#of the many years of political strife of battle of the beauty of the north for lothrin

[nenuials]

Istg if only I had the energy it would be over for y’all (pic taken off twitter)

[mythicallore]

The Radiant Boys

One type of ghost that is as creepy as it is tragic is that of what are collectively called the “Radiant Boys.” The phenomenon mostly has its origins in the lore Northern England and in Germany, where they are called the “kindermorderinn.” The origins of these restless spirits is that of great tragedy, as they are said to be the ghosts of children who were murdered by their own mothers, something which has doomed them to walk the earth not only as ghosts, but also as portent of disaster and harbingers of death. Indeed, it is said that to see a Radiant Boy is a sure sign that bad luck or death is to follow, making them a frightening paranormal force that no one wants to come across, and they have become entrenched as a rather creepy landmark upon the world of ghostly phenomena.

The reasons for why these mothers should want to kill their children are varied, but back in the 1600s and 1700s, when the dark stories began to really take off, it was mostly because of kids being born out of wedlock, a big taboo at the time, or simply out of the fact that the parents did not have enough money to support them, leading them to resort to murder. In other, more sinister cases, women did it in order to exploit a medieval law that said that second wives could inherit their husband’s property if all his children had passed away, giving these mothers a financial incentive for the coldblooded murder of a loved one.

The great majority of the eerie Radiant Boy phenomenon and sightings originate from Germany in the 1600s, and then fan out to the areas of Cumberland and Northumberland in the northern part of England along with the many German immigrants during the 18th and 19th centuries. There are numerous reports of encounters with these apparitions, which are usually described as looking like glowing young boys, or more rarely girls, who usually appear nude and are bathed in a luminous light that can be a variety of colors. The entities themselves are often indifferent to their surroundings, but cast off a rather unsettling atmosphere that typically leaves the witness in a state of shock.

By far the most famous case of an apparent Radiant Boy occurred in September of 1803, at a place called Corby Castle, in Cumbria, England, which was the ancestral home of the powerful Howard family. Here a Reverend Henry of Redburgh visited with his wife for the evening, and it would turn out to be quite a harrowing night, not the least in part because they were put up for the night in a room of the castle that was rather known for being quite haunted. The Howard patriarch would say himself of this singularly creepy room:

I must observe that it is by no means remote or solitary, being surrounded on all sides by chambers that are constantly inhabited. It is accessible by a passage cut through a wall eight feet in thickness, and its dimensions are twenty-one by eighteen. One side of the wainscotting is covered with tapestry, the remainder is decorated with old family pictures, and some ancient pieces of embroidery, probably the handiwork of nuns. Over a press, which has doors of Venetian glass, is an ancient oaken figure, with a battle-axe in his hand, which was one of those formerly placed on the walls of the City of Carlisle, to represent guards. There used to be also an old-fashioned bed and some dark furniture in this room; but so many were the complaints of those who slept there, that I was induced to replace some of these articles of furniture by more modern ones, in the hope of removing a certain air of gloom, which I thought might have given rise to the unaccountable reports of apparitions and extraordinary noises which were constantly reaching us. But I regret to say, I did not succeed in banishing the nocturnal visitor, which still continues to disturb our friends.

The Reverend would stay in this room of foreboding, drifting off to sleep as a fire roared in the fireplace to keep the chill at bay, and would write of the events that followed in his journal, saying:

Soon after we went to bed, we fell asleep; it might be between one and two in the morning when I awoke. I observed that the fire was totally extinguished; but, although that was the case, and we had no light, I saw a glimmer in the centre of the room, which suddenly increased to a bright flame. I looked out, apprehending that something had caught fire, when, to my amazement, I beheld a beautiful boy, clothed in white, with bright locks resembling gold, standing by my bedside, in which position he remained some minutes, fixing his eyes upon me with a mild and benevolent expression. He then glided gently towards the side of the chimney, where it is obvious there is no possible egress, and entirely disappeared. I found myself again in total darkness, and all remained quiet until the usual hour of rising. I declare this to be a true account of what I saw at Corby Castle, upon my word as a clergyman.

