month of fasting, Muslims observe a 3 day holiday called Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking) during which time common greetings are "Eid Mubarak!" (Blessed Eid!) and "Eid Saeed!" (Happy Eid!) This year, Ramadan will end on or around September 10, 2010. 

I believe Ramadan is also an opportunity for non Muslims (and anyone interested in learning from other cultures) to practice tolerance and consideration for others by being aware of the constrains participants are under and behaving appropriately. We could all do with being a bit less self indulgent a bit more charitable in our everyday dealings with those we encounter!


Ramadan Kareem!

Some information garnered from Wikipedia and About.com. Pictures - top, ITK West Africa, bottom, see link below.

Are you a Regular?

You may have noticed that we have a Social Calender page under construction at the moment. We are still building it but have decided to share in a regular post so you don't miss a thing. We'll do an 'Are You A Regular?' post every so often so that you do not miss new entries on the calender. Please let us know if there are any you think we should definitely include and be sure to drop a comment to let us know how events you attended went.


Here are the first few entries:

Lagos
Saturday

The BookJam @ Silverbird *
is a monthly event that consists of book readings, discussions, musical performances, poetry recitals, book signings and a raffle draw. Admission is free.

When: Last Saturday of every month
Where: Silverbird Lifestyle Bookstore, Silverbird Galleria, Ahmadu Bello Street, Victoria Island

Contact: auggustmedia@gmail.com or 07061141232

Farafina Book Review @ Terra *
is an avenue for book lovers to share their experiences, meet writers one on one and learn more about writing. Admission is free.

When: Monthly, (the next event is Saturday August 7th, 2010)
Where: TerraKulture, Tiamiyu Savage Str, Victoria Island.

For updates and more info:
Web: www.kachifo.com
Facebook: Farafina Books
Blog: farafinabooks.wordpress.com
Twitter: @farafinabooks

Contact: 253 Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, Lagos. Tel: +234 1 740 6741; +234 807 736 4217. E-mail: info@kachifo.com


Sunday

Le Petite Marché *
(French for 'the small market') or LPM for short, is a monthly indoor mini market for everything from clothing to home essentials and has featured over 125 vendors to date.

When: every last Sunday of the month.
Where: GET Arena, Oniru estate, VI.

For updates and more info:
Facebook - Le Petit Marché
Twitter - @LePetitMarcheNG
Blog - www.lpmpaper.blogspot.com

Contact: lpmnigeria@gmail.com

We'll be bringing you more as soon as we have it.
Don't forget to comment with your recommendations and observations below...

What do you think?

The Black Stars

We are still reeling from the huge injustice suffered by the Black Stars, Ghana's national team and Africa's last hope in the 2010 World Cup. That this was not a defeat is clear; a loss yes, we will not be advancing but Uruguay did not win either - they stole Ghana's opportunity and rightful place in the semi finals. The details have been shared and dissected over and over - the deliberate interference with the ball destined for the goal by Uruguay's Luis Suarez, the penalty taken by Asamoah Gyan that hit the bar, the penalty shoot out and the devastation on the Ghanaian players' faces when they realized their loss.
The fact remains that this battle is over but we trust that they will only see it as a rung on the ladder to success. We look forward to The Olympics in 2012 and the next World Cup in 2014. If the continue as they have started they are sure to reap the rewards.


We will be watching Uruguay face Holland this evening and I am sure we are not alone in quietly hoping they are unequivocally beaten. We will now be supporting Germany (and Boateng, whose brother plays for the Black Stars) to lift the Cup.

Just for Fun!

How well did you do? Think your friends can do better? Share and find out!

West Africa's World Cup 2010 so far...

On to the next Round (of 16) in The 2010 FIFA World Cup and it seems only one African team will be left standing - 

Ghana's Dede Ayew (L) and John Pantsil
celebrate qualifying for the next round despite losing to
Germany, Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg
June 23, 2010. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Ghana keeps Africa's flag flying

Ghana were leading their group by a small margin but despite their 1-0 loss to Germany they are through to the final 16 where they will face the USA.Nigeria faced South Korea on Tuesday where they needed a definitive win and for Greece to lose to Argentina in order to progress to the next round. Their 2-2 draw was not enough to put them through and the South Koreans move on to meet Uruguay in the next round while Nigeria headed home.Cote d'Ivoire's fate also rests on the success (or failure) of another team. The Elephants need to win today with numerous goals against Korea DPR and for Portugal to lose against one of the favourites, Brazil, to have any hope of advancing but the consensus is that their World Cup campaign is over and that Brazil and Portugal will move on to the next round. 

