Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
As our Ethiopian brothers and sisters would say in Amharic, Melikam Gena (መልካም ገና!) everyone!
Christmas is about sharing and at this time of year, we are reminded of a line from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: “A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.”
It’s been such a dynamic year for us at Songhai Advisory and we’re so excited for the Christmas break and what 2020 holds, as the firm gears up for its 10th Anniversary Year!! Just before we officially down tools and switch off for the festive season, we’d like to invite you to share in the joy of Christmas with us, a l’Afrique!
What we’re dancing and singing along to : Shout Halleluyah is an infectious track by Nigerian praise and worship group, the Midnight Crew, which will make even peeling sweet potatoes fun! Sung in her native Twi, Ama Sarfoa feat. Boi Amen, gives us “Jesus is Coming”: a rhythmic track with a sobering message that’s brought home in the minor key, and fused with a tight rap by Boi Amen. The award-winning Ghanaian hiplife artist Kofi Kinaata has democratised some of the hard questions about faith in his latest track, Things Fall Apart, where he forces introspection about religiosity and hypocrisy- the taxis, bars and worship groups alike all love it. Oh and the Twelve Days of Christmas, authentically African, by artists such as Yemi Alade, Waje, Cynthia Morgan and others is a hilarious take on the classic: we can happily trade in a partridge in a pear tree for “a vuvuzela and a dashiki”! We’re enjoying Afrobeat singer Fuse ODG’s Bra Fie (Come Home) and the folkloric sounds of palm wine band, Kwan Pa , really does bring us home. The group’s Christmas carols are made even more beautiful with indigenous African instruments such as the seprewa (harp-lute), kpanlogo drums and the shekere (big rattle).
What we’re cooking, eating & drinking : In our Ivorian kitchens, we’re busy preparing le poulet kedjenou: diced chicken in a spicy sauce, served with rice or Ivorian staple of attieke (an accompaniment made from cassava), with some alloco (fried plantain) on the side. For those of us who really want to eat and not move a muscle afterwards (!), we might go for foufou in Cote d’Ivoire or fufu in Liberia and Ghana (pounded yam or plantain) with beef or fish soup or with efo riro (spinach stew) in Nigeria (especially popular in the South-west). Over in Kenya, nyama chomma is a must: barbequed goat meat with chapatis – which can keep you going for hours! In Senegal, our team members are trading in the classic le tieb (rice and fish) for poulet grille avec pomme frites (chicken with French fries) to be shared with family and friends. For dessert, some of us will be trying our hand at the mango-infused ice-cream delicacy called Coupe Mount Kenya, named after the second highest mountain in Kenya. All you need is thick cream, sugar, pineapple, mango and lemons- and enough stomach space! This would actually go well with Accra Banana Peanut Cake or South African Malva pudding: moist, fluffy and simply delectable. Have a go! There’s also the popular dessert of francophone West Africa called Ngalakh which is essentially sweetened porridge, made from millet and flavoured with superfruit bouye (rich in calcium and vitamin C, from the Baobab tree) served chilled and sprinkled with sugar. A dollop of peanut butter is added for good measure! We’ll be washing the food down with some favourites like palm wine, pito (beer made from fermented sorghum or millet) and Malta Guinness (brewed from barley and hops).
What games we’ll be playing around the dinner table : “How to say (& spell!) Merry Christmas in the Various Languages of Our Beautiful Continent?” Melikam Gena! (መልካም ገና!) in Amharic (Ethiopia), Moni Wa Chikondwelero Cha Kristmasi in Chewa (Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe), Ni ti Burunya Chou in Dagbani (Ghana), Jabbama be salla Kirismati in Fula (Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Togo, Guinea, Sierra Leone), barka dà Kirsìmatì in Hausa (Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Togo), Mbotama Malamu in Lingala (DRC, Angola, CAR, Congo Brazza), Noheli nziza in Kinyarwanda (Rwanda, Uganda, DRC), Seku Kulu in Luganda (Uganda), Enchipai e Kirismas Maasai/Maa/Kimaasai (Kenya, Tanzania), Izilokotho Ezihle Zamaholdeni, Ndebele (Zimbabwe, South Africa), Le be le keresemese e monate in Sotho (Lesotho, South Africa), Krismasi Njema / Heri ya Krismasi in Swahili (Tanzania, Kenya, DR Congo, Uganda) and E ku odun, e ku iye'dun in Yoruba (Nigeria, Benin). We’ll also be downloading Leti Art’s Africa’s Legends, a futuristic superhero animation game, available on the Google play store, in celebration of African culture and history.
How We’re Burning the Calories : After all the eating, some of us will be attempting to burn those calories with swimming and toe-dipping in the ocean at the stunning peninsula of Pointe Denis, a small island just outside of Libreville, Gabon and accessible by a short boat ride from the mainland. Tourist sites such as Place de l'indépendance and le Monument de la Renaissance will be heaving this Christmas period, and party hotspots such as Cosmo Beach Club will swing open its doors for revellers in the chic Les Almadies area of Dakar. While in Ghana, Bliss on the Hills in Kwahu, Abetifi, is a week-long music festival from Christmas Day until the New Year with various artists performing. Explosion of Joy at the National Theatre in Accra will host a concert of thanksgiving on 26thDecember. For those who are really serious about the calorie burn, then Detty Rave hosted by Mr Eazi at Untamed Empire may be your thang, on 27th December. See here for a full line-up of what’s hot in Ghana in celebration of the Year of Return …..
What we’re reading & watching : Ken Saro Wiwa, a book about Nigeria's history told from the perspective of the activist and his Ogoni ethnic group. It Takes A Woman, by Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Ghana’s former first lady, who intimately shares with readers her family history, sense of duty through leadership and the female forces which anchored and propelled her forward. Manchester Happened, by UK-based Ugandan author, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, is a collection of stories about Africans heading to Europe-their experiences in the Diaspora which many of us can relate to. The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe has crept into our Christmas stocking. It tells the story of two women kidnapped by an Islamist group in Nigeria and it tells an (at times) harrowing story of how their paths came to cross. Some of us will reflect on Steven Furtick’s Christmas message entitled This Isn’t What I Pictured which gives a refreshing perspective of the Christmas story in a very relatable way.
Wishing you all a blessed Christmas and peaceful New Year with your loved ones. With love from all of us at Songhai Advisory.