"I dedicate this page to my good friends and artists from Tanzania, East Africa.
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| Yunnus Rafiki | Lesikar ole Ngila |
In
Africa, we regard the turtle as a wise creature.
We honor it by comparing it to our elders.
"Baobab
was the first tree to be created.
It was told not to move by the creator.
But it became restless and moved.
The creator was angry, so he planted the tree upside down.
That is why the top of the tree looks likes it's roots."
Urgent Appeal for Help
Greetings Elders and Warriors
We hope you are fine and well by the smile of the most high. We are an NGO, based in Tanzania made by natives of Tanzania. Our NGO is working to promote and preserve the tribal knowledge which in these times is ignored and left to disappear. Many of our young warriors are leaving villages and moving to town where they hope to seek the glamour of modern world.
The TV and Media promote the values of the West which are destructive and not relevant to our culture. Above all, it triggers our warriors to believe in material wealth, ignoring the spiritual foundations of our society. Indigenous people need to come together to share ideas, knowledge, resources, and to build networks and develop closer ties.
We, the people from the Maasai, Segeju, Punjabi, and Haya tribes of Tanzania, want to say that we are with our native brothers around the world in their struggle to build their community and history that was severely damaged in the past.
We are happy to announce our music group, singing hip hop fused with traditional songs, has completed a successful trip to Holland, where they Attended an international festival called Festival Mundial. Their group is called X PLASTAZ and we invite you to visit them at:
Many thanks.
May the sky smile at you,
Asante Sana
Yunnus
Rafiki & Lesikar ole Ngila
Tribal Representatives
Aang Serian Peace Village
Tanzanian
Youth Cultural Organization
P.O. Box 2113
Arusha, Tanzania
East Africa
Massai Photographs
Click on images for
full-sized view.
Art Work
Poetry
OUR CULTURE
Our culture is a shield
Protecting us from
The seen and the unseen.
Our culture is a horn
Carrying our
Divine given domain.
Our culture is a bond
Binding my tribe to your tribe.
Binding the creeping blank ant
To the majestic savannah baobab.
Binding an ancient stone
To a running thought.
Leaf Spears
I dived
into the sea of myself,
Where my thoughts grow
Like copper colored seaweed.
I met
aquatic fishes with large
Eyes like the earth breathing
Profound mystery and enigma.
Fishes
moving silently in their fluid
Medium, over the sea rock that
has seen more dreams than history.
I saw a
leaf growing in my damp
Legs while a green fish was
Pecking my back.
The leaf
shaped like spears,
Sunk into my flesh, sending
Vibrations, alive with visions,
That I am the son of nature, and
I am connected to it's roots forever.
by Yunus
& Hina Rafiki
Punjabi / Brownstownian / Segeju
UKIMWONA KOBE AMEINAMA ANATUNNGA SHERIA
"The turtle, like the elder, leans his head down during deep thinking."
AKARA
NANU NGEN ALANG OLOIKUMA ONYIAYE
INGIRL ATWAA NINYAKU ILOKI ORIONG
"Are you
clever?
Are you clever like the turtles who take flesh inside
and put bones outside."
AKARA NGEN ALANG ENGOTI NAOKU KULEE NEGURUMU
"Are you
clever?
Are you clever like the calabash that drinks milk
and vomits it as fresh as it began."
ARAA NANU NGEEN ALANG OLORIKA ATA NGEJER ONGWAN NEMELO
"Are you
more clever?
Are you more clever like the stool that has legs but doesn't walk?"
"Not all lizards who lie on their stomachs have a stomach ache."
(Proverb)
Tanzanian Tribal Sayings by Yunnus Rafiki
Other Links to African Literature
Osotua Le-Maa
Association (Maasi Education)
The Maasai and Agents of
Change
Maasai Environmental Resource
Coalition
Return to Indigenous Peoples' Literature
Compiled by: Glenn Welker
ghwelker@gmx.com
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