South Africa exited on Tuesday followed by Algeria on Wednesday. Cameroon lost against Holland Thursday thus leaving West African Ghana as possibly Africa's only hope of making a mark on this the first African World Cup. 

More info and expert analyais at the FIFA.com website.

About Zakumi, the World Cup Mascot

The ITK Q&A - NNEKA

We had a ‘virtual’ sit down with Nneka Egbuna, award winning musician (and something of a musical social commentator), before she set off on tour with Nas and Damien Marley and asked her a few questions about her travels and her West African experience:

- Where do you consider home and why? Where I feel comfortable and happy.

- What's the furthest you've been from home?  The furthest..when I am not myself, when I drift away from reality, lie to myself , lie to the music..this has happened many a times.

- Have you experienced culture shock? Where and when? In Germany, this was when I went there for the first time ever, the cold, the mentality, the people, the language, the food, and the style and standard of living..and of course the different things one experiences, both the good and the bad, meeting people and how they embrace something or someone who is different..

- You've just been on tour (in the States and Europe), what are your 3 travel essentials? Sweater, Bible, bag.

- Where have you visited in West Africa and where would you like to explore next? Benin, Ivory Coast ..like to explore; Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea

- Any travel tips/advice/suggestions for visitors to West Africa/Nigeria? Be open, not all of Africa is just negative, corrupt and full of aids and HIV, it might be part of reality, but there is more than that..culture, tradition, good people and talent.

- Hidden treasure - what's your favourite discovery so far? Your go-to place to eat/shop/hang out/escape to? It’s hidden it has to remain hidden, I am sorry can’t share?  And your favourite city in Nigeria/West Africa? My favourite city, for now, is Warri, because it is where I used to live and still is my hometown..place to visit is Abeokuta and Ife the origin of mankind.

- What are the last couple souvenirs you've picked up on your travels? A piece of cloth in Ivory Coast and a chain in Mauritius.

- Who/what is your favourite West African artist/group/track and why? Don't really have one, but I like Keziah Jones and Fela Kuti.

- Inspiration - what have you drawn from your experiences of West Africa/Nigeria? We evolve, change is constant.. it is up to us what we make of it.

- What are your hopes for West Africa/Nigeria? There is hope in the youth and the conscious ones, Africa will stand for itself. What would you like to see more of? (and less of?) In Nigeria, definitely more light and better roads, less cocaine addicts and happy children.

- What's your favourite comfort food? When food is cooked with love and passion you taste it..when it is done well with dedication it always is good no matter where you eat it..one of the places where I had really good food was in Kokodi in Ivory Coast.

- Where has been your favourite place to perform so far? My favourite place to perform was Port Harcourt where my crew and I almost got arrested for performing a song that had to do with the oil exploitation and present plight of the people living in the Niger Delta, and the corruption practised by our governing leaders and high class elites. You could feel and see the people singing their heart desire.

- Any upcoming things we should look out for? I'm on tour with Damian Marley and Nas on the Distant Relatives tour and will be touring Africa soon..coming to Ghana as well this year.

Watch Damien Marley and Nas talk about Africa, the Distant Relatives project and about working with Nneka at questionmarkmag.com

Pictures are from  www.jaguda.com (top) and www.nigeriamusicmovement.com (bottom).

FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 - Music & Drama

As anticipation builds, the drama is unfolding even before the first game of the tournament - a stampede at the Nigeria vs North Korea friendly ( Nig 3 - NK 1) left fifteen people, including a policeman, injured - Ghanaian and Chelsea star Michael Essien bid the Black Stars good luck and departed their Paris training camp after being ruled out of the team after failing to recover from a knee injury leaving Ghanaian's dismayed - Nigeria's team, the Eagles, was stranded in London for about 24 hours after their chartered air craft developed a technical problem.