The very next day the Reverend and his wife made a rather hasty departure from the castle, reportedly saying as they did so, “I am very sorry, but we must absolutely leave you this morning.” Another, more sinister case of a Radiant Boy was supposedly experienced by a Lord Castlereagh, who had once gone by the name of Captain Robert Stewart in his younger days, which he was known by at the time of his brush with the paranormal. At the time he was stationed in Ireland, and one day had gone out out hunting in the countryside when the weather turned foul. As soon as he realized that a storm was moving in, it also dawned on him that he had strayed so far out in his search of game that he no longer could find his way back.

The story goes that he wandered about the wilderness before coming to a home sitting out there, where he requested shelter for the night. His room was a modest affair with scarcely any furniture and a small fireplace in the corner. He soon drifted off to sleep, but was pried from his world of dreams by a brilliant light that seemed to bathe the entire room. The book Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, by Butler Yeats, says of this encounter:

He believed he had slept about a couple of hours when he awoke suddenly, and was startled by such a vivid light in the room that he thought it on fire, but on turning to look at the grate he saw the fire was out, though it was from the chimney the light proceeded. He sat up in bed, trying to discover what it was, when he perceived the form of a beautiful naked boy, surrounded by a dazzling radiance. The boy looked at him earnestly, and then the vision faded, and all was dark. Captain Stewart, so far from supposing what he had seen to be of a spiritual nature, had no doubt that the host, or the visitors, had been trying to frighten him. Accordingly, he felt indignant at the liberty, and on the following morning, when he appeared at breakfast, he took care to evince his displeasure by the reserve of his demeanour, and by announcing his intention to depart immediately.

The owner of the house would then admit that the room was hardly ever used, and that was because there was purportedly the ghost of a family ancestor who had been killed by his own mother lurking there, and that the fire had been meant to keep the malicious spirit away. It was also said that to see the boy was a bad omen, and that indeed the cursed room had been off-limits for years, with it only opened to him because so many other guests had been staying there at the same time. It was ominously said that whoever was to see the Radiant Boy would rise in power only to have it ripped away to leave a gaping wound, followed by a horrible death, which fit in quite well with the existing Radiant Boy legend as a whole.

Indeed, this encounter would apparently live up to its reputation, and bring with it some of the darker lore surrounding the appearance of Radiant Boys, and although he would become a prominent political figure in the following years, Stewart would suddenly see his fortunes dwindle and a great many tragedies would befall his family. First his father died, which is how he took up the mantle of Lord Castlereagh, second Marquis of Londonderry, and his older brother would also die in a boating accident, then things would take a nosedive. His fortunes dwindled spectacularly, his health failed him, and his sanity began to slip over the brink of madness, forcing him to be confined to his country house, called North Cray Place. In the end, he would ede over the brink of the abyss of madness and take his own life in 1822 with a razor across the throat, fulfilling the grim prophecy that seeing the Radiant Boy would bring about a violent death.

Yet another supposed Radiant Boy is said to haunt Chillingham Castle, a medieval castle in Chillingham, Northumberland in the northern part of Northumberland, England. The castle was originally a monastery back in the 12th century, after which it went on to become a strategic location in medieval times, playing a big role in the battles between England and Scotland, and in later years an army barracks during World War II. Throughout it all there have been the stories of the castle’s Radiant Boy, who appears as a young, naked boy surrounded with a blue glow, that terrorizes an area of the castle called “The Pink Room.” The castle is so haunted, in fact, that it has been the target of several investigations by several famous TV paranormal programs, such as Most Haunted and Scariest Places on Earth.

These are only a few of the many reports of these ghostly, glowing children, this species of wraith that has appeared to frighten and in some cases bring dire misfortune. Is this all legend and lore, or is there something else to it? Are these the ghostly, tragic children of legend, killed by their own mothers and left to roam the world of the living to bring fear and strife? Or are these just spooky stories handed down through the ages? Whatever the case may be, the lore of the Radiant Boys is just as frightening as it is sad, and one hopes that if they truly are real, then they will somehow find peace in the end.

