Beautiful Africa - 5th Edition!

Welcome to the 5th edition of the carnival!!

We start by thanking everybody who submitted a post for this edition, and also those who agreed with the BA team to have a post from their blog featured in the edition. Those submissions that are not featured now will definitely have a place in the next edition. This edition includes posts from South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Nigeria and Mali.

Personal Experience
We open this edition of the carnival with Szavana's submission on her experience at the Medumo Jazz Fountain, posted at Szavanna_blog. She calls it "A great afternoon and evening spent at a local jazz event." Artistes who played at the event include Vivid Africa, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, and Freshlyground. She concludes the post by writing, "After the last song the audience was completely energised and you could see the positive energy in the crowd...."

Our second post in the Personal Experience category is from Travel Betty. The post is titled Terror Somewhere High Up Over Namibia, posted at TravelBetty. And the post is literally about terror high up over Namibia - in a hot air ballon. In a raw and gritty way, she takes the reader through the thoughts that went through her mind just as she was about to get in the hot air ballon, and - even more gritty - her experiences riding the hot air ballon over Namib-Naukluft Park near Sossusvlei in Namibia. Brace yourself for a terrifawing (neologism from Travel Betty) experience.

We conclude this category with a post from Angola. Posted at Unstrung , Lara Pawson writes a beautiful post titled Breathing Life into Adam. The post is about her experience in a traffic jam. A particularly impressively crafted description is of "Adam", a person she describes as "something out of a painting".


Sounds of Africa

I doubt that the blind couple of Mali need any introduction. Loomnie presents a short post titled Amadou et Miriam Bagayoko on them, with a link to a Youtube video. I love their music, and I am sure you too will!


Sights of Africa
Jaja presents Sunset and September, posted at And as I was saying.... Although there is no simple way to describe this post, one could say it is a mixture of picture and poetry; the deep feelings it evokes is what happens when you bring out beauty from a place like the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria, an area that is more popular for violence than beauty. The beauty is so haunting that it has generated not less than 60 comments.

Tim of Walking the Berkshires presents Adaptation, a post of a picture of a coppiced mopane tree that mirrors a "braided track with its reflecting pools of water". It is more than just a picture; it leads to a personal reflection. He says, in the closing paragraph, "...sometimes you have to stay on the path and apply steady pressure rather than striking out on your own".

Our third entry in this category is Etosha National Park, Namibia: Safari on the Salt Pana posted at Far Explore. The pictures are from a place decribed in the post as "one of the world’s great national parks".



Culture & Tradition
Tauratinzwe presents Parable of the Loerie posted at Observations of Africa, saying, "A little story set in Southern Africa with a message for the wise." It is a story I am sure you will all enjoy.


Creative Writing
Atutupoyoyo presents On……the brief meeting between Sherlock Holmes and King Jaja of Opobo, posted at On..................Everything. It is just what it says it is: a meeting between Sherlock Holmes and King Jaja of Opobo, of couse, with Watson in attendance. King Jaja was a merchant who founded the Opobo city-state in present day Nigeria. He was born in 1821 in Amaigbo, was sold into slavery at about age twelve, but later became a successful merchant whose city-state came to dominate the palm-oil trade in the the region. For more on him click here. I don't think I have to add that Atutu's post is a fiction.

Others
To close this edition of the carnival, we are featuring Continentism: Let’s stop talking about “AFRICA”, a post from Ariah Fine, posted at Trying to Follow. The post stems from a frustration at the way Africa is described in the global media. I think anybody who has been to any African country, and who sees the representation of Africa, especially in campaigns for charity, would understand his reaction.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the carnival, and that you are inspired to contribute to future editions of the carnival.

For submissions to the next edition please user our submission form. The November edition is reviewed by Szavanna. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Warm greetings,
Loomnie & the BA Team.