The Face

03/02/2025

In the 1990s, Arsenal team had a player named David Dicks.When he got injured the newspaper wrote "Arsenal to play without Dicks" The Coach was very upset so the newspaper changed the headline to be read, "Arsenal to play with Dicks out...A number of women attended the match!😂

10/07/2024

This continent was deliberately underdeveloped and kept in the dark corners of vicious circles of poverty.

09/05/2024

Time to reflect on a great initiative by one of the African sons who left home and came back to build a home. This is a story of a Ghanaian 🇬🇭 software engineer and millionaire, Patrick Awuah who resigned from his job at Microsoft in 1997 to build a university that will educate young Africans. He returned to Ghana in 1999, after 14 years in the US, to set up Ashesi University, Accra, Ghana in 2002. The university is one of the best in the West Africa and Africa as a whole today.

08/30/2024

08/17/2024

The Shilluk (Shilluk: Chollo) are a major Luo Nilotic ethnic group of Southern Sudan, living on both banks of the river Nile, in the vicinity of the city of Malakal. Before the Second Sudanese Civil War the Shilluk also lived in a number of settlements on the northern bank of the Sobat River, close to where the Sobat joins the Nile.

The Shilluk are the fourth largest ethnic group of Southern Sudan, after the Azande and their neighbours the Dinka and Nuer.

Their language is called Dhøg Cøllø, dhøg being the Shilluk word for language and mouth. It belongs to the Luo branch of the Western Nilotic subfamily of the Nilotic languages.

The Shilluk are the most northern Nilotic-speaking people in modern Africa. Shilluk country covers approximately 320 kilometers on the west bank of the White Nile, from 10° to 12° N and from 30° to 33° E. Shilluk oral traditions, however, indicate that at some time in the past their country reached to the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, the site of the modern city of Khartoum. At the time of the last official census (1956), the Shilluk were estimated to number 120,000 individuals. Most of Shilluk country is open savanna and free from the annual floods of the White Nile. The Shilluk language is most closely related to Anuak. Together, the two languages comprise a subfamily of the larger classification of Nilotic, which is spoken by different cultural groups throughout eastern Africa.

The Chollo nation comprises of about 100 different ethnic communities and clans: the indigenous people and the Luo conquerors , who double up as the most politically and socially dominant. The other important clans include kwa-Jullo kwa-Jwok (descendants of Ojwok - Nyikango’s cousin), kwa- Oboogo (Oboogo is said to have volunteered to be sacrificed in order to open up the weeds at the confluence of Nile and Bahr el Ghazal to enable the entourage proceed with their journey).
The descendents of the assimilated Otango Dirim include: kwa-nyidwai, kwa-dway, kwa-nyidhiang, kwa-mal, kwa-man, kwa-nyudho, kwa-mang , etc. Latter additions to the kingdom are kwa-mwoy , kwa-jango . These serve as social identity as well as special functions at Pachodo. The clans intermarried among each other without distinction.
However, tradition prohibits the Rath from taking as wife, a girl from among the kwa-Räth or kwa-Jullo. Each clan reproduces its own self and there is no chance for one clan changing to the other in spite of the extensive mixing resulting from marriages. However, a recalcitrant kwa-Räth clan could have its royalty removed in a special raid overseen by the reigning sovereign. They then become ordinary Shilluk .
The Shilluk ascribe to an elaborate traditional system, orally transmitted from generation to the next, in which each and every Shilluk clan, except the royals, has a defined role to play in the kingdom. They participate in the building and repairs of shrines ; the installation of the Räth. Some Shilluk traditions and customs have lost their values or originality. Most archaic traditions have been dropped, while some have lingered on although are transforming under the pressure of modernity.

The Shilluk society has evolved a material and political culture expressed in the institutions of the kingdom and the daily life activities, notwithstanding its oral nature. The kingdom rests on an elaborate system of traditions and practices that go back more than 500years. The royalty are addressed in a separate vocabulary.
The Shilluk are very particular about body cleanliness; the hair is constructed into two structures that give the impression of plates of hair on the head. They wear beads, and other decoration which include cutting dots on forehead and tattooing on the body. The Shilluk have developed music instruments: a kind of guitar (thom), flute made fom the horns of kudu (kang), (adalo), and drum (bul).
The Shilluk control and defence of the Nile channel promoted the evolution of a navy that used dug out canoes. They imported iron from the Nuba Mountains and Funj Kingdom for making spears (tong), axes (doro), knives (paalo) and hoes (kwer). The Shilluk have developed several and different types of dance: bul, thom, amagak, aya, etc., to mark different occasions. Their folklore is rich with fairy tales for children, quizzes, riddles, etc. Neighbours and Foreign Relations and Cooperation The Räth has had a moderating influence on the Shilluk and the cordial relations and mutual respect they have evolved with their neighbours: Salem Arabs in the north, Nuba in the west, Nuer in the south and Dinka and Funj in the east.

