Ouril

WARI is one of many similar board games played in various parts of the world. Generically known as mancala games, they have been played for thousands of years in Egypt, where “boards” have been found carved into the stone of the pyramid of Cheops and the temples at Luxor and Karnak.

This cast bronze statuette is the work of the Ashanti tribe of Ghana, where oware is the national game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oware). It is played throughout West Africa and the Caribbean. Among its many names are Ayo (Yoruba), Awalé (Côte d’Ivoire), Wari (Mali), Ouri, Ouril or Uril (Cape Verde), Warri (Caribbean), Adji (Ewe), and Awélé (Ga). A common name in English is Awari but one of the earliest Western scholars to study the game, R.S. Rattray, used the name Wari.

These Kenyan warriors have parked their spears to the side while playing wari. This photo comes from a book “Games of the World”, published by Swiss Committee for UNHCF in 1982. Reflecting traditional African values, players of Oware encourage participation by onlookers, making it one of the most social two-player games, providing a focus for entertainment and meeting others. The game, or variations of it, also had an important role in teaching arithmetic to African children.
African slaves brought mancala games to Surinam and the West Indies, where they survived unchanged. While in Africa, it is predominantly played my men, in Indonesia, the women dancers also play it to make their fingers supple for the intricate and elegant hand movements their dancing requires.

The wari board has six cups or compartments, called “houses”, on each player’s side, and a reservoir at the end (or anywhere for that matter) to hold captured pieces. In rural areas, the ground may also be used as a board; players simply scoop two rows of pits out of the earth.

romeu e julieta (1884, sir francis dicksee)

But to be frank, and give it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the thing I have.
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep. The more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

kuza sabe ta acaba depressa

e que me perdoem os fanáticos do ALUPEC se está mal escrito. mas hoje acordei a pensar que em breve vou tornar a dar aulas e largar esta vida pura de investigação e senti um aperto no coração. as palavras do título balançaram-se à minha frente, provocadoras, em lento sriptease e eu pensei ... porra, como é que dantes gostava tanto de dar aulas?

malcolm x

BIOGRAPHY

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louise Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family's eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl's civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday.

Regardless of the Little's efforts to elude the Legion, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground. Two years later, Earl's body was found lying across the town's trolley tracks. Police ruled both incidents as accidents, but the Little's were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise suffered emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages.

Growing up

Malcolm was a smart, focused student. He graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger," Malcolm lost interest in school. He dropped out, spent some time in Boston, Massachusetts working various odd jobs, and then traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various narcotics, prostitution and gambling rings.

Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, moved back to Boston. In 1946 they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges, and Malcolm was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (He was paroled after serving seven years.) Recalling his days in school, he used the time to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm's brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent conversion to the Muslim religion. Reginald belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam (NOI).

Intrigued, Malcolm began to study the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the NOI fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname "X." (He considered "Little" a slave name and chose the "X" to signify his lost tribal name.)


A born leader

Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, as well as radio and television to communicate the NOI's message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, called "The Hate That Hate Produced." The program explored the fundamentals of the NOI, and tracked Malcolm's emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad.

Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's vivid personality had captured the government's attention. As membership in the NOI continued to grow, FBI agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted as Malcolm's bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps, cameras and other surveillance equipment to monitor the group's activities.

A test of faith

Malcolm's faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that his mentor and leader, Elijah Muhammad, was secretly having relations with as many as six women within the Nation of Islam organization. As if that were not enough, Malcolm found out that some of these relationships had resulted in children.

Since joining the NOI, Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad - which included remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad's request to help cover up the affairs and subsequent children. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a living prophet. Malcolm also felt guilty about the masses he had led to join the NOI, which he now felt was a fraudulent organization built on too many lies to ignore.

Shortly after his shocking discovery, Malcolm received criticism for a comment he made regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. "[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon," said Malcolm. After the statement, Elijah Muhammad "silenced" Malcolm for 90 days. Malcolm, however, suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 Malcolm terminated his relationship with the NOI. Unable to look past Muhammad's deception, Malcolm decided to found his own religious organization, the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

A new awakening

That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life altering. For the first time, Malcolm shared his thoughts and beliefs with different cultures, and found the response to be overwhelmingly positive. When he returned, Malcolm said he had met "blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers." He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration and a new hope for the future. This time when Malcolm spoke, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.

