Krachi Powers

"Caliban, in order to find out his character after 300 years of slavery and subordination, has to venture into fields that Caesar never knew." - CLR James

[anakwa]

One constituency...

One million dollars. That was the promise made by the Ghana government. This money would "meet" demands from people at the district level and would help to fund infrastructure, social interventions etc as needed.

But unsurprisingly it quickly became clear it would be a vehicle for corruption, and capture by political "foot soldiers."

The report below says as much

[anakwa]

The Sound of the Cosmos

Anakwa Dwamena on 3 photographs in the Tender Photo Archive

Btw, a very brief “essay” I published not too long ago on photography

[anakwa]

A thousand words

Photography writing (or writing about photography) has been on my mind. Specifically the utility of describing a picture that we can already see. For probably the last six months, I thought it was of marginal utility. An exercise to set the stage for further observation, and nothing of use in and of itself. 

But I think I’ve changed my mind today. I’ve been going through Emmanuel Iduma’s Tender photo archive for writing inspiration. [Disclaimer: I published a piece in there not too long ago] And I see now that the choice of words that a writer uses to describe the images reveals a lot about the writer. Not in a biographical sense. But about their artistic sensibilities. And this “filter” helps you to see the image in a different way. Hopefully a good way.  

[anakwa]

Birds and the trees

I walked to my window for fresh air last night, when the lights went out. I rested my hands on the louvre blades, admitting the cold feel. But the real delight was hearing the merengue of the trees in the wind, and the scrum of birds taunting each other like teenagers at the mall. 

Its cliche to say this: it is scary how we can shift to a mode where we don’t notice these things. Going about our day with notifications and wireless waves, forgetting the true magic that happens in the air. 

[anakwa]

Tallest building 

https://youtu.be/pE8ciMkayVM?t=3200

[anakwa]

The marriage refusal fable

From Joseph Campbell. 

https://youtu.be/pE8ciMkayVM?t=2001

I found a collection from northern Ghana. 

[anakwa]

Repetitions

I’ve long wanted to track this in someway. I’ve often come across things in twos (especially when in Ghana) and I think that collecting these echoes might yield an interesting observations. I will remember some of the ones I unfortunately didn’t write down later and add them. But for now this one. 

My grandma’s sister told me about how she was sent (as a small child) to live with a woman who was hoping to conceive children. I thought that was bizarre. My rational mind questions the kind of “magic” or “force” or “principle” that would make a child appear because there is another little child around.

But yesterday, my best friends mom told me the same thing. Her father had left her in their village, Odumase. And only came back for her after a pastor made the recommendation. Her father had gone with his new wife (her stepmother) to a prayer meeting, and after prayers, the pastor divined and demanded he bring his abandoned daughter back into the fold. The stepmother gave birth 2 years from then. 

[anakwa]

It remained fairly stable from 1990 to 2019, with the exception of Southern Africa, where it increased significantly. Among historical determinants, this geographical pat- tern seems to reveal the long shadow of settler colonialism, at least in Sub-Saharan Africa

https://amory-gethin.fr/files/pdf/CCGMR2022.pdf

Inequality in Africa. 

[anakwa]

[anakwa]

Search and license clips from Reuters vast archive of news video footage, dating back to 1896

[anakwa]

I’m back here. This song came into my head randomly, and when I searched it to play it, it reminded me of the good old days on Tumblr. “Discovery” art of the diaspora and the expansive imagination we carry. 

NPVDL

[obengwoha]

Mmoadoma Nyinaa Twene

Anansesɛm sesɛ o!

M’anansesɛm yi, ne tiri ne Mmoadoma Nyinaa Twene.

Nyɛ mmoadoma nyinaa na wɔkɔɔ ewiram kɔ nwenee twene wawasoɔ bi a, wohwɛ a ɛnhwɛ koraa. Wɔnwenee twene no wieɛ no ɛna mmoadoma nyinaa no hene hyɛɛ ɛda a, wɔbɛyi aboa a ɔbɛsoa twene no.

Enti ɛda no duruuiɛ no, Ɔmanhene maa Ɔkyeame too nsa frɛɛ ɔman mu no nyinaa ma wɔnbɛbɔɔ dɔmpem ɛwɔ ahenfie hɔ.

Enti Ɔhene no de too Ɔkyeame anim sɛ, ɔmfa nto amanfoɔ anim sɛ twene wawasoɔ yi, aboa a ɔbɛsoa yɛ aboa a, ne ho ɛyɛ tan yie pa ara. Nti ɛmaa mmoa no nyinaa tɔɔ emun dinn.

Ɛhɔ ara na Kontromfi, ɔnim sɛ yɛde no nti, ɔsɔree sɛ: "Ɔkyeame, ma no ɛnto Ɔberempɔn ne amanfoɔ sɛ, twene no mensoa", ɛwɔ aberɛ a, obiara nnya nkaa sɛ, ɔno na ɔbɛsoa. Ɔnoara nim sɛ, deɛ adeɛ wɔ ɔno no, ɔnoara na ɔdie. Enti ɔno na ɛsɛ sɛ ɔbɛsoa.

M'anansesɛm yi, ɛha yi ara na me de bɛsi. Merekɔ na obi foforɔ nso abɛto bi.

Mompene me ɛ!

Kutawonsa 12, 2020

[anakwa]

[anakwa]

[anakwa]

We Asked 8,000 Incarcerated People What They Think About Politics

This first-of-its kind survey polled prisoners on political parties, criminal justice reform and which presidential candidate they’d support.

[anakwa]

Robin Kelley on Solidarity v Empathy

One thing about empathy is that it often pivots around taking a singular story, someone’s singular experience, and then, from that, projecting out. As if that singular experience—empathizing with the individual—then allows us to understand everyone who might be suffering from a particular set of circumstances or struggles. It gets you into the problem of “innocence.” That is, you empathize with victims and not so much with under­standing the people who are not identified as victims, not “innocent,” but as per­petrators. I agree that what I try to do is to understand other positions

[curating-africa]

When you are surrounded by vultures, try not to die

Ivorian proverb

An African Leader Bestiary

(via curating-africa)