"Blogger and African historian"?

My name appears somewhere in this article in this Canadian magazine, where I am referred to as a "Blogger and African historian" when quoting something I had written. I don't know when I attained this credential conferred on me by this author.

Nevertheless, although I'm hardly a scholar, if an "African historian" is one who focuses on removing Eurocentric biases and challenging colonial narratives that portrayed Africa as having no history before European arrival, then maybe I have inadvertently earned myself this designation. 

Warrior Women of West Africa

The Ingoma

The centuries-old Burundi drumming tradition centres on the ingoma (sacred royal drums). Performed by groups in a semicircle, it combines synchronised drumming, heroic poetry, and athletic dancing. Designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, it remains a powerful symbol of Burundian identity.

The Significance of the Ingoma

In pre-colonial times, drums were the sonic emblem of royal authority. They were reserved exclusively for royal ceremonies, coronations, and to welcome important visitors, with certain drums viewed as sacred state artifacts. Today, the tradition is not just a musical performance; it represents peace, unity, and ancestral heritage.

The Performance

A traditional performance involves at least a dozen (always an odd number) of heavy ingoma arranged in a semicircle around a central drum. The drummers balance the heavy drums on their heads as they walk onto the stage, singing and playing. Several drummers hold a continuous rhythm, while others dance acrobatically and play at the same time. The dancers may be accompanied by members carrying ornamental spears and shields.

Modern Regulations and Heritage

Traditionally, the skill and profession of drumming were passed down from father to son, primarily within specific drum sanctuaries such as the one in Gishora. However, the tradition has faced modern challenges. The Burundian government has strictly regulated performances and appearances at international events to protect the sacred nature of the drums.

Strict Presidential Decrees

As the drums grew popular globally, the Burundian government stepped in to prevent the commercialisation of their sacred heritage. A 2017 presidential decree officially banned women from playing the royal drums. The law imposes a fine of roughly $270 USD on any group that allows a woman to drum. The drums can now only be played at official state ceremonies. Playing the ingoma at private parties, weddings, or cultural festivals without government permission is strictly illegal.

International Fame & Musical Influence

The Royal Drummers of Burundi became global icons in the late 20th century. Their powerful rhythms directly shaped modern Western music. They began touring internationally in the 1960s, captivating audiences with their intense physical energy.

The Gishora Drum Sanctuary

If you ever travel to Burundi, Gishora is the heart of this living history. Situated on a hilltop near the town of Gitega (the new capital).

Inside the Gishora Sanctuary & The Rituals of the Abatimbo

The Gishora Drum Sanctuary is not just a museum or a performance stage; it is an active spiritual compound managed by the Abatimbo—a lineage of ritualists descended from ancient royal court leaders.

The Guardianship of Silent Spirits: The Abatimbo protect two highly revered, ancient drums that are never allowed to be beaten. They are named Ruciteme ("the one for whom we clear the forest") and Murimirwa ("the one for whom we cultivate"). They represent the spirits of past kings and the fertility of the nation's soil.

The Ritual Architecture: The sanctuary is built like a traditional pre-colonial royal palace compound (urugo), surrounded by a woven bamboo fence. The drums are housed inside specialised straw huts that function as shrines.

Sowing and Harvest Ceremonies: Historically, the Abatimbo performed the Muganuro (the festival of the sorghum sowing). Before the king could eat the first harvest, the Abatimbo spent days performing purification rituals and specific rhythm sequences on the Ingendanyi (the "retinue" or active performance drums) to bless the national agriculture.

The Living Lineage: Today, local boys are initiated into the Abatimbo lineage from childhood. They are taught that drumming is an act of spiritual endurance, requiring them to learn epic historical poetry, precise combat-style choreography, and the specific sonic patterns passed down for centuries.

Burundi

The Kingdom of Burundi also known as Kingdom of Urundi (Kirundi: Ubwami bw'Urundi), was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of mwami) ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis.

The date of the foundation of the Kingdom of Burundi is unknown, and the exact context of the state's foundation are disputed. The region was originally inhabited by Twa hunter-gatherers before the influx of Bantu farmers from about the 11th century. The valleys and hills became home to a patchwork of farmers, fishermen, and foragers. Pastoralists (associated with cattle) arrived in waves. Based on societal and oral traditions, it is generally believed that the region's pastoralists were the ancestors of the later Tutsi ethnic group, while the agriculturalists became the Hutus, however the exact origins of Burundi's ethnic groups remain unclear and disputed. Many local and regional dynasties developed, eventually coalescing around two political centres; one in the north and one in the south.

The Twa, Hutu, and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent kingdom. In 1885, it became part of the German colony of German East Africa. After the First World War and Germany's defeat, the League of Nations mandated the territories of Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda to Belgium in a combined territory called Rwanda-Urundi. After the Second World War, this transformed into a United Nations Trust Territory.

Burundi gained independence in 1962 and initially retained the monarchy. However, a coup d'état in 1966 replaced the monarchy with a one-party republic, and for the next 27 years, Burundi was ruled by a series of ethnic Tutsi dictators and notably experienced a genocide of its Hutu population in 1972. 