In it's 80 year history, the World Cup has only been won by 7 countries, none African. Whether this will be the year an African nation raises the cup is a thought not far from any African fan's mind. As Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon's brightest star and Italy's highest paid player, says in his recent TIME interview, "I would like my country to win, but if we fall, I will support any other African team that remains standing and celebrate their triumph with equal joy"


Part of the spirit of the tournament would be lost without music. The Official World Cup song is Waka Waka by Shakira and will be performed with the South African group Freshlyground, at the Closing Ceremony before the World Cup Final on July 11 in Johannesburg Soccer City Stadium. The song has a had mixed reception with many asking  why a song by an African artist was not chosen.





K'naan, Somali-Canadian with his song Waving Flag is perhaps a bit more of what we want - The song was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Taken from his album Troubadour, it has been recorded as several country specific versions and has become something of the unofficial World cup song and we can certainly imagine the rousing chorus being taken up by excited fans in packed stadiums.
 


The FIFA World Cup 2010 Official Album - Listen Up - also features Nneka and Angelique Kidjo, other international artists and numerous African writers, producers and performers. The proceeds from the album will benefit FIFA’s “20 Centers for 2010” initiative and other African charities.
Listen and buy online at www.listenupalbum.com.


Coming Soon - An exclusive interview with Nneka who is currently on tour with Nas and Damien Marley on the Distant Relatives tour. This kicks off our ITK Q&A series.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

The eagerly anticipated international football tournament kicks off in 2 weeks, in Johannesburg on June 11th, with 32 countries from around the world gathering in South Africa to compete for the title and trophy.

Soccer City Stadium will host the first and final matches

6 African countries will be participating; 4 from West Africa - Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, in North Africa, Algeria and then, of course, the home country South Africa. South Africa beat out Morocco and Egypt in a bidding war to be the first African country ever to host the World Cup. The matches are spread over 9 host cities, including Cape Town and Durban, and the first and final matches will be hosted by Johannesburg at the Soccer City Stadium pictured above.


The month long tournament will end on the 11th of July with the new champions lifting the trophy which is theirs for 4 years until the next competition in Brazil 2014. The defending champions are Italy but Spain, Brazil (who have won more titles and more games than anyone else, and scored more goals in the history of this tournament) and Argentina are the favourites to win this one, the 19th FIFA World Cup. 


Excitement is building as every country harbours hopes of the win and fans travel from across the globe to support their teams and share in the drama and passion that surrounds the beautiful game.


In their first game of the tournament at group stage, Nigeria (who dropped 1 place to 21 in the FIFA/ Coca Cola World Ranking to 21) face Argentina on the 12th June.
Ghana (ranked 32) face Serbia on the 13th, Cameroon (ranked 19th) are up against Japan on the 14th and Cote d'Ivoire (27th) meet Portugal on the 15th of June. 


For more news and updates check out the dedicated news column on the right and follow us on @InTheKnowWA



The official website http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/ for fixtures, team profiles etc.
More from Wikipedia 2010 FIFA World Cup

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua passes on.

The 13th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Umaru Yar'Adua, lost his battle with ill health on the 4th of May. Aged, 58, he died at the presidential villa only weeks after returning to the country after a long absence spent seeking treatment at a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia . Mr Yar'Adua was interred in a Muslim ceremony on Thursday in his home state of Katsina, in the north of the country.

Thursday was declared a public holiday and the start of seven days of mourning by the now President, Mr Jonathan Goodluck. Mr Goodluck was declared acting President for the latter part of Mr Yar'Adua's absence, amidst a constitutional crisis that was played out in the world media.

The BBC reports - 'US President Barack Obama led tributes from world leaders. Mr Obama praised "President Yar'Adua's profound personal decency and integrity, his deep commitment to public service, and his passionate belief in the vast potential and bright future of Nigeria's 150 million people".' http://news.bbc.co.uk


Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, celebrates 50 years of independence from British colonial rule on October 1st of this year.

Nneka's Concrete Jungle

Nneka stopped off in London Wednesday, coming off her US tour with a few stops in Europe before heading back to the States to join the Distant Relatives Tour with Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. Miss Egbuna has just released her first US album, Concrete Jungle, which includes tracks from the award winning No Longer at Ease, released in Europe and Nigeria, and her debut album Victim of Truth and we were lucky enough to see her do her thing live at Scala London.

