In the Early Modern Period (around 1500-1800), West Central Africa (modern day Angola, the Congos, and Gabon) was home to a variety of different types of cloth and clothing. In this video, we discuss some of the textiles, jewelry, and other adornment that people in this region wore to cover up or show off status, primarily focusing on the kingdoms of Kongo, Ndongo, and to a lesser extent Loango. Join us as we explore some Central African Fashion History! This video is part of Untold Black History III, a collaboration for Black History Month discussing interesting and positive Black history from around the world. No Generative AI was used in the creation of this video.

Check out the Untold Black History III playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLivC9TMdGnL8Nnt6Ra8JPQUzHCPI9tcUE&jct=5s3lCP4eK5V4eiLuTPeFSg

Thank you to the following people for lending their voices to some of the primary source quotes in this video:
@ravinelux
@CivilWarWeekByWeek

Citations:
1. Vansina, 266; Heywood, 12-13
2. Heywood; Fromont
3. Vansina; Gibson and McGurk
4. Vansina, 272; Heywood; Fromont
5. Thornton, 12-13
6. Vansina, 276
7. Vansina, 265
8. Vansina, 267-268
9. Vansina, 263
10. Thornton, 19
11. Fromont, 845
12. Heywood, 22
13. Fromont, 846
14. Heywood, 196
15. Vansina, 272-273

Sources:
Fromont, Cécile. “Common Threads: Cloth, Colour, and the Slave Trade in Early Modern Kongo and Angola.” Art History, Volume 41, Issue 5 (November 2018): 838–867, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8365.12400

Gordon D. Gibson and Cecilia R. McGurk, “High-Status Caps of the Kongo and Mbundu Peoples." Textile Museum Journal, Volume 16 (1977) https://archive.org/details/gi....bson-mc-gurk-high-st

Heywood, Linda M. Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press, 2017.

Thornton, John. “Precolonial African Industry and the Atlantic Trade, 1500-1800.” African Economic History, no. 19 (1990): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/3601886.

Vansina, Jan. “Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500-1800.” Essay. In Textiles: Production, Trade, and Demand, 263–82. Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1998.

Clips used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhznFtHhkBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCpT-4vctNY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oStCNLZBjUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ADpO6bau8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijVfGarTEfc

Other Resources:

https://mavcor.yale.edu/mavcor....-journal/nature-cult

https://mavcor.yale.edu/mavcor....-journal/depicting-k

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/somasacademy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/somas_academy
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/somasacademy.bsky.social
ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/kalahsoma

00:00 Intro
00:45 Types of Adornment
01:37 Textiles in West Central Africa
03:44 Making Raffia Fabric
06:38 Class and Clothing
11:59 Decline of West Central African Fashion
12:35 Conclusion

Discover how Ancient Kmt (Egypt) helped shape early Christianity. From Osiris, Isis and the rise of Serapis in Hellenistic Egypt to the birth of Christian monasticism, this documentary traces a powerful story of cultural exchange.We explore parallels between Kmtyw (Egyptian) myths and Christian narratives (resurrection, divine motherhood, life after death), the evolution of symbols like the Ankh → cross and the Eye of Horus → Eye of Providence, and the role of Alexandria’s great thinkers (Origen, Athanasius) and the Nag Hammadi texts.Follow the Coptic spread across Africa, the Desert Fathers, and the roots of the Trinity—revealing a richer, more connected history of faith.

Across ancient Kmt (Egypt) and early Christianity, sacred images carry hidden stories.
In this video, we explore the striking visual and symbolic parallels between Isis and Horus and Mary and Jesus—from posture and iconography to titles, theology, and cultural transmission.

Was the image of the Virgin Mary shaped by older Kmtyw (Egyptian) spiritual traditions?
What does “Aisat Mari Amen” mean, and why does it echo across time?

This is not an attack on faith, but a historical and symbolic exploration of how civilizations influence one another—and how ancient ideas are reborn in new forms.

Watch with an open mind as we trace how Isis became Mary.


#howisisbecamemary
#aisatmariamen
#africanhistory
#ancientegypt
#hiddenhistory
#comparativereligion
#esoterichistory
#egyptianspirituality
#originsofchristianity
#sacredfeminine
#isisandhorus
#maryandjesus
#africancivilization
#forgottenknowledge
#historyunfiltered

This 2-part conversation of OJO World’s “Tribute to Traditional” features Poet/Playwright/ Cultural Activist, Dr. Eintou Pearl Springer.