[davmsj]

The World: continents of the Brightlands of Qymar

The names of the continents represented by the digital maps are those recognized by one of the most prominent institutions of knowledge and learning in Qymar: the Hightower of Vir. Being that Vir is a part of the Rose Lands, the continents are named according to their locations relative to the Rose Lands. Each continent has its own name and history however, and these titles are not commonly used by the peoples of the lands that are less beholden to the Hightower. Here are the Virish and native names of each continent, as well as a brief introduction to them.

The Rose Lands

The smallest of the five continents, the Rose Lands are a largely coastal place full of life and fertile ground. The winds of the Abyssal Sea and the protection of the black mountains to the north have kept The Rose Lands a beautiful and populous place. The continent is separated into a few different regions: Ilium, Araman, Messai, and the Virish Isles. Ilium is the largest, a coastal land of fertile fields and vibrant societies. Ilium was once home to a number of different peoples and civilizations, but now nearly all of the region has been conquered by the Empire of Rayne, their only remaining rival in the region being the Republic of Kretia. The ancient peoples of the Rose Lands were called the Rosens. The Rosens combined cultural influence from many places such as Vandar and the Great East to become a powerful people that spread their own influence to many places in the world via brutal colonization, largely northward and westward. Nearly every culture in the Rose Lands speaks Ethyrian after having been either conquered or allied with Ethyros.

The Southern Sands (Sol’aat)

The Southern Sands is an often isolated continent in the south of the abyssal sea. Historically, it was one of the last lands to be populated by humanity, but managed to rise to incredible heights of civilization quickly. After the monolith was destroyed in the first conflict between the escaped Silence and the Unwaking, the vast deserts of Solair were formed and soon after people began to migrate there from the east. The remaining Silence hid themselves in the mountainous remains of the monolith as the migrant people’s gradually made the arid lands their home. The whispers of the great power that used to dwell on that continent and the small bits of exposure the ancient people had with the Silence and eventually the Unwaking ones who returned informed their culture greatly, making for the basis of their religion, language, and tradition. Outside Solair, there are Lands of Fire and the Broken Lands. Both of these places are largely uninhabited, the Land of Fire being a desolate place to the west of the continent where flames are said to fall like rain. The Broken Lands are a fractured expanse of harsh land criss crossed vigorously by rapid streams and deltas that flow into the Sea of Shadows.

The Wester Islands (Oessa)

The wester islands have long been separated from most of Qymar. Across the wide Sea of Cyclade they formed their own ecosystems of politics and trade until the the great Ethyrian empire was forged between two of its own islands, and then spread out and conquered the 5 continents. Legends say that long ago all of the wester islands were a single great land, with enormous forests covering nearly all of the land. In these days the mythic changelings lived in the west and prayed to the living gods and nature spirits of the trees and the mountains. Eventually humans came from the east and settled in the mountains of the western coast. These people became known as the Oessai. They formed great civilizations on the peaks of the western mountains and on the slopes of tyranus Mont where the forests were thinnest, and battled with the Changelings for more resources and land, a conflict during which is said to have caused the rift of the great island into 6. The struggles continued for hundreds of years until a pact of peace was made between the two peoples. Not long after that pact, the Rosens invaded and swept over the islands. Most cultures to be found on the most populous islands of Gilleon, Triton, and Cyclade were made majority Rosen. The west has many unique cultural features due to its mixed upbringing. One defining trait is the concept of mastership. The wester islands do not have kings or emperors, instead they have Masters. The Masters hold rule over their entire island, but they must be prepared to defend it. Any master can be challenged for control of the island, what this challenge is differs. On gilleon it is one on one combat. On Triton it is a ship battle on the high seas, and on Numor it is said to be a trial of wits.

