Category: indigenous knowledge & practices

on development (reclaiming naming worlds)

Development is a word and a world, A word from a certain kind of world Building. In an ecosystem of other words (progress, growth, sustainable development, adjustment, reforms, good governance, democracy) That makes a certain kind of world, Built for certain kinds of people Possible. What world? A world of scarcity, Of not enough Lower – on a ladder Behind – in a queue, Slow – in movement, Least –…

it must do something to you to only be a throughway

“It must do something to you to know that you are only a throughway to a thing, body or place more desired.”   The editor asked “how are you breathing in this increasingly airless space?” in which State corruption/misappropriation of huge amounts of money just keeps increasing and increasing – name them, the scandals which come one after the other unstoppable, name them: Kenya Power, Maize, Dams, Lamu Coal, NYS,…

reclaiming time + space – what pretty hides #2

I was recently again in London for a brief moment for my graduation. It’s summer and sunny and warm – the best time to be in London because you can be outside for longer periods of time. And yes indeed, summer means picnics, walks in parks, swims in ponds, lunches in parks, games in neighbourhood greens, full outdoors enjoyment of life. So much so that I thought visitors to London…

decolonising the african spirit

“After seven years of being on the journey I can say that I have arrived at several shores of knowing and understanding that I would like to share for anyone else who might be undertaking a similar exploration. Even more however, I have begun to wonder about the silence around African spirituality, and its persistent labelling as sorcery or devilish, an inheritance of missionary colonialism. As a researcher of the…

culturally rooted pan-african movement workshops

After a hiatus while I travelled to study, African and diaspora African dance workshops with Wangũi are back!! I have been dancing since I was about 5 years old, and have learnt, taught, and performed in various places including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, U.S.A., South Africa, Tanzania, U.K. and Kenya. My dance workshops are aimed at bringing culturally rooted pan-African dances to the present to hold space for healing, transformation, creativity…

reimagining, reviving, storytelling: reclaiming

This is a post in which I gush about stories and storytelling. Reading my about page you know one of the things I am about is narratives so buckle up. What’s your favourite story, podcaster Lilly Bekele-Piper asked me in an interview a couple of days before the Reimagined Storytelling Festival. I went with a poem. One of my all time favourite poems, and one I like to perform: “Where…