The mythical romance of the African and the African Diaspora

The mythical romance of the African and the African Diaspora

Between Whiteman’s narrative of “you were sold by your fellow African tribesmen into slavery” and the African narrative of “you were captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids and proxy wars remotely controlled by the enslaver”. Whose narrative is authentic? your enslaver or the family member who you believe didn’t want you no more.
This could be properly answered with the historical facts gathered by many African and European writers giving their narrative perspective to their experience and facts.
Before we go deeper into historical facts, how are the descendants of the enslaver treating you now and how are the descendants of the Africans treating you now?
My little journey around the world exposed me to the fact that Africans seem to know about the rest of the world but the rest of the world knows literally nothing about the African continent. Narrowing it to my melanated fellows, I found pressing questions I ponder over after meeting a few people from Suriname and other former slave colonies. They seem to have trust issues when it comes to Africans, and they refuse to admit their origin, they mostly want to associate with the Europeans and always refer to me as an African friend.
Finally, I asked the big question, Carlos, why do you refuse to admit your heritage, your history, and your people?
Why don’t you want to learn about Africa from the African perspective?
Why are Europeans so interested in learning about my culture but my African- diaspora brothers don’t find the need to know?
Why are African-Diaspora’s ashamed of us in Africa?
Why are African Diasporas taking up names with African linkage but shying away from the reality of it?’
Carlos raged responds “We naturally despise Africans because you sold us to the whites to be misused as slaves” I was caught aback, but I responded, "Why make a decision on the enslaver's narrative?" 

There could be a different side of the story and you can only know that from your people.
At this point I knew I got his attention, in my high school history books I studied about how our ancestors shed blood to prevent slavery and get rid of the Whiteman's presence in Ghana and other African countries.
In West Africa there were a number of people who kept out of the slave trade, refusing to negotiate with Europeans at all, for example, the Jola of Casamance and the Baga (modern Guinea), the last renowned for being unbeatable in battle.

There was an instance where a Queen mother Yaa Asantewaa had to fight a war just to prevent the British from exiling the King to the Seychelles Island in 1896, King of Asante Prempeh I and other members of the Asante government, also instances the Asante’s ambushed White en-slavers killed them and released the enslaved Africans from other tribes. The last time I checked the Asante’s gave their daughters to their ‘slaves’ to marry them. Would you call that slavery?

Paramount Chief Koro Liman IV of the Gwolu Area, in the Sisala West District of Ghana, describes the fortifications constructed to protect the people against the slave raiders.

"I'm standing in front of the inner wall of the Gwolu protective wall, which protected the great Gwolu from slave raiders and encroachments into Gwolu city in ancient times. We have two walls and this is the inner wall.

In ancient times when slavery was rampant, our great ancestor King Tanja Musa built the wall to ward away slave raiders and slave traders from coming into Gwolu to enslave our people”.
Sandema in the upper east of  Ghana in the advent of slavery,  there were 2 bandits called Babatu and Samori who were allies of the European enslavers. They came to the villages that had no rulers and captured people at random and sold them to Europeans. One day, the Gods of the land warned the Bulsa people about the imminent danger of Babatu and his warriors approaching more raids. They were asked to appoint a King and prepare for war and they did.  The result was defeating Babatu and Samori and ending slave raids in their territory. Every year, the Builsa Traditional area celebrates the Feok festival as a re-enactment of their victory and encounter with the slave raiders. In 1972, the paramount chief of Sandema  Nab Ayieta Azangtilow brought two events (war dance and victory over Samory and Babatu) together as the Feok festival to be celebrated every year in the third week of December. This is the narrative in Africa, choose who to believe. 

Before the colonization of the continent, the inhabitants of the continent were partitioned by kingdoms and not countries. By the fifteenth century, Africa was home to hundreds of vibrant and dynamic cultures populating all parts of the vast continent. Within those regions we today call West or Central Africa, diverse groups distinguished themselves from one another through a complex range and combination of languages, religions, arts, technologies, and evolving worldviews. Even with their diverse culture and language differences, they had engaged in trade, marriage, and other relationships.

