Valariesblog

  Yaa Asantewa was a courageous queen mother of the Ashanti empire which is in present day Ghana. The story of Yaa Asantewa is intricately tied to the golden stool. The Golden stool was an emblem of the cultural system and power of the Ashanti Kingdom, it is believed to harbor all the souls of the Ashanti people. As the queen mother, her major role was safeguarding the stool.     In the late 1800s, the Ashanti people began to rebel against the British expansion (Gold Coast Colony) into their territory. This led to frequent clashes between the British soldiers and Ashanti warriors, it continued until 1863, when the Ashanti warriors invaded some of the coastal villages that were supporting the British.     In response, the governor Frederick Mitchell Hudgson, in 1896, captured and exiled the King of the Kingdom (Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh 1), his mother, his father, his brother, some chiefs and Kofi Tene, who happened to be Yaa Asantewa 's Grandson to Sierra Leone...

  A child born with natural dreadlocks is called "Dàda" in Yorùbá Language. Dàda are children born with naturally matted or dreadlocks that must never be shaved off and their hair is difficult to comb. They are believed to be special and have unique and spiritual capabilities like the gift of healing, extreme intelligence, and physical strength. It is believed that their strength and overall good health are tied to their hair and it must therefore not be tempered with. It is also believed that they are the bringers of wealth, which is symbolized by cowrie shells. Apart from their mothers, no other person must touch the hair of these children. Shaving a Dàda's hair must be accompanied by a special ritual. After the ritual is performed, the hair is collected into a pot of water containing special herbs and kept by the parents of the child. Most of them have their hair shaved off before puberty or adulthood. The trend is now changing as with the advent of moderni...

  GREAT ZIMBABWE Great Zimbabwe, located in present-day Zimbabwe, is a sprawling archaeological site that was once the capital of a powerful kingdom in southern Africa. Flourishing between the 11th and 15th centuries, Great Zimbabwe was one of the most significant trading centers in the region. At its height, Great Zimbabwe was a bustling city with impressive stone structures, including massive stone walls, towers, and enclosures. The most iconic feature of Great Zimbabwe is the Great Enclosure, a massive stone structure with walls towering up to 36 feet high. The craftsmanship of these structures, built without mortar, is a testament to the engineering skills of the people who inhabited the area. Great Zimbabwe's wealth and influence were built on trade, particularly in gold, ivory, and other commodities. The kingdom's strategic location along trade routes linking the interior of Africa with the Indian Ocean allowed it to thrive as a center of commerce and cultural exchange. D...

ATLANTIS In the dialogues "Timaeus" and "Critias," the ancient Greek philosopher Plato introduced the story of Atlantis, a fabled island civilization that met a cataclysmic end. According to Plato's account, Atlantis was a powerful and advanced civilization located beyond the "Pillars of Hercules," commonly identified as the Strait of Gibraltar. Plato describes Atlantis as a prosperous and technologically advanced society, ruled by benevolent kings descended from the god Poseidon. The island was said to be rich in resources, boasting fertile lands, abundant wildlife, and a sophisticated network of canals and irrigation systems. However, as Atlantis grew in power and prosperity, its citizens became increasingly corrupt and decadent. According to Plato, the Atlanteans became arrogant and aggressive, seeking to expand their empire through conquest. Their hubris ultimately led to their downfall. In Plato's narrative, Atlantis launches a failed invasion...

  1.      In the 1800s, doctors recommended smoking as a cure for asthma.  2.       Adolf Hitler helped design the Volkswagen beetle; The car was designed as part of a Hitler Revived German Initiative to create an affordable and practical car that everyone could own. 3.       During WW2, the Russian military trained dogs to run suicide missions with mines strapped on their backs. 4.       In 1958, An American pilot flying a B-47 plane that was carrying an atomic bomb, accidentally dropped the bomb onto South Carolina. Luckily, it didn't explode. (The bomb was bigger than the one dropped in Nagasaki). 5.       In 1881, the South African Railway officially employed a baboon. The baboon was paid 20 cents a day and half bottle of beer each week. In his 9 years of employment he never made a mistake. 6.          Albert Einstein was off...

  EARLY LIFE Genghis Khan, whose birth name was Temujin was born in the year 1162 in Khentii mountains (Present day between Mongolia and Siberia). His father, Yesugei had kidnapped his mother, Hoelun and forced her into marriage. At that time, dozens of nomadic tribes on the central Asian steppe were constantly fighting and stealing from each other, and life for Temujin was violent and unpredictable. Before he turned 10, his father was poisoned to death by an enemy clan. Temujin’s own clan then deserted him, his mother and his six siblings in order to avoid having to feed them. Shortly thereafter, Temujin killed his older half-brother and took over as head of the poverty-stricken household. At one point, he was captured and enslaved by the clan that had abandoned him, but he was eventually able to escape. In 1178 Temujin married Borte, with whom he would have four sons and an unknown number of daughters. He launched a daring rescue of Borte after she too was kidnapped, and he s...

  In 1902, under Caliph Abderrahman Dan Abi Bakar, the British led by Lord Frederick Lugard took advantage of the disagreement between Emirs in the south of the Caliphate. The Emirs were pitted against themselves and this prevented them from having any defense against the British troops. The last Caliph, Attahiru 1, came to the throne after the death of Abderrahman Dan Abi Bakar on the 13th of October, 1902. Due to the disagreement in the south of the Caliphate, the British were able to take over parts of the Caliphate and were now ready to launch a full scale attack on the capital (Sokoto). On seeing this, Attahiru 1 put together a quick defence and was ready to fight off the British, but unfortunately, the British who had superior fire power prevailed. Upon the defeat, Attahiru I and many of his followers fled the capital (Sokoto) on what Attahiru I described as "hijra" to await "Mahdi". On March 13th 1903, the Caliphate conceded to the British. Lord Lugard abol...