Burundi remains primarily a rural society, with just 13.4% of the population living in urban areas in 2019. The country is densely populated, and many young people emigrate in search of opportunities elsewhere. Roughly 81% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 18% are Tutsi, and fewer than 1% are Twa. The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi, French, and English—Kirundi being officially recognised as the sole national language. English was made an official language in 2014.

Gitega, formerly Kitega, is the country's political capital. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly 62 kilometres (39 mi) east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth largest city and former royal capital of the Kingdom of Burundi until its abolition in 1966.

Bujumbura, formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, former political capital, largest city and main port. Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative centre and de facto capital of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura upon Burundi's independence in 1962.

The Port of Bujumbura is the largest port on Lake Tanganyika. Burundi depends on neighbouring countries for access to the ocean. Goods may be carried by road via Rwanda, or by the lake and then by road or rail via Tanzania, Congo or Zambia. 80% of Burundi's external trade is carried via the last three routes, using the Port of Bujumbura. The port manages receipt and delivery of exports and imports, whether carried by ship or by truck. As of 2011 more than 90% of cargo handled was imports, of which about 60% entered by ship and 40% by truck.

I shall do a different post focused on the Burundi drumming tradition.

Also, I should be passing through Bujumbura in September, 2026. I've got this East Africa tour lined up.

Grok yet again

"The X post promotes a personal blog entry questioning reparations for Africa's role in the transatlantic slave trade, highlighting African kingdoms' complicity in capturing and selling about 90% of the 12-15 million enslaved people to Europeans between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Drawing on historical examples like the Kingdom of Dahomey and Niger Delta traders, the author argues Africans should apologize to descendants of the enslaved rather than demand compensation for the trade itself, while supporting reparations for colonial exploitation.

This perspective challenges the victim-only narrative in ongoing discussions, such as Ghana's upcoming March 2026 UN resolution to declare the slave trade a crime against humanity and seek redress from former colonial powers."

Here https://thingsifeelstronglyabout.blogspot.com/2026/01/reparations-for-africa.html

Things I Feel Strongly About: My Sleepwalker

Things I Feel Strongly About: My Sleepwalker: The phone on my desk rang. It was Silla from reception asking if I was available to see a client who was very upset and wanted to see someon...

Azande warriors chose boys as wives

Why the Azande warriors of North Central Africa chose boys as wives in the 1800s

By Mildred Europa Taylor, June 1, 2018

Former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe once described homosexuality as “un-African” and a “white disease.”

Other African leaders, plus several other people on the continent have shared in his view, and this has elicited homophobia, persecution and anti-gay laws in countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.

In recent years, it has been made clear that same-sex sexual relations existed in traditional African societies even before the colonisers arrived.

From the 16th century, homosexuality has been recorded in Africa by European missionaries and anthropologists.

An example of this is the boy-wives’ tradition of the Azande ethnic group of North Central Africa.

Formed in the 19th century, the Azande people were a warrior tribe mostly found in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These warriors were not only practising homosexuality and bi-sexuality but actually married boys or young men.

According to anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard, there was a scarcity of women for these warriors, particularly, the poorer ones at the time due to social traditions.

As such, men or warriors who were against masturbation were expected to marry boys and satisfy their sexual needs with them.

A warrior who is ready for this would select a boy between the ages of 12-20, go to his parents’ house and request the boy’s hand in marriage.

He would have to pay a bride price for the boy, usually in the form of spears or other items.

Once married, the husband would then have to take care of the boy's parents, who are now his in-laws.

The boy would also take on household duties like a woman, including collecting firewood, fetching water and holding the warrior shield when travelling.

"At night the boy slept with his lover, who had intercourse with him between his thighs (intercrural). (Azande expressed disgust at the suggestion of anal penetration). The boys got what pleasure they could by the friction of their organs on the husband’s belly or groin.

“However, even though there was this side to the relationship, it was clear from Zande accounts that there was also the comfort of a night sharing of the bed with a companion,” Evans-Pritchard wrote in his work published in early 20th century.

Note that, the warriors of the Zande people were not the only ones practising this; young princes were also involved. 

If a boy appealed to a Zande prince, the prince would take on the boy as a servant and a sexual outlet. The prince would also compensate the boy’s family.

There were men who had female wives but also married boys. During wars, they took the boys with them to perform duties at base camp.

One interesting fact is that unlike instances of homosexuality, sex between Azande men did not have much to do with love and longer unions. They only wanted sexual gratification, companionship and service.

Marriage to a woman was still what they hoped for. They just loved boys because women were scarce. 7

Besides, the husbands would eventually marry women, and the cycle would continue with the former boy-wife following the same direction.

This tradition ended in the early 20th. century, Evans-Pritchard noted.

Source: Why the Azande Warriors of North Central Africa Chose Boys as Wives in the 1800s

More details: The Boy Wives of the Azande of the Sudan

My own humble contribution at this point is that we cannot know for sure that there was no romance involved in every single case of same-sex marriage between Azande men. From what we know of human sexuality, this would have been highly unlikely. The Azande knew very well that some men preferred to have sex with other men. And although every man was expected to marry a woman, Azande customs provided a man with an excuse to have sex with another man whenever he wanted, throughout life. Marriage between warriors and recruits was only a part of the Azande accommodation to male homosexuality.

Azande warriors — Pinterest

Evans-Pritchard with Azande boys during his field trip 1926-9