AFRICAN KING
Like King Freddie Mpureza II, Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, King of the Zulus, shows two faces: modern, relaxed, and traditionally dressed in leopard skin hat and lions-tooth necklace.
Zwelithini is a constitutional monarch who has to abide by the decisions both of his provincial administration of KwaZulu-Natal, and the national, South African administration. It was Zwelithii who resurrected the Zulu Umhlanga or Reed Dance.
Like King Freddie Mpureza II, Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, King of the Zulus, shows two faces: modern, relaxed, and traditionally dressed in leopard skin hat and lions-tooth necklace.
Zwelithini is a constitutional monarch who has to abide by the decisions both of his provincial administration of KwaZulu-Natal, and the national, South African administration. It was Zwelithii who resurrected the Zulu Umhlanga or Reed Dance.
PALACES BUILT OF GRASS
Gonwangombe was one of the great, traditional palaces of Africa. As with all ethnic Bantu building, it consisted, not of one integrated structure, but of many separate unconnected huts, rooms of many different sizes, proportioned to their use. Each hut was built of a frame of wattle branches strapped into a frame using strips of bark, the walls later thickened with a mixture of cattle dung and mud, while the roof was thatched with elephant grass. The space left for the door was low and semi-circular, so an adult needed to stoop to enter; on cold winter nights this was closed by allowing a thick blanket to drop across it. The floors were smeared with a similar mud-dung mixture which was then polished. There were no windows.
Such huts had the great advantage over modern, European-style building that, while they could easily be kept warm at night by lighting a fire in the centre and allowing the smoke to escape through the thatched roof, they were cool in the heat of the day. They were also disposable. Once beyond repair - or if someone had died - they were easy to demolish and cheap to rebuild: this was usually done in a single day by neighbours gathering and working together, their reward being a good party when they'd finished.
Today's 'royalty' lives in proper palaces. Here is the main palace Comrade Robert Mugabe built for himself, while this article describes another great folly, Emperor Bokassa's crumbling palace in the Central African Republic, including the kitchens where he had his enemies cooked for dinner.
Such huts had the great advantage over modern, European-style building that, while they could easily be kept warm at night by lighting a fire in the centre and allowing the smoke to escape through the thatched roof, they were cool in the heat of the day. They were also disposable. Once beyond repair - or if someone had died - they were easy to demolish and cheap to rebuild: this was usually done in a single day by neighbours gathering and working together, their reward being a good party when they'd finished.
Today's 'royalty' lives in proper palaces. Here is the main palace Comrade Robert Mugabe built for himself, while this article describes another great folly, Emperor Bokassa's crumbling palace in the Central African Republic, including the kitchens where he had his enemies cooked for dinner.
HELICOPTER CRASH
This video of a helicopter crash shows how suddenly and totally a pilot can lose control of a helicopter, and how shocking it is to witness such an event.
This video of a helicopter crash shows how suddenly and totally a pilot can lose control of a helicopter, and how shocking it is to witness such an event.
FIRESTORM
The fire which consumed the great palace of Gonwangombe resembles those that destroyed Coventry, Dresden and Hamburg during the Second World war, and the forest and bush fires that have ravaged Los Angeles and Australia in recent years.
The fire which consumed the great palace of Gonwangombe resembles those that destroyed Coventry, Dresden and Hamburg during the Second World war, and the forest and bush fires that have ravaged Los Angeles and Australia in recent years.
AFRICAN BEER
The 'usupombe' beer to which Johnny refers is a variation on pombe, the loose name for any beer brewed at home in eastern Africa. Unlike European beers, it is cloudy and slightly porridgy when drunk. Its ingredients vary, but include millet, bananas, sugar and honey. Here is a song about pombe.
The 'usupombe' beer to which Johnny refers is a variation on pombe, the loose name for any beer brewed at home in eastern Africa. Unlike European beers, it is cloudy and slightly porridgy when drunk. Its ingredients vary, but include millet, bananas, sugar and honey. Here is a song about pombe.
ELEPHANT GRASS
Also called Napier grass, Pennistum purpureum grows to a height of 5 metres (15ft) and is native to the African savanna, though other elephant grasses grow in Asia. As well as a forage crop, for both wild and domestic animals, it is used for thatching houses, in basket making, in fencing, and may become an important biofuel.
Also called Napier grass, Pennistum purpureum grows to a height of 5 metres (15ft) and is native to the African savanna, though other elephant grasses grow in Asia. As well as a forage crop, for both wild and domestic animals, it is used for thatching houses, in basket making, in fencing, and may become an important biofuel.
15