Hosted by Abeo Jackson.


Additional footage:
Kambule Movement

Music:
Desmond Noel
Ajibola

This 2-part conversation of OJO World’s “Tribute to Traditional” features Poet/Playwright/ Cultural Activist, Dr. Eintou Pearl Springer.

Hosted by Abeo Jackson.


Additional footage:
Kambule Movement

Music:
Desmond Noel
Ajibola

The U.S. calls itself the land of the free and a defender of human rights, but its prison system tells a very different story. While America celebrates the 13th Amendment as the official end of slavery, what is happening inside its prisons shows that slavery did not actually end. It was repackaged and reshaped through a loophole in the same law that claims to abolish it.What you see in places like the so-called Angola prison makes that contradiction clear. The same country that speaks about global freedom and claims to police human rights abuses is still profiting from forced labor within its own system, backed and protected by its own laws. That is the reality.For Africans and people of African Descent, this is something to pay attention to. It shows that the image America presents to the world is not the full story, and it raises serious questions about how seriously its claims on human rights should be taken.

Quick recap---This meeting focused on a presentation by Siphiwe Baleka about reparations and African heritage at Langston University, Oklahoma’s only Historical Black College and University (HBCU). Siphiwe discussed the historical roots of the transatlantic slave trade, explaining how the 1452 Dum Diversas papal bull declared war on African peoples and authorized European colonization. He outlined how this legal framework led to the forced removal and enslavement of African ancestors, including those who ended up in Tulsa. The presentation covered the concept of "ethnocide" - the destruction of ancestral identity - and argued that reparations should be framed as war damages rather than just slavery reparations. Siphiwe also discussed the importance of African Ancestry DNA testing to reconnect with ancestral heritage and the possibility of repatriation to African countries. The session included a breakout discussion about making a "sovereign mind switch" to reclaim indigenous legal jurisdiction that predates European systems.SEE: www.balanta.org/news/tulsa-reparations-summit

Tony Browder sits down with Amadeuz Christ to discuss his new book "A Browder Perspective: From the Browder File 3" in addition to discussing Ancient Kush, the 25th Dynasty, and the importance of Ryan Coogler's work.

Out of Darkness: Heavy is the Crown now streaming on all major platforms: All links: https://linktr.ee/outofdarknessfilm

Out of Darkness main site: https://www.outofdarknessfilm.com/

Building Seven Online Store: https://these7encollection.com/

A Browder Perspective: From the Browder File 3 (by Tony Browder) [Book]: https://ikgculturalresourcecen....ter.com/ikg-store/bo

Why Kemet Matters: A Conversation with Professor James Small and Brother Anthony Browder
Hosted by the Brothers of Rho Psi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Chapter President Jason Gamble welcomes attendees to an engaging conversation with two distinguished elders, Professor James Small and Brother Anthony Browder. This 2.5 hour program centers around the importance and relevance of Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) history, culture, sacred science, philosophy, and heritage on our daily lives.
Both Browder and Small have guided thousands on educational tours to Africa and have contributed significantly through their writings and lectures on African heritage, reaching audiences across the United States and worldwide.
You are invited to enjoy a unique conversation as Professor Small and Brother Browder share insights about the individuals who have influenced their journeys and reflect on the future of the Pan African world.

For more details, you may reach out to Prof Small and Brother Browder at:
Professor Small
Email: amponsa3@gmail.com
CashApp: $DrJamesSmall1926

Anthony Browder
Email: browderfile@yahoo.com
CashApp: $karakh2
Web: www.ikg-info.com

The idea that “Africans sold Africans” has been repeated so often that people treat it like complete history, when it is anything but. It strips away context and forces a modern racial reading onto a pre-colonial African world that did not organise itself around European ideas of race. Africa was not one people and it was not one identity. It was made up of kingdoms, empires, nations and ethnic groups with their own political systems, cultures and interests. So when conflict happened, it was not “Black people selling Black people” in the way that phrase is now used. It was political conflict between distinct societies, just as Europe had its own wars between rival states and kingdoms.

What Europe created through the transatlantic slave trade was something different in scale, structure and purpose. This was not simply an extension of local wars. It was a racialised, hereditary and industrial system built for profit, conquest and extraction. European demand drove it, expanded it and turned human beings into global commodities on a scale the world had not seen before. That is why the “Africans sold Africans” argument is not serious history. It is a lazy deflection that avoids naming Europe’s central role in designing, racialising and profiting from the transatlantic slave trade.