Video credit: LordNyikang

08/12/2024

Kenya and 4 other countries among the countries with Olympics medals globally.

08/09/2024

Mansa Musa, the 14th century African king of the Mali Empire, is widely considered the richest person to have ever lived. With an inflation adjusted fortune of $400 billion.

He was so outrageously rich that he's often considered the richest person ever!

But how did he accumulate such mind-boggling wealth? Let's find out!

One of the main reasons for Mansa Musa's wealth was his empire's control over lucrative trade routes, especially in gold and salt.

This made him the gatekeeper of enormous wealth flowing through Mali.

Mansa Musa also had vast gold mines within his empire, which contributed to his incredible riches.

The Mali Empire was known for its abundant gold reserves, and Mansa Musa had access to them all.

As a skilled diplomat and ruler, Mansa Musa established strong relationships with neighboring states and trading partners.

This enabled him to expand trade networks and increase his wealth through commerce and tribute.

Additionally, Mansa Musa's famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 played a significant role in showcasing his wealth.

During his journey, he distributed gold lavishly, leaving a lasting impression and gaining recognition as one of history's wealthiest individuals.

To give you an idea of the scale of Mansa Musa's wealth, historians estimate that his fortune was worth around $400 billion in today's money!

That's more than the current richest person in the world

Despite his unimaginable wealth, Mansa Musa was known for his generosity.

He funded the construction of schools, libraries, and mosques, promoting education and religious growth throughout the Mali Empire.

Mansa Musa's extraordinary wealth also put the Mali Empire on the world map.

It attracted traders, scholars, and explorers from distant lands, leading to cultural exchanges and contributing to the empire's prestige and influence.

08/07/2024

Check this out. Luol Deng of Chicago Bulls back in the days

08/07/2024

An amazing Ethiopian🇪🇹 young woman

08/05/2024

NG’UNDENG BONG’S PYRAMID OR THE PYRAMID OF DENG KUR

Ngundeng Pyramid (Thok Naath: Bi̱ɛh ŋundɛŋ or Yi̱k, Arabic: هرم نغوندنغ), also known as Pyramid of Dengkur, was a large mound shrine constructed by the Nuer people's prophet Ngundeng B**g (died 1906) at the end of the nineteenth century and added to by his son Guek Ngundeng (died 1929).The Ngundeng Pyramid, which was around 300 feet in circumference and 50 to 60 feet tall, cone-shaped, and encircled by a row of elephant tusks, was a symbol of the Nuer people's resistance to colonialism. The monument was dynamited on the orders of British colonial commander Percy Coriat in 1928, shortly after the first attempt to demolish it failed.

The construction of the Ngundeng Pyramid was believed to have begun in 1870 and was completed in four years in stages. The first phase began with the construction of huts for Ngundeng followers, who are the builders, which lasted one year; the second phase, which was the building phase, lasted two years; and the final stage, in which the Prophet Ngundeng fasted for seven days and summoned all Nuer from Nuerland to assemble in his village, lasted one year. For a four-year period, thousands of Nuer worked under the prophet's supervision building the Pyramid.Unlike the Nubian Pyramids in Northern Sudan, the Ngundeng Pyramid/Pyramid of Dengkur was constructed entirely of ash, animal dung, cotton soil, and clay—not a single stone or brick was used.

According to the Nuer, Ngundeng built it to honor his God, Dengtath (God of Creation), as well as to serve as a sanctuary and place of worship for the Nuer people.One of the prime examples was when Gaajiok(section of Eastern Jikany Nuer) women were once smitten with childlessness, and for many years they bore no male children. Finally, they undertook pilgrimages to the Ngundeng Pyramid in Lou Nuer territory, which had already established a reputation for holiness. They brought with them gifts of ivory tusks, beads, calves for slaughter, and so on, and it was at this time that the vast collection of tusks, embedded in the earth encircling the mound and gracing its top, was collected. Their prayers were answered, and they bore children again.
However, according to Percy Coriat, an administrator among the Nuer, and the first British official who became fluent in the Nuer language, the pyramid was built because the Nuer were plagued by smallpox and rinderpest, which were unknown to them at the time. Nuer believed that the pandemic had something to do with the earth or land. Prophet Ngundeng devised the notion of hiding these plagues beneath the ground. After the pyramid was completed and the sacrifice was made, the sicknesses stopped and did not occur again.

