AfricaNow! January 5, 2022 The Role of Myth and The Continuities in Sacred and Secret Histories
       
Topic and Guest: Today we feature a portion of conversation between historian, poet, novelist, and playwright Dr. Nubia Kai and AfricaNow! and Africa World Now Project’s Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui on the relationship between myth and its continuities in sacred and secret histories. 

According to the Dogon, “in the beginning before anything existed there was the Supreme Being, Amma. Amma existed in the form of an egg divided into four parts by four bones [the clavicles], which were joined together.  Apart from the egg, nothing existed, for Amma rested on nothing. The four arts of the egg represented the four elements: water, air, fire, and Earth. So, the fundamental elements already existed in the egg in embryo form. In the egg Amma had designed the world before it was created. ...[The Word at Face Value: An Abridged Account of Dogon cosmology: 53]. 

In indigenous knowledge systems, myths, legends, and epics are regarded as real history.  However, in this world that has been shaped through the violent imposition of Western European modernity, myth has been relegated myth to the fantastic fictions of the infantile, primitive mind. ... 

Nubia Kai received a Ph.D. in African historical literature and film from Howard University and was a former assistant professor in the Department of Theatre Arts at Howard University.  As a MA degree candidate in Anthropology, she began to specialize in African Diaspora folklore. She received a MA degree in African Languages and Literature from the University of Wisconsin where she researched the folklore and cultural practices of Hausa women.  
Her work has been published in Black Scholar; Black World; Essence Magazine; Black American Literature Forum; Catalyst; Obsidian; Moving Out, Journal of Black Poetry; Left Curve; Journal of African Literature Association, Black Camera: International Film Journal; Journal of African American History, to name a few. 

Her book, Kuma Malinke Historiography: Sundiata Keita to Almamy Samori Toure, is an extensive study of the mythology, epics, poetry, and expository narratives of the Mali Empire. She has been an ardent researcher of comparative religion, anthropology, mythology, and Africana studies for over thirty years. 

Professor Kai is also a poet, novelist, and playwright who has received a number of awards, including two National Endowment for the Arts Awards, six DC Commission on the Arts Awards, and the Larry Neal Writers Competition. 

She has two collections of poetry, Peace of My Mind and Solos, a collection of fables, The Sweetest Berry on the Bush, and an historical novel, I Spread My Wings And I Fly.
 
MUSIC ON THE SHOW: At beginning is--“AFRICAN MARKETPLACE” BY ABDULLAH IBRAHIM; at the break is--“KAIRA” BY SONA JOBARTEH; and at the closing is--“M’BEMBE” BY SALIF KEITA.  

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Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (Eastern).

AfricaNow! January 5, 2022 The Role of Myth & The Continuities in Sacred & Secret Histories

JOIN US — AUGUST 9TH TO 11TH — AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY’S MARVIN CENTER AS WE CELEBRATE BLACK LIFE ON THE BIG SCREEN WITH THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. 

DISCOVER 16 AWARD WINNING FILMS — INCLUDING FICTION AND DOCUMENTARIES – WITH THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL INCLUDING 12 US AND DC PREMIERES.

ENJOY REVIVAL SCREENINGS OF QUILOMBO and FALLEN ANGELS PARADISE…DISCOVER HISTORICAL DOCS ABOUT MOHAMMED ALI, DANNY GLOVER and THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA! –

WITH TALK BACKS AND VIP RECEPTIONS…THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL  AUGUST 9 TO 11 AT THE GWU MARVIN CENTER, - 800 21ST STREET NW.

TICKETS AND SCHEDULE AVAILABLE @  NYADIFF.ORG OR CALL (212) 864-1760.

AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL…WHERE BLACK LIFE MATTERS!

For tickets, schedule and more information visit: https://nyadiff.org/dc-2019/

AfricaNow! January 5, 2022 The Role of Myth & The Continuities in Sacred & Secret Histories

AfricaNow!

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