Closing Out February
Dear Friends,
Here we are at last at the end of February, and what a month it was! We spent some time in the LibriVox archive of African folklore for the MA Podcast. We listened to sky-related folklore from southern Nigeria, an ancient Egyptian folktale, animal folklore from Zanzibar, and plant-related folklore from across the continent. We also launched the MA Quarterly Essay Series with Part 2 of an investigation into the symbolism of neck rings in African ornamental culture (read Part 1 here). There was also lots of background activity for some writing projects which drained me physically and mentally and so…
What to Expect from MA in March
Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
I’ll be resting, reading, making art and getting reacquainted with the birds returning from their winter migrations.
But…
I can’t leave you all with nothing! So here goes: Last year, the lovely folks over at Folkloristan launched the Safanarma Project which brought together storytellers from around the world. MA was honored to contribute some stories to this project and you can read them below:
I hope these and the other amazing stories in the project tide you over for the next 31 days.
Meanwhile…
I know there is A. LOT. going on in the world right now but if you have the resources, please consider donating to Mendem Foundation’s efforts to help tailors and shopkeepers in Bamenda, Cameroon (my country of origin) recover from a terrible fire which devastated Bamenda Market last week.
To donate:
Zelle/CashApp/PayPal: mendemfoundation@gmail.com
Venmo: @mayvua-kijem
Finally, I am offering to sponsor one person’s attendance to this event.
If you would like to attend, please send an email to alternative.africans@gmail.com.
I’ll see you in April and when we return, we’ll be looking at music in African folklore.
Be Well,
Helen