The Anglo-Egyptian army had taken control of the Sudan in 1898, it was not until 1916 that patrols were sent into Nuerland. By 1918, Guek, the son of Prophet Ngundeng who was possessed by Deng divinity(Sky God) after his father's death, was leading massive raids against the Dinka, bearing his pipe, magical spear, and a white bull. During one attack, his Nuer warriors destroyed nine Sudanese Regiments on the Dinka side. In September 1927, Major Jasper William George Wyld, known in short as "Wyld" or "Tiger", Bor's District Commissioner, said that his interpreter, a mamur and a Dinka chief, reported that Guek was plotting rebellion and he was planning to kill Percy Coriat. In November 1927, H.C. Jackson, the man who had first contacted Guek in 1921, wrote from Halfa Province, where he was then governor, and pointed out that when reports of Guek's alleged rebellion poured into Malakal in 1921, the pieces of evidence against Guek were completely false when he personally visited Guek - Jackson suggested that the same procedure should be followed.

The relationship between Guek and the government deteriorated when a local court and a native police force were established, significantly limiting Guek's authority, and when the government suggested building a road through Nuerland to connect it to the region of their adversaries, the Dinka. Soon, hundreds of bulls were sacrificed at the Pyramid's base, and warriors from all over Nuerland arrived, including forces led by two additional prophets, Char Koryom and Puok Kerjiok. In 1927, the Western Nuer District Commissioner Captain V.H. Fergusson was supposedly slain, along with a Greek merchant, by a group of Nuer led by minor Western Nuer prophet Gatluak Nyang, resulting in an order to arrest Guek.
On November 29th, 1928, Percy Coriat and C. Armine Willis, known as "Chunky" Willis, the army's commander-in-chief of the military forces in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, dispatched four British Royal Air Forces carrying 20-pound bombs to destroy the Ngundeng Pyramid, which the government had already identified as a symbol of Nuer resistance. The 20-pound bombs carried by four bi-plane bombers missed the Pyramid, and the Nuer fled to their sorghum fields. Another bombing and machine gun run against the Pyramid and the Nuer occurred the other day. The Royal Air Force raids killed two old men and 200 cattle during these plane attacks.

A large number of government troops successfully dispersed the Nuer and reached the Pyramid a few days after the Royal Air Force raids. The failure to destroy the pyramid lowered the government's prestige. The Royal Engineers were summoned in to demolish it using explosives. The second attempt to destroy the pyramid failed, as Percy Coriat described it: "A puff of white smoke and a few lumps of earth tumbling down the side was all they saw." The pyramid's foundation remained intact, while just the top had been removed. Nevertheless, the Khartoum administration informed the public and the world at large that the pyramid had been "completely destroyed.".

Follow this page to read more!

McGregor (2001-03-30). "A Nuer Pyramid: Upper Nile Province, South Sudan | Aberfoyle International Security". Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Short Biography of Guek Ngundeng B**g (Sept 1890 – Feb 1929) - Lich Research Institute". 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Dan Hicks on X". Pinterest. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"The pyramid of Deng Kur". -: The pyramid of Deng Kur, -: - -. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Sudan Notes and Records Volume 23 — Sudan Open Archive". sudanarchive.net. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Пирамида Nuer — Ngundeng pyramid". megalithica.ru. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Sudan Notes and Records Volume 18 — Sudan Open Archive". sudanarchive.net. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Sudan Notes and Records Volume 1 — Sudan Open Archive". sudanarchive.net. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
"Percy Coriat - Sudan Memory". www.sudanmemory.org. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
Coriat, Percy (April 9, 2018). Governing the Nuer. Africa World Books Pty Limited. ISBN 978-0994363152.
Coriat, P. (1939). "Gwek, the Witch-Doctor and the Pyramid of Denkgur". Sudan Notes and Records. 22 (2): 221–237. ISSN 0375-2984. JSTOR 41716333.
Johnson, Douglas H. (1979). "Colonial Policy and Prophets: The 'Nuer Settlement'". Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford. 10 (1): 1–20.
Johnson, Douglas H. (1981). "Percy Coriat on the Nuer". Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford. 12 (3): 199–206.

08/04/2024

D'Tigress of Nigeria 🇳🇬 onto the Quarter-Finals

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