Before European colonialists took control during the 19th century, Africa was ruled by empires whose histories remain little known today. Many of the great African kingdoms fell hundreds of years ago and so much time has passed that we may never fully understand what life was like in their worlds. A small group of these African kingdoms, however, stayed strong and kept their independence long enough to be documented.
Kingdoms like the Ashanti Empire, for example, survived into the age of colonialism, holding off colonial rule, in fact, for hundreds of years. They were a nation so powerful that, when the first European visitors wrote home about what they'd seen there, most Europeans didn't believe that the empire really even existed.
The Ethiopian Empire, like the Ashanti, kept its freedom for centuries, reigning over its territory for nearly 800 years. For that empire, things turned dark when the fascist Italian army invaded in 1935. For a brief time, the land was conquered and its emperor, Haile Selassie, was forced into exile. The Italian colonialists, though, didn't keep their power for long. In a short time, the Ethiopian Empire regained power

Other African kingdoms weren't as lucky. The Merina Kingdom of modern Madagascar fell to the French in 1897, only surviving a short time, just long enough to leave photographs of their pre-colonial way of life. The French colonialists then swept through the Wadai Empire, which they conquered in 1909.
 Other African kingdoms went through even worse conquests, like the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda, which were annexed into the Congo Free State. There, some of the worst atrocities in human history were inflicted against them.

Natives of the Nsongo district with the hands of two of their countrymen,

 murdered by rubber sentries

For hundreds of years before this era, however, Africa was ruled by distinct empires, each one with its own government, culture, religion, and so on. Each of these African kingdoms was incredibly unique, just one corner of a land of unparalleled diversity before foreign invaders conquered this land while simultaneously carving it up among themselves and lumping it all together into a single place they cared to know only as "Africa.

Slavery is a sensitive aspect of African history which finds both Europeans and African guilty of inhumane treatment of fellow melanated humans. The African continent was colonized at the same time slavery was going on, it seems Africans didn’t have much choice but to comply. In Some areas, the brutal measure was meted out to those who didn’t comply. Evidence shows that people in Congo were amputated for not meeting the daily requirement or refusing to work in rubber plantations.

Atrocities in the Congo Free State - Wikipedia

In June 1960 after 52 years of rule, Belgium granted independence to its Congolese colony. “It is your job, gentlemen, to show that we were right in trusting you,” proclaimed King Baudouin, sealing Belgium’s parting grace with condescension.
One of history’s most brutal rulers, the 19th century Belgian King Leopold II, successfully transformed the entire Congo a landmass that would stretch from the Baltic to the Black Sea into his private domain. From 1885 to 1908, loot flowed endlessly from the dark interior of the jungle, up the river Congo and into colonial Belgium.
Estimates of deaths in that period ranged from 10 million to 15 million Africans, and the debate on whether it constituted a genocide continues.

By providing firearms amongst the traded goods, Europeans increased warfare and political instability in West Africa. Some states, such as Asante and Dahomey, grew powerful and wealthy as a result. Other states were completely destroyed and their populations were decimated as they were absorbed by rivals. Millions of Africans were forcibly removed from their homes, and towns and villages were depopulated. Many Africans were killed in slave wars or remained enslaved in Africa.
Many states, including Angola under Queen Nzinga Nbande and Kongo, strongly resisted slavery. However, the interests of those involved in the trade proved too great to overcome.
About two-thirds of the people sold to European traders were men. Fewer women were sold because their skills as farmers and craft workers were crucially important in African societies. The burden of rebuilding their violated communities fell on these women.
"I verily believe that the far greater part of wars, in Africa, would cease, if the Europeans would cease to tempt them, by offering goods for sale. I believe the captives reserved for sale are fewer than the slain". John Newton, former slave captain.
People in West Africa have also suffered deeply and they continue to be at a vast disadvantage compared to those who promoted the trade against them.
How come you trust only the narrative of the en-slaver and hate your own that much. Both sides are guilty but know that we fought to keep you safe, we tried but failed because they were more sophisticated than we were with weapons and plans which were beyond our abilities.