The Northern Reaches (Urun)

The north has always been known as a harsh land. Technically the same landmass as the Rose Lands, separated by the mountains of Messai and the hills of Tarseus. The Reaches begin as green hills, rocky shores, and tall forests in the lands of Faron and Othorn, but as one goes further and further north and enters the White Reach, the land turns harsher and colder. The first people to populate the North were known as the Urunoi. They formed great tribes and built towns and strongholds of wood and stone from which they oft waged war on each other for control of the scarce fertile lands and natural resources of the Reaches. Such times continued until the invasion of the Vandari. The Vandari knights swept through the comparatively unorganized and primitively equipped Urunoi and claimed nearly all of the North for Vandar. The Vandari brought notions of knighthood, nobility, and monarchy to Urun, the former name of the joint lands making up modern Faron and Othorn. They also brought their religion, the worship of the Five-that-are-one, often simply known as the Faith of the Five. It was only a few generations later that Vandar began its fall into obscurity, and the Vandari nobles who had been sent to rule the Reaches in the name of their king began ruling in their own names. The cultures and blood of the Urunoi and the Vandari mixed and mingled over the years, and eventually a unique concoction became apparent that would be known as the Northrons. The Messaians would later invade the lands of the North on the backs of their mighty dragons and carve out much of the continent for themselves, only to lose it all when the Ethyrians came, led by emperor Nargil. Virtually all of the Northern Reaches became territory of the Ethyrian Empire until it’s collapse, after which the Northrons would name their first unified king, only to have a conflict of ascension called “the Strife of the Princes” split the land into the two Reaches of Faron and Othorn that exist today, with the White Reach and the Isle of Dale being less disputed due to their harsh environments and relative seclusion.

The Great East (Naryes)

It is said across the world, “all things began in the east”. Largest of the continents in land mass, the Great East holds the oldest civilizations and cultures anywhere in the Brightlands. Most scholars agree that humanity first appeared in the east, indeed even in myth the legendary Bright Empire was founded and based out of the Great East. A number of nations have risen and fallen in the east, but those that exist today have stood the test of time. With such a large land, there is no shortage of variety to be found in the geography of the east. There are vast plains, dense forests, the great swamp of Myar, the sunny coasts of Yokai and the windy Bay of Dragons at Zhihui. There are the rain battered lands of Indras and the evercalm waters of the inland Sunless Sea. When the Ethyrians made their way to the East, they encountered the greatest resistance they would ever face. Parts of the the plains of Kublai Khor were taken, but they constantly shifted in and out of Ethyrian control, and Ethyros never broke the borders of the mighty Zhihuineese empire and could not weather the storms of Indras. As such the nations of the East share less with many other places in the world as they never had to adopt much Ethyrian culture. There are many in the east who speak no Ethyrian at all, a rarity in much of the world, and ancient religions that outdated Ethyros still manage to thrive. One of the biggest reasons for their ability to resist “the greatest empire in history” was a great pact made across the continent to maintain stability and peace against forces both internal and external, an unprecedented form of international cooperation the likes of which the world has never seen. Even the common name for the continent, Naryes, was chosen by the leaders of the nations who signed the pact, taken from the word for “mother” in the oldest recorded language in the continet, that of Old Boros. Seers do not often get called to serve the rulers of the East, as many prefer to call upon the scholars of the legendary five shrines of Zhihui, and why would an eastern lord bother with a foreign mercenary company or assassins league when they can find the Thousand Arms of Yokai or the Shadow Weavers of Myar. The Great East is a part of the wider world, engaging in trade and politics from all over, but it is also a world all unto itself.

[hereticaloracles]

Asteroid Files: Tezcatlipoca

Helios on Tezcatlipoca– Heretics, this life is tough, and we often struggle to know where we belong and our place in the world. More often than not, this leads to some pretty dissatisfying realizations about our lives. So what do we do about it? Well, for that answer, lets look at this week’s asteroid profile!

The Astronomy– 1980 Tezcatlipoca is an eccentric, stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. Tezcatlipoca orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.1–2.3 AU once every 2 years and 3 months (816 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.36 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic. This near-Earth object has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.2455 AU (36,700,000 km), which corresponds to 95.6 lunar distances. The S-type asteroid is classified as an Sw-type by the ExploreNEOs project, and as an SU and Sl-type on the Tholen and SMASS taxonomic scheme, respectively