I can trot out the usual cliches about good things and small packages but it wouldn't do her justice. Petite, yes, powerful, undeniably. Her voice takes you on a journey through the songs - you follow her on Come With Me, raise your fist on Africans, resolve to maintain Focus. The commentary made by The Uncomfortable Truth and Kangpe are on familiar and moving experiences and you can't help but question the part you play in the world as you sing the refrain on V.I.P (Vagabonds in Power). Politics is never far from the mind with her music but it is not a narrowing element, instead like she she says, it is about love, about taking it all in. Suffri is both about vulnerability and strength, Heartbeat both about love lost and feeling ignored in the world, of being exploited and she performed it as an amazing end to the set. She sings the intro quietly, the anticipation is palpable and finally the release of the audience singing the chorus as she brings it home.


She asks early on 'you feel me?' and by the end of the night you most definitely do.

Youthful but mature in her art, this artists star is definitely in the ascendant. Likened to Erykah Badu, she counts Fela Kuti, Bob Marley (who has a song entitled Concrete Jungle) as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Lauryn Hill as influences, but her style, like her voice, is unique and distinctly hers.


Her new single Walking is out now.

See her American journey through her video diary on the Nnekaworld YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/nnekaworld or on okayplayer.com which has a few more clips as well as articles.


See more pictures (as above, most taken by Tomi Job) on our Facebook page.

T.J. & S.D.

Travel Money

If you are lucky to be holidaying soon it might be a good idea to know how far your money will go. We'll be making regular posts with exchange rates and any other useful money news.


Current exchange rates in Accra, Ghana:


             BUYING                    SELLING

 USD     1.42                             1.465

 GBP     2.15                             2.25

 EUR     1.91                             1.97

 CAD     1.33                             1.4

 SF       1.3                               1.4

 CFA     2.9                               3.1


Ghana had a re-denomination of its currency, the Cedi, in July 2007 and as the new denomination, it is known as the Ghana Cedi (GH₵). GH₵1 is equivalent to 100 pesewas. The redenomination saw 1000 old pesewas become the new GH₵1, 10 000 old cedis become GH₵10, 50 000 old cedis became GH₵50 and 1 000 000 old cedis, GH₵100. The Ghana cedi comes in notes of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 and in 2010 a GH₵2 note is to be introduced.


The word "cedi" is derived from the Akan word for a cowry shell, which were once used in Ghana as a form of currency as well as in several other parts of West Africa.

More New Stuff!

Hello Readers,
Hopefully, you've noticed a few new bits and pieces we've added to our blog -

We have added a news application that makes it easier to catch up on the latest news in West African as well as references to West African countries in the world news; find it in the sidebar on the right, after the music.
We've also started compiling our very own Little Black Book collecting contact info on all the places and people we feature so you have a handy directory to refer to; it has it's own page via the tab at the top.

Coming soon - we'll be launching our interview feature, 'The ITK Q&A' in which we'll speak to West African personalities on living in and travelling around West Africa and their particular experience of it all. We are very excited about our first 'subject'... but more on that later!


As always, thanks for reading and keep doing it! 
(and we've added a nifty little share it button at the bottom of our posts so you can share posts with your friends as well as leave comments)


Ciao!


P.S. Don't forget to feed the fish, a couple clicks should do it. 

Adinkra - a world in symbols

Adinkra are symbols developed and used by the Akan and Gyaman people of West Africa to represent and encapsulate concepts and maxims. You can hardly turn around in Accra without coming face to face with Adinkra, so much so you may not realise what you are looking at. The most frequently spotted is perhaps the symbol below-

Gye nyame, meaning “except for what God allows to happen" or “except God” can be seen everywhere from business logos to decoration and fashion.Traditional Adinkra cloth was originally associated with funerals but is now used for a wider range of special occasions. The authentic Adinkra cloth is hand made – using stamps carved from sections of calabash and the dye (made from badie bark specially brewed), the symbols are stamped onto the cotton cloth.The village of Ntonso near Kumase is the centre of this kind of traditional production. Modern use now sees the symbols also produced by screen printing which unlike the traditional cloths can be washed.

The meaning of Adinkra symbols also cover a wide range with now over 500 symbols denoting objects from daily life, abstract ideas , people, animals, proverbs, popular sayings and more. There are about seventy to eighty popular symbols often referred to as the core symbols including -

NKONSONKONSON

 the "chain link"

 a symbol of unity often in reference to human relationships

DENKYEM

the "crocodile"

a symbol of adaptability referring to amphibian nature

and, of course!
AKOMA

the "heart"

a symbol of patience and tolerance.

