Additional research sources

The Dark Continent

The Dark Continent is a poem written by Mthoko Mpofana. The poem is all about Africa and its social situations. The title of the  poem itself suggests that what kind of continent is Africa and one can understand the condition prevails. Poet speaks that for him everything is Africa .Africa bears his hopes and fear poverty, famine, crime and AIDS are the words which spoil Africa’s name and bring shame .When some try to make Africa better some others won’t allow it. The poet feels shame on them. Those people continue to destroy what little Africa has. Now mother Africa is weeping. Still there is some sort of hope and there are chances for corrupting good nature. He hope that Africa will rise in the name of all that is good. The poet tries to bring out the real African condition and the nature of different kind of people who are residing in Africa.

Refugee Mother and Child

Refugee Mother and Child is a poem written by Chinnua Achebe. Refugee Mother and Child is a realistic picture of a woman reduced to the state of a refugee by political situation or natural calamities like famine. The poet does not give the location of the situation because this pathetic condition could be seen anywhere in Africa where people were left homeless either on account of the political situation or calamity. Whatever the reason may be the refugees are in a wretched state in their camps. The poet compares the refugee mother to the Virgin Mary holding her child Jesus in her arms. The second part of the poem presents a conventional picture of grief. The situation is helpless and nothing can be done to change it. The poem ends with a simile: her parting of the child’s hair is like putting flowers on a tiny grave. It cannot be denied that death is pathetic but the knowledge of approaching death is tragic. The refugee mother is portrayed in this tragic condition, and  the poet seems to suggest that what she experiences is beyond what even Virgin Mary faced.

Coming-of-Age Rituals in Africa: Tradition and Change

This essay written by Annika S. Hipple mainly deals with one of the social conditions of the dark continent. There are some movement as a part of ritual for boys and girls. There are some movements as a part of rituals for both boys and girls. Girls wear copper coils around their legs and boys were put under some hard experience as a ritual purity. These are the examples of the elaborate coming-of-age rituals with which traditional societies throughout Africa have marked the passage from childhood to adulthood. These ceremonies has great influence on changing social, economic and political conditions. African-coming of age rituals have traditionally consist of three main phases: separation from community, a period of transition and reincorporation into society. Many cultural aspects have fallen away and the procedures is performed seems decreasing throughout Africa. African women’s groups are working to establish alternative rituals that revive the cultural elements.

Ritual,Anti-Structure,and Religion:A Discussion of Victor Turners Processual Symbolic Analysis

Mathieu Deflem  in his paper offers a outline and discussion of Victor Turner’s anthropology of religion and ritual. This will elaborate on some important issues in the study of ritual and religion. He focussed on the functions of ritual. Rituals, performed by cult-associations cross cutting the boundaries of lineages and villages creates wider networks of associations. He speaks mainly about Ndembu rituals. Turner interestingly discover how ritual works, what ritual does, and how people handle symbols during ritual performances. In Turner’s approach ,religious belief seems to  correspond with the nature of reality itself.