The Myth– Tezcatlipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion; One of the four sons of Ometeotl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war, and strife. His name in the Nahuatl language is often translated as “Smoking Mirror” and alludes to his connection to obsidian, the material from which mirrors were made in Mesoamerica which were used for shamanic rituals and prophecy. There are few surviving representations of Tezcatlipoca into the present day. Due to the lack of surviving images, some have chosen to describe Tezcatlipoca as the ‘invisible god’. When depicted he was usually drawn with a black and a yellow stripe painted across his face. He is often shown with his right foot replaced with an obsidian mirror, bone, or a snake—an allusion to the creation myth in which he loses his foot battling with the Earth Monster. Sometimes the mirror was shown on his chest, and sometimes smoke would emanate from the mirror. Tezcatlipoca’s nagual, his animal counterpart, was the jaguar and his jaguar aspect was the deity Tepeyollotl (“Mountainheart”).

Tezcatlipoca was often described as a rival of another important god of the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl. In one version of the Aztec creation account the myth of the Five Suns, the first creation, “The Sun of the Earth” was ruled by Tezcatlipoca but destroyed by Quetzalcoatl when he struck down Tezcatlipoca who then transformed into a jaguar. Quetzalcoatl became the ruler of the subsequent creation “Sun of Water”, and Tezcatlipoca destroyed the third creation “The Sun of Wind” by striking down Quetzalcoatl. In later myths, the four gods who created the world, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec were referred to respectively as the Black, the White, the Blue and the Red Tezcatlipoca. The four Tezcatlipocas were the sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, lady, and lord of the duality, and were the creators of all the other gods, as well as the world and all humanity.

The rivalry between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca is also recounted in the legends of Tollan where Tezcatlipoca deceives Quetzalcoatl who was the ruler of the legendary city and forces him into exile- but it is interesting to note that Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca both collaborated in the creation of the different creations and that both of them were seen as instrumental in the creation of life. Specialists in Mesoamerican Studies, write that, “More than anything Tezcatlipoca appears to be the embodiment of change through conflict.” His cult was associated with royalty and was the subject of the most lengthy and reverent prayers in the rites of kingship, as well as being mentioned frequently in coronation speeches.

In one of the Aztec accounts of creation, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca joined forces to create the world. Before their act, there was only the sea and the crocodilian earth monster called Cipactli.To attract her, Tezcatlipoca used his foot as bait, and Cipactli ate it. The two gods then captured her and distorted her to make the land from her body. After that, they created the people, and people had to offer sacrifices to comfort Cipactli for her sufferings. Because of this, Tezcatlipoca is depicted with a missing foot.

Another story of creation goes that Tezcatlipoca turned himself into the sun, but Quetzalcoatl was furious possibly because they were enemies, he is a night god or due to his missing foot, so he knocked Tezcatlipoca out of the sky with a stone club. Angered, Tezcatlipoca turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world. Quetzalcoatl replaced him and started the second age of the world and it became populated again. Tezcatlipoca overthrew Quetzalcoatl, forcing him to send a great wind that devastated the world, and the people who survived were turned into monkeys. Tlaloc, the god of rain, then became the sun. But he had his wife taken away by Tezcatlipoca. Angered in turn, he would not make it rain for several years until, in a fit of rage, he made it rain fire with the few people who survived the assault turning into the birds.Chalchihuitlicue the Water Goddess then became the sun. But she was crushed by Tezcatlipoca’s words who accused her of just pretending to be kind. She cried for many years and the world was destroyed by the resulting floods. Those people who survived the deluge were turned into fish.

As discussed above, Aztec folklore is rife with parallels, much of the time depicted in deities such as Tezcatlipoca. For Aztec nobility, this “patron deity” is fundamental in the social and natural phenomena justified by religion during this time. Extreme reverence and respect, characterized by ceremonial proceedings in which priests were “to pay homage” to Tezcatlipoca, or where “citizens waited expectantly” for ceremonial proceedings to start under the low hum of “shell trumpets,” were commonplace, especially for this deity. Utter respect from the highest position of Aztec nobility, the king, shown through the figurative and literal nakedness of his presence in front of Tezcatlipoca. The king would stand “naked, emphasizing his utter unworthiness,” speaking as nothing but a vessel for the god’s will. The new king would claim his spiritual nakedness symbolically through words and physical vulnerability, praising Tezcatlipoca with lines such as:

“O master, O our lord, O lord of the near, of the nigh, O night, O wind…Poor am I. In what manner shall I act for thy city? In what manner shall I act for the governed, for the vassals (macehualtin)? For I am blind, I am deaf, I am an imbecile, and in excrement, in filth hath my lifetime been… Perhaps thou mistaketh me for another; perhaps thou seekest another in my stead”.