After Malcolm resigned his position in the Nation of Islam and renounced Elijah Muhammad, relations between the two had become increasingly volatile. FBI informants working undercover in the NOI warned officials that Malcolm had been marked for assassination. (One undercover officer had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in Malcolm's car).

After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed. Luckily, the family escaped physical injury.

The legacy of "X"

One week later, however, Malcolm's enemies were successful in their ruthless attempt. At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage. They shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem on February 27, 1965 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ (now Child's Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ). After the ceremony, friends took the shovels away from the waiting gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves.

Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.

Malcolm's assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed movie, Malcolm X. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design.

Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

a ilha dos escravos

A Ilha dos Escravos (Francisco Manso e Ana Costa)

Story Line

O filme decorre em Cabo Verde (na ilha de Santiago), durante a primeira metade do século 19, com breves segmentos de extensão a Lisboa e Viena de Áustria e flashbacks, centrados na ilha de Santo Antão e em Salvador, na Baía, pelos fins do século 18.

O levantamento de tropas, na Cidade da Praia, instigado por oficiais desterrados para o arquipélago, em consequência da derrota dos partidários do infante D. Miguel, na guerra civil portuguesa, é o núcleo histórico do filme. Os rebeldes, contrariando as suas próprias convicções anti-liberais, tentaram aliciar para o seu campo a população escrava, à falta de outros meios humanos que lhes corporizem os desígnios.

Conspiração político-militar por um lado, insurreição de escravos por outro, ambas associadas, mas só transitoriamente convergentes, e a mistura não podia ser senão explosiva. Se o núcleo histórico do filme é abertamente conflituoso, o núcleo dramático não o é menos, com uma tecitura melodramática, que nos remete, em pleno, para o período romântico, em que a acção decorre.

Sinopse

O escravo João alimenta um amor platónico e inconsolável pela sua senhora, a bela mestiça clara Maria, de quem recebeu instrução. Provavelmente franzino demais para o trabalho nas plantações, foi escolhido para jardineiro e hortelão, actividades em que se revelou exímio. Assim está perto da casa onde vive Maria, o que lhe consente privar com ela. Dotado de grande inteligência, acompanha as lições da ama e aprende a ler. O pai de Maria é um próspero fazendeiro viúvo, também mestiço, antigo sargento do exército colonial português de nome Cláudio, amo complacente para com os seus escravos.

Chega, vindo de Portugal, um misterioso emissário. Albano Lopes intitula-se comerciante, mas traz a missão de provocar o levantamento da oficialidade, com fortes inclinações anti-liberais, em favor do banido infante D. Miguel. Esta personagem logo se fascina pela beleza de Maria e tenta, sem êxito, seduzi-la.

Mas o comportamento do emissário misterioso é equívoco. Tão equívoco como o nome que esconde outro, esse só revelado nos desfechos. Insinuante e de falas mansas, qual Iago do drama “Otelo”, alcança, graças aos bons serviços do Mestre Tesoura, negro liberto, nascido no Brasil, comerciante instalado na Ilha com ascendente na população da ilha, a simpatia de alguns escravos, mas não do escravo João, que vê nele um potencial rival, embora o pobre não alimente esperanças de vir a consumar a sua paixão secreta.

Só a escrava Luísa, por sua vez apaixonada por João, sabe do recalcado amor que consome o seu inconsolável amado. A situação quase triangular torna-se quadrangular, quando Albano Lopes mais se aproxima da família do sargento Cláudio e lhe faz crer que quer casar com a filha: o escravo João ama Maria, a escrava Luísa ama o escravo João e o sinistro-simpático Albano Lopes faz namoro a Maria, que hesita …

Mas a conspiração para tomar conta do regimento e do governo do arquipélago está em marcha, liderada pelo misterioso Albano Lopes, que consegue atrair para a sua causa alguns escravos e ex-escravos, entre os quais o Mestre Tesoura. Em criança, em Salvador da Baía, este tinha assistido à execução do pai, que se revoltara contra a repressão exercida pelo poder colonial sobre a população negra brasileira, episódio que jamais esqueceria e que o marcou para sempre, e que veremos em flashback.