Jamestown to Jamestown 2019

Yes, we failed but we know we failed with all our strength and pride. We still know we have a family member somewhere in the diaspora, for that reason many African countries have initiated many yearly events to enhance a romance between the African and the African diaspora. back in 1992, Ghana introduced the PANAFEST.
Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival". Each year since its inception in 1992, the Panafest theme reflects the political, social, and economic advancement of the African nations and the African Diaspora at large. Panafest is a cultural event dedicated to the enhancement of the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the development of the African continent. It is organized biennially for Africans and people of African descent as well as all persons committed to the well-being of Africans on the Continent and in the Diaspora. Its goals are to establish the truth about the history of Africa and the experiences of the African people, using the vehicle of African arts and culture. Panafest, by its diverse character, projects a potential of being the most prestigious and indeed the most relevant cultural event on the African continent.
The essential thrust of Panafest is to enhance development. The festival provides a forum to promote unity between Africans on the Continent and in the Diaspora and affirms the common heritage of African peoples the world over by defining and promoting Africa's contribution to world civilization. Panafest attracts a diverse assembly of people - ranging from political leaders, eminent personalities, and intellectuals - to business concerns, investors, and tourists. Central to the celebration are major international performing and visual artists from across Africa and the Diaspora. 

Also in  In Washington, D.C., in September 2018, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo declared and formally launched the “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” for Africans in the Diaspora, giving fresh impetus to the quest to unite Africans on the continent with their brothers and sisters in the diaspora. the year of return and beyond to connect with the family and bloodlines sold and enslaved by no fault of theirs.
Year of Return, Ghana 2019” is a major landmark spiritual and birth-right journey inviting the Global African family, home and abroad, to mark 400 years of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia. The arrival of enslaved Africans marked a sordid and sad period when our kith and kin were forcefully taken away from Africa into years of deprivation, humiliation, and torture. While August 2019 marks 400 years since enslaved Africans arrived in the United States, 

“The Year of Return, Ghana 2019” celebrates the cumulative resilience of all the victims of the Transatlantic slave Trade who were scattered and displaced throughout the world in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.

 I will end with the note

Kojo, Carlos, and Sissi

The myths, misconceptions, and the narrative that Africans sold their brothers without any resistance from a section of them has led to a bitter romance between the African and the African diaspora, This write-up is not to dispute the contribution of Africans' inclusion of the ugly trade of humans as cargo, but also clearly state out that not all Africans were involved and not all were happy about the ugly trade hence the resistance from a section of the Africans which has been historically proven and not a myth.

Carlos after my long narrative which help dispute most of the misconceptions, was shocked and quizzed "Why do all these facts exist and nobody told us?".
My response was " the west and its media tools are very powerful"


“Africa is not a country, and Africans generally do not live in trees or hunt game with spears. Nor do they all walk around in the nude among lions and zebras.
Western media's penchant for reporting on Africa's disease, hunger, corruption, cannibalism, child labor, and war, rather than the continent's successes trivializes their cultures. They complain they have trouble dispelling the stereotypes which happen to be a myth”.
To the Western media houses who only see the dark side of Africa which naturally only exists in their narrative and see no good in Africa. Well, you are wrong this time, with the power of social media we will tell our own story and project Africa to the world.

Author: Kojo Marfo Arthur  12-1-2020

Reference: 
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/…/sla…/africa/index.aspx 
https://journals.openedition.org/africanistes/113?lang=en 
http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/11297?noredir=1
https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2018-march-2019/2019-year-return-african-diaspora
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/21180/Indigenous%20Resistance%20to%20Slavery%20_July%202016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y