For kings, lords, priests, and citizens alike, the cyclical nature they observed every day and every year was portrayed not through science or philosophical debate, but utter reverence and respect for the spiritual beings they believed were the cause of these events. It was gods like Tezcatlipoca that solidified this notion, representing both the silent wind, and thunderous war.

Why He Matters– Dear god, there was a ton of information on this one, and I absolutely love it. Tezcatlipoca is a fascinating figure in myth, and there is a lot to unpack here. Tezcatlipoca in the chart is a very Martian influence but mixed with a bit of Uranus. Tezcatlipoca comes across as rage, but a very specific kind- The rage that comes from depression. This also plays into the other aspect of this asteroid god- He is an outsider, one who wants to tear down the system and rebuild it in his own image. Tezcatlipoca wants to change the world- actually, in his view he wants to save it. You see, Tezcatlipoca is dissatisfied with the way the world is, and loathes his feeling of powerlessness. To him, the world is unjust and will not be just until he is sitting at the top of it. In this, he represents both the patriarchy and your place in it, wherever that may be.

In media, you can see plenty of examples of Tezcatlipoca, like Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot. In the show, Elliot loathes his position in society, and directs his anger at a large multinational company, and ends up committing multiple acts of terrorism in the name of creating a better world. Now while I don’t encourage terrorism (per se) our world keeps getting more and more polarized, and we are seeing a reactive grassroots push from people who see their own personal power slipping away while their world changes drastically around them. This is on both ends of the political spectrum, and both are becoming more and more violent. Tezcatlipoca is representative of both Antifa and neo-nazis. Tezcatlipoca is literally the rage against the machine, and the machine is different to different people.

Additionally, Tezcatlipoca is potently shamanic and encourages us to dive deep into the recesses and pits of our very souls. Tezcatlipoca is a literal mirror that shines a dark light on the worst parts of our personalities and forces us to confront our most terrifying demons, but he also gives us the courage to face them and win over them once and for all.

To find out where he shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom of the next page, there will be a menu of additional objects. Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 1980, for Tezcatlipoca. Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Tezcatlipoca affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

Asteroid Files: Tezcatlipoca was originally published on Heretical Oracles

[shifflab]

Every Wall has a Door: Art about Migration

As globalization spurs the movement of people and wealth, understanding the history of migration will help create rational and fair policy. This small collection of art ranges from a relief sculpture of Romans fighting Goths to a conceptual piece about Palestinian diaspora. They show how different groups reacted to migration in the past couple thousand years.

Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

Marble, Roman artwork, 251/252 CE

This high relief sarcophagus shows a group of disheveled Goths being crushed from above by Roman soldiers. The Goths look savage with their bare chests and unkempt beards while the Romans wear ornate armor and triumphantly look upon the Goths with contempt. A wounded Goth father watches as his son is dragged away, possibly to become a slave, his hand slipping from his father’s shoulder as if his grip was just broken.

The sarcophagus was made during the Crisis of the Third Century -- a period of time when the Roman Empire nearly fell because of an economic depression, political strife, invasions, and climate change. As the Huns pushed Germanic tribes into Roman territory, the Goths were forced into conflict with the Romans resulting in battles like the one shown here.

Наконець-то дома! Картина М. Маймона. (Finally at home! Picture by M. Maimon.)

Print, Moshe Maimon, 1910

An attack on Russian Jews, called a pogrom, left this family’s home ransacked and several members dead. Bodies are strewn across the floor as rabbi reads a prayer and an injured man cries in grief.

After the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, the new Tsar blamed Jews for the attack which resulted in pogroms and discriminatory legislation that restricted where they could live.