Com o eclodir da conspiração, ocorre, a imbricar a trama, um acontecimento aparentemente imprevisto. De um barco negreiro, a caminho das Américas, foge um grupo de escravos, recém capturados nas costas da Guiné. Entre eles, com a postura de um príncipe tribal, Enok, que se interna nas montanhas e passa a chefiar um aguerrido grupo de escravos fujões.

A prisão da velha Júlia, ao tentar proteger alguns fugitivos, vai precipitar os acontecimentos. Júlia, escrava liberta, congrega em si as tradições ancestrais africanas, transplantadas para o arquipélago e misturadas com crenças e ritualismos da religião católica. Vítima, enquanto jovem e escrava, da repressão de um cruel fazendeiro de Santo Antão, perdeu amado e filho, num drama remoto que o entrecho esclarecerá em flashback. Dele trouxe uma cicatriz horrenda que lhe arrepanha o rosto. É temerosamente respeitada como matriarca e feiticeira.

Enok, pelo seu desafrontamento instintivamente guerreiro e pré-colonial, será uma espécie de contraponto à aculturação do escravo João que é confrontado com o facto de ser filho de Júlia e será empurrado para liderar o movimento da sua libertação.

Ambos, cada um por sua banda, espontaneamente Enok, dedutivamente João, vão pôr em causa o pronunciamento e a aliança espúria entre escravos iludidos e brancos ilusores.

Dilacerado entre a fidelidade aos da sua raça e o sentimento de gratidão para com os seus senhores, onde predomina a paixão impossível por Maria, sua jovem senhora, a quem deve a promoção cultural que o distingue dos outros escravos, João será uma figura dramaticamente complexa e contraditória. Escravo também pela amarra dos sentimentos, João encarna, na negritude, o torturado herói romântico, adversário de tudo e de todos, e por todos incompreendido.

A morte de Cláudio, numa noite de amor, vai perturbar os planos de Albano. Maria, cedendo a um desejo do falecido pai, liberta todos os escravos da fazenda. Estes marcham para a cidade, liderados por João, para exigirem do governador a libertação de Júlia.

Assustados, os brancos da Ilha fecham-se na igreja onde ficam sequestrados. Albano aproveita o acontecimento para substituir os comandos militares e libertar Júlia. Mas os escravos, satisfeitos, retiram-se para as fazendas, deixando o terreno ao adversário. Excedido pelos excessos verificados, o cônsul francês, que negociara facilidades portuárias com Albano em troca de apoio político, volta com a palavra atrás e vai colaborar na libertação dos sequestrados da igreja. Os oficiais portugueses sentem-se humilhados e retomam o controle da situação. Os conspiradores são perseguidos, e capturados.

João acabará por sacrificar a própria vida, ao salvar Maria, no desfecho, em que defronta o rival, Albano. Na fuga, este refugia-se na fazenda de Maria e tenta convencê-la a acompanhá-lo. Perante a recusa dela, Albano tenta possuí-la. João intervém para defender Maria. Mas outros fazendeiros brancos, que vêm proteger Maria, chegam a tempo de ver um escravo a atacar um branco e disparam sobre ele. À beira da morte, João recebe de Maria o primeiro e último beijo nos lábios …

O conspirador Albano Lopes foge, entretanto, vindo a ser trespassado por um arpão baleeiro, empunhado pelo vingador Enok, que se salvará com um punhado de ex escravos, no veleiro que Albano pretendia utilizar na fuga, de proa apontada à costa de África, retorno e partida dos seus destinos.

A revolta é sufocada e os principais revoltosos miguelistas executados no pátio do forte. Mestre Tesoura tem igual sorte, mas diante do pelotão de execução clama a sua inconformação, lançando a voz para os tempos que hão-de vir. Evidencia-se que o Mestre Tesoura pretendia, subterraneamente, aproveitar-se das confrontações e das lutas entre os brancos para redimir os da sua raça.

A velha Júlia e muitos escravos fugidos, acolhidos na caverna onde ela vive, acabarão esmagados por uma avalanche, quando bombardeados pela artilharia do exército regular, em operação de “pacificação”.

Um enviado do Ministério da Marinha português, chegado em missão de inquérito na ilha, no decorrer das confrontações, será o representante da reposição da legalidade, agora profundamente influenciada pelos sangrentos acontecimentos que se viveram na Ilha.

africa works

From February 2008, a new global communication campaign in favour of micro-credit in Senegal
Benetton supports and promotes Africa for Africans.
In partnership with Youssou N’Dour

Dakar, 13^th February 2008. Benetton puts the spotlight on entrepreneurial Africa. Its global communication campaign for 2008 promotes the Birima micro-credit programme in Senegal, a co-operative credit society founded by the Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour. The programme will also receive financial support from Benetton Group.