Look out for these and many more symbols all over Ghana and the West Coast of Africa, you are sure to choose a few as favourites. 

Learn more :

An article on the origins and use http://angelasancartier.net/adinkra-cloth

A list of symbols and meanings  http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/list.htm (pictures above are from this site)

Kingdom Of Ife

Why is it so hard to get back on the wagon after getting off for a holiday??!! We haven't managed to hit the gym/yoga/salsa yet and report back but we did take in some culture (brain exercise - it counts!!) during the week during a visit to the British Museum to see the Kingdom of Ife exhibition.

If you live in London or are visiting between now and the 6th of June then you must visit this exhibition. The focus is treasures of ancient art discovered in Nigerian from what was the kingdom of Ife which flourished in Yoruba land between the 11th and 15th centuries (in present day Osun State). The artefacts are astonishing both in scale, ranging from life size heads to miniatures, and detail and are made from diverse materials and with incredible skill. You can watch videos introducing and exploring the work at Kingdom of Ife Videos. In the wider context of the history of art in the world, these bronze and terracotta creations are some of the earliest and most significant instances of realism in art, dating back to before the European Renaissance.


The masks and heads are so lifelike in some instances that you will almost recognise them as faces from modern West Africa. The stories are captivating and offer insights into life in those times. They paint a vivid albeit incomplete picture of the ancient society and its values and sheds light on present traditions. You can see where our relationship with beads began and why and how symbols such as animals are used.


It definitely made us want to run out and find out everything we could, not just on this kingdom but on what were thriving cultures right across what is modern Nigeria and West Africa. In some ways it is also a lesson in modern history as these finds were made relatively recently, after the second world war and we catch a glimpse of Nigeria at that time.


The exhibition shop carries fair trade goodies such as adinkra pebbles, baskets, khanga scarves, books on topics ranging from beads to history, stationery and jewellery all in keeping with the theme.


If you can't see this exhibition there is also the longer running Impressions of Africa: money, medals and stamps until 6th February 2011, admission free and the permanent room The Sainsbury African Galleries as well as other objects scattered through other exhibits. 

Images from the Exhibition guide from The British Museum

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter all!


We hope you are all making the best of your long weekend, just be careful with all that chocolate!!
hope you've enjoyed our recent posts and we'll be back soon with lots more for you to explore.


Dont forget, we are also on Facebook at In The Know West Africa where you can become a fan and receive updates and see more pictures or you can follow us on Twitter at InTheKnowWA.


Enjoy the holiday and look out for more here, we'll have a few ideas on how to shift that holiday gain!!

Fusion: A Fashion and Beauty Event, Abuja

The second Fusion shopping event was held on Saturday at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. The organiser, Dr Samiah, plans on organizing similar fairs every quarter of the year in Abuja (and even taking it to Lagos).

We though the venue was well suited to the occasion given the size of the fair, however parking was a little more difficult than expected. If the show becomes any more popular, as it almost definitely will!, that may be something they have to address.

The layout seemed well thought out given the space and we felt it was set up just right with the room being well lit but it could have done with being a bit better cooled especially with all the serious shopping going on!

After the first 5 minute foray through the displays it was obvious what the target clientele was as most of what was being offered (about 98.5% to be precise!) was aimed at young ladies.

The products and services on offer were

-Branded T-shirts (Naija style)

-Women's fashion & underwear

-Shoes

-Bed linen

-Jewellery

-Fabric (mostly ankara)

-Fashion accessories (for jazzing up ankara designs)

-Men's kaftans

-A Model agency

-Make-up/make-over stall.

Most of the entrepreneurs were young & hip (the organiser included!), so a lot of Abuja's young (mostly in their 20's) & trendy residents came out to support the event which was well publicized, proving yet again that word-of-mouth is a powerful advertising tool. More & more trooped in as the day went by, maintaining a very decent flow throughout the event which lasted from 12pm-7pm.

It took about 20-25mins for to wander through the entire fair. The atmosphere was chilled, nice and relaxed & inviting, a mood that prevailed throughout the event. The young men came through despite the products & services being predominantly targeted at a female clientele but I guess where there are a lot of young ladies, the men are bound to follow!

We’d say it was buzz worthy and definitely one to visit again.

U.N. & S.D.