A Happy New Year

Print, Hebrew Publishing Company, 1910-20

Because the official response from the Russian government and the pogroms, many Russian Jews emigrated to the United States. In this New Year’s postcard, American Jews dressed in patriotic colors welcome Jewish refugees by stretching out their arms. An American eagle flies overhead with a banner that says “Shelter me in the shadow of your wings.”

Panel 1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans (1940–41)

Tempera painting, Jacob Lawrence, 1940

Between World War I and World War II, millions of blacks moved from the rural south to the urban north during the Great Migration. Jacob Lawrence documented this movement with a series of 60 socially conscious works that shows their struggle, joy, and the discrimination they experienced.

In this panel, blacks line up for buses departing to several northern cities. People are broken down into simple shapes forming a collective mass that scurries through the gates. While their individuality is gone, so is the minstrel caricature that usually represented blacks at the time.

The Great Wall of People

Bricks of human hair, Gu Wenda, 2004

At first glance this piece by Chinese artist Gu Wenda seems like a piece of the Great Wall, though when inspected closer, the bone black bricks are made of matted human hair. Artists like Wenda are responding critically to the Great Wall which is a symbol of Chinese nationalism. This piece shows the horror and beauty of the architectural marvel that was ineffective at stopping the invading Monguls and cost about 500,000 lives to build.

Homesick

Architectural model, Hrair Sarkissian, 2014

Hrair Sarkissian created an exact scale reproduction of his parents’ home in Syria and filmed its destruction. Sarkissian left Syria in 2008, but his parents, like many of their generation, stayed behind in Damascus refusing to Syria until recently. While his parents’ home is still standing, many other families’ are not because of the civil war.

This house, which looks like an ordinary home, is removed from its environment and isolated in a white walled room. Personal effects like colored drapes and a ladder are generic enough to remind us these inhabitants live like anyone else. The result is a meditation on the loss of personal history, identity, and security when a home is lost to violence.

Where we come from

Photographs, Emily Jacir,2002-2003

“If I could do anything for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it be?” was the question Emily Jacir, who holds a US passport, asked Palestinians living in far flung cities such as Paris, Kuwait, and Bethlehem. Here she documents the reason why they cannot travel to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Accompanying photographs document her process of trying to complete their requests, such as eating candy, photographing nieces and nephews, and in this piece, leaving flowers at a mother’s grave. These pieces show the emotional cost of national divisions and question fairness in immigration.

[afrikanza]

12 Interesting Facts About Nigeria

Facts About the Culture, Geography, and History of Nigeria

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country is established in West Africa. We have assembled the following 12 interesting facts to help you discover more about this vast land of Africa.

12. Nigeria is a member of both the British Commonwealth and the African Union.

Nigeria is one of the earliest countries to gain independence from the British rule on October 1,1960 under the leadership of Azikiwe. Having been a former British colony, it found itself comfortable joining the British commonwealth, an association that predominantly comprises colonies of the former British Empire.

11. Nigeria has a population of nearly 187 million people, making it the most populous country in Africa, and the 7th most populous country in the world.

Nigeria has the biggest population in Africa, followed closely by Egypt. Unfortunately, it has a dubious distinction as the country with the largest poor population in the world, having recently dislodged India in holding this infamous title.

This poverty level is high despite Nigeria being Africa’s leading exporter of oil and having one of the highest number of university graduates and scholars. Unfortunately, military coups, civil wars, and mismanagement of the economy has meant that the State benefits hardly reaches the majority except the few who manage to capture State power and its instruments of wealth distribution.

10. The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos with an estimated population of around 21 million people.

Lagos is formerly Nigeria’s capital city at independence. However, Nigeria has since relocated its capital city to a more interior and safer Abudja. Nonetheless, Lagos, which is located along the coastline, still remains Nigeria’s most populous city and still far from being dislodged by Abudja on this claim.

You may like: A look into Nigerian Cuisine.

9. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups, the three largest of which are the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo.

Nigeria is the most ethnically diverse country in Africa with more than 250 ethnic groups calling it their home. Apart from it being multi-ethnic and multi-lingual, it is also multi-cultural and multi-religious. This has contributed to civil strife which the federal republic struggles to contain.