Africa Works – the slogan of the campaign developed by Fabrica – will appear on billboards and in the press throughout the world, from February 2008. It features Senegalese workers who have used micro loans to start small, productive businesses. Photographer James Mollison portrays them with the tools of their trade against a neutral background. They include, amongst others, a fisherman, a decorator, a musician, a jewellery-maker, a farmer, a tailor, two textile sellers and a boxer. These everyday people become tangible symbols of an Africa that uses the dignity of work to fight poverty, promote equitable development, maximise its resources and take back responsibility for creating its future.

Alessandro Benetton, Executive Deputy Chairman of Benetton Group explains the conviction with which Benetton has backed the project: “We chose to support and promote this important project because, unlike traditional acts of solidarity, it offers tangible support to small local entrepreneurs through the efficient use of micro-credit. Precisely because it is based on entrepreneurial talent, hard work, optimism and interest for the future, this project effectively promotes the new face of Africa.”

Youssou N’Dour, one of Africa’s best-known singers and a man committed to humanitarian projects, comments: “my personal experience led me to realise that when a loan, however small, is used to develop an idea or realise a project, it is an effective way of fighting poverty. This is why everybody must understand the value of micro-credit. Africa doesn't want charity, it wants repayable subsidised loans.”

In addition to outdoor and press advertising, the new Benetton campaign, officially presented today in Dakar, includes a series of projects and events: a special supplement distributed with Colors 73 about money in its myriad forms and substances; a new version of Birima, song recorded by Youssou N’Dour in 2000 and re-arranged by him in 2008 with the extraordinary participation of Patti Smith, Simphiwe Dana, Irene Grandi and Francesco Renga; a videoclip of the song; a cartoon about micro-credit produced specifically for the Senegalese community and African TV channels; a Benetton website devoted to the campaign and its related events and the www.birima.org portal, both devised and developed by Fabrica. The Africa Works campaign will also be on stage during the Senegalese singer's world tour, in particular during his concert at Paris Bercy on 5 April 2008.

Birima, N’Dour's co-operative credit society, offers financial services for SMEs, craftspeople, professionals and artists to help them start and independently develop their business. Apart from being the title of one of the singer's international successes, Birima is the name of a legendary king of Senegal who, speaking to his people only once a year, became a symbol of the value of keeping one’s word, of a moral code reflected in the credit society's key tenet: those who ask for a loan need offer no other security than their word and the good name of their family.

Confidently based on Africa's traditional, deep-rooted principles of honour and dignity, Birima looks to the future of the continent and responds to its increasing need for funding. Compared to normal micro-crediting, Birima grants higher loans for a longer period of time provided the submitted project has a positive effect on the community and can guarantee profits and development. Senegal was chosen for the pilot project because it is one of the most stable African countries, albeit with significant differences in income among the population. From Senegal, Birima's style of advanced credit will be gradually exported to other African nations.

Core concepts of Benetton’s advertising are reiterated in this new campaign. By supporting and promoting a fund to finance work in Senegal, Benetton underlines the importance of co-operating with organisations dedicated to solidarity. At the same time, the campaign emphasises how the commitment of a single person can put the wheels in motion to generate change in society as a whole. These ideas were highlighted in the Volunteers in Colors campaign in 2001, produced with United Nations Volunteers for the International Year of Volunteers, in 2003 in the Food for Life campaign with the World Food Programme, and again in 2004 in the campaign for the protection of the great primates, James & Other Apes.

www.benetton.com/africaworks-press
www.birima.org
www.benettonpress.mobi

vivafit

Não estou a fazer publicidade, até porque não me pagam para isso ... mas ontem a "yours truly" entrou finalmente para o vivafit! Adorei! Parece-me que me vou fartar em breve, porque vendo bem, é um bocado chato fazer o mesmo circuito todos os dias mas ... pode ser que os resultados me entusiasmem. O ambiente é descontraído e a instrutora que me calhou ... bem mais gordita do que eu! Ora viva, pelo menos não me vou sentir complexada!