In Search of 'Good Hair'

Like all modern societies, Angolan's place a great emphasis on their hair styles and hair care.  But beyond the current fashion trends, the history of hair styles has a social and cultural significance intrinsic to each beautiful strand.

As in most African societies, hair functioned as a carrier of messages.  Within these societal cultures, hair was an integral part of a complex language system.  Ever since African (or Angolan) civilizations bloomed, hairstyles have been used to indicate a person's marital status, age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth and rank within a community.  In some cultures, a person's surname and geographical origin could be ascertained simply by examining the hair because each clan had its own hair style.

In some Angolan cultures, hair was only groomed by a family member because only a relative could be trusted with such an important task.  In Angolan tribal traditions, most all women were taught about hair care and how to braid while they were young girls.  In social circles amongst women, offering to braid someone else's hair was a way of asking them to be your friend.  Hair braiding sessions are a time of share confidences and laughter; the circle of women who do each other's hair are friends bound together in a fellowship.

To traditional Angolans, and most Africans in general, the hair's value and worth is heightened by its spiritual qualities.  Anthropologists observed the belief systems that supports that since 'the hair is the most elevated point of your body, it is the closest to the divine.  Because the hair is the closest thing to the heavens, communicating from the gods and spirits was thought to pass through the hair to get to the soul".  Because a person's spirit supposedly nestled in the hair, the hairdresser always held a special place in community life.  The hairdresser was often considered the most trustworthy individual in society.

Clearly, hair has never been a purely cosmetic attribute for Angolans or for Africans in general.  It is a testament to the strength of these that most of the same rituals and beliefs regarding the hair remain in traditional Angolan societies today. (Hair story: untangling the roots of Black hair in America.  By Ayana D Byrd, Lori L Tharps)

The Hometown Beverage; Ocissangua

Amongst the traditional Ovimbundu people in southern Angola, the homemade beverage ocissangua or kissangua is regularly consumed and plays an important part in the culture of the people.  The drink is made solely of corn flour and water and is permitted to ferment slightly for a better taste.  (I have often been offered the drink as a guest when I thought that it was let to ferment far too long!!)

According to culture, the drink is required to be on hand at all times in order to be given as the 'first meal' to visitors and to other special honorable guests in the home in order to quench or 'kill' their hunger and thirst.  Considering the economic limitations of the rural Angolans and their large supply of corn, this drink is often consumed more than water if the water supply is contaminated.

The Challenges of Practicing Medicine In Africa

(Submission by Dr. Nicolas Cominellis, visiting doctor to CEML Hospital) "This morning I arrived to the CEML Hospital find this man, who arrived with a history of weight loss (check out the cheek bones), abdominal pain, and cough for three months.  One of the greatest challenges of 'practicing medicine' in this setting is the lack of testing available.  In North America, he would immediately have a CT scan, abdominal ultrasound, chemistry 100, and a host of bacterial cultures. But out here, where most people earn in the range of $50-$100 per month, such special exams are unaffordable and non-existent except for the rich who live in the cities.  So we virtually rely on history and physical exams, which are quite limited, but just the way medicine was practiced before the 1960s.  One of the greatest challenges for healthcare professionals who come out to such low-resources communities is learning to work with very little!"

The CEML Hospital is aiming to expand its medical services and equipment to meet these medical needs: planned additional medical services would include a state-of-art ICU unit, pathology lab and examination equipment.

Celebrating Angola's Mother Tongue

The Portuguese language is the national language of Angola.  Spoken by more than 200 million people around the world and often described as the 'fatherland' or 'motherland' in the Portugese-speaking world, commemorations of the language were celebrated recently on February 21, International Mother Language Day.

Portuguese is the official language of eight countries - Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor - in four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Europe. Thus, the language covers a vast area of the Earth's surface (7.2% of the planet), encompassing an extraordinary diversity of lives which is reflected in the variety of dialects. It is also the fifth most spoken language on the Internet, according to Internet World Stats, with around 82.5 million internet users.

Deceased in June 2010, José Saramago, the only Portuguese-speaking winner of the Nobel prize for Literature, said that “there is no Portuguese language, but rather languages in Portuguese ”

"The Portuguese language is a combination of all the people who speak Portuguese and it is this which makes it such an interesting language, with such great elegance, elasticity and plasticity."  (Global Voices, 2011)

'Giving' to 'Grow' the Angolan Economy

In this age of integrating micro-financing into third-world countriesto help bolster struggling economies, Angola has its own system named, KixiCrédito.  KixiCrédito was the first microcredit system to offer small low-cost loans to people in Angola and has since grown from a charity to a self-funding microfinance business operating in six provinces with a loan portfolio of over $9 million. The finance system has been quite successful to date, helping many people change their lives for the better. It is not considered aid, but about giving people access to services so they can make their own way.

In the Kimbundu language, one of two Bantu languages, kixi means “giving”. In the old tradition of kixiquila, people would lend each other money or labour, knowing the favour would be repaid to them.

This principle still runs at the heart of KixiCrédito, with two-thirds of loans given out through solidarity groups of up to 15 people from a local area. “Lending to groups works well because there is trust and honour in communities,” said Joaquim Catinda, executive director of KixiCrédito, which has a default rate of only 6 per cent, much lower than the banks.

“If one person can’t make their repayment, the others have to step in. Each week every member pays a fee of, say, 200 kwanzas [about $2] on top of their repayment and this money is kept and used in case someone defaults. We have rules that people from the same family can’t be in the same loan group because if there is a death or difficulty in that family, it means two people might default and that impacts heavily on the group.”

KixiCrédito borrows money from commercial banks and then offers its clients loans ranging from $100 to $10,000, with typical monthly interest at around 3 per cent. The average loan is $900, and most people use this money to fund retail stalls at markets or service businesses such as clothes repairers or small restaurants.

“We see many people who used to sell things in their homes getting credit and being able to open small shops and restaurants,” said Catinda. “There is a real entrepreneurial spirit in Angola because people have needed to make their own way and earn a living.”

Cultural Traditions: The Bride Price

In Angola, there is a still a strong cultural tradition of the asking of the hand in marriage, the alambamento or bride price.  Considered by some as more important than the civil or religious marriage, the alambamento consists of a series of rituals, like the delivery of a letter with the request for the hand of the bride, which often comes with a money offering.

When the young couple decides to marry, it is necessary to have the approval of the bride's family and this is only possible if, during the request, everybody is in agreement that the marriage should happen. The young couple sets the date of the request. This date is agreed upon by the aunt and uncle of the bride, as it is necessary to bring together the whole family and a list is delivered to the groom of all the things he must get before the day of the request.

The day of the request is set and the groom goes out in search of all the materials so that nothing is lacking on the day.  And what is on the list? First is an envelope with money, potentially 300-500 dollars depending on what the uncle stipulates.  It could also be the height of the bride in cases of beer, the height of the bride in cases of Coca-Cola or juice, a goat, a suit for the uncle or some shoes for the mother.