The three dominant ethnic groups often engage in political supremacy battle which often culminate into skirmishes. At some point in the 1970s, Nigeria was engulfed in Biafran War, which was largely a battle between the Igbos and the Yorubas, though sunk in other casualties.

8. The highest point in Nigeria is the mountain Chappal Waddi at 2,419 m (7,936 ft).

Mt. Chappal Waddi is located in Taraba State close to the Cameroonian border. It has a hilly rugged terrain that you would find attractive if you are a mountain climber.

Nature lovers will be awed by the plenty of flora and fauna whose fabulously lush vegetation is taken care of by the buffalo herds while leopards guard its ranges. The Columbus and Putty Nose monkeys are ever waiting to wave you back in a warmly welcoming gesture.

7. Nigeria has high levels of oil reserves and relies a lot on crude oil exports.

Nigeria produces some of the highest quality grade crude oil in the world. As such, its crude oil is often in high demand. However, like most oil producing nations, this has dampened its appetite to diversity its economy.

It is this laxity, accompanied by corruption, that has made Nigeria overtake India as the country with largest population of poor people in the world.

6. Football (soccer) is popular in Nigeria, the national team known as the “Super Eagles” have made 5 appearances at the World Cup, won the African Cup of Nations 3 times and won the football gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.

Nigeria still remains Africa’s football powerhouse. It has not only made formidable appearances at the continental level but also at the World Cup. Nigeria’s football stars continue to dot various football fields in Europe and continue to participate in various European leagues as professional footballers. This has helped to shape Nigeria’s positive image both continentally and internationally.

5. While some cultures believe it’s rude to not look someone in the eye, in Nigeria, it is customary to not look into someone’s eyes.

Unlike the Western culture, both African and oriental societies abhor the act of looking people directly in the eyes. This is considered as an aggressive posture that ought to be shunned, especially when it someone younger facing someone much older or more superior.

Nigeria happens to be no exception to this African culture. As such, when you are on your holiday visit to Nigeria, don’t be mistaken by looking senior citizens directly in their eyes.

Also, don’t assume timidly by those who decide to avoid looking straight into your eyes for it is not considered welcoming to look at guests straight in their eyes.

4. Nigeria is the 7th largest democracy in the world.

Democracy has been practiced in Nigeria for several decades now. Though it has occasionally been disrupted by military indiscipline, the trajectory seems to have stabilized now as Nigeria takes its formidable position of being the guarantor of peace and democracy in West Africa through its dominant position within the ECOWAS. Being the 7th most populous country in the world, this naturally makes it the world’s 7th largest democracy.

3. Nigeria’s movie industry is known as “Nollywood” and it is one of the largest movie industries in the world.

Movie in Nigeria has picked up with tremendous speed. Nollywood is now the most dominant source of movies for Africa and its diaspora (including the Caribbean, North America, South America).

Nigerian movies espouse Africa’s rich cultural heritage and has become a means to preserve and re-invigorate this culture from the threats of modernity. Through the Nigerian movies, many African can appreciate the rich cultural values, folklore and tradition and the important lessons these values hold to the dignity of the African society.

Another good read: Most popular Nigerian Celebrities.

2. Evidence of human life/civilization in Nigeria dates as far back as 9000 BC.

Nigeria comprises of a region with one of the most ancient civilizations. Not only have there been many historical dynasties over time, there are many artifacts that continues to be discovered pointing towards the sophistication of the ancient civilization that once occupied the land.

1. The life expectancy on average is 52 years, one of the lowest in the world. This is primarily due to poor healthcare, a lack of clean water, and poor living conditions.

Due to rampant poverty, low standards of living characterized by polluted environment, and inadequate healthcare, many Nigerians succumb to preventable medical conditions which have greatly contributed to its low lifespan despite positive growth in the national economy that doesn’t adequately fizzle down to the grassroots.

Worth a read: Most beautiful Nigerian churches.

Conclusion

Nigeria is a naturally-endowed country with diverse multi-ethnic culture. There is more to learn about Nigeria, especially from its Nollywood. However, making a visit to experience it first hand and learn this unique culture is the best way to go.

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