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[English]

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“The Africans: A Legacy of Lifestyle”

Introduction

“The Africans: A Triple Heritage”, is a documentary based on history written and narrated by Dr. Ali Mazrul in early 1980s, it was jointly produced by BBC along with Public Broadcasting Service and Nigerian Televise Authority. Africa’s triple heritage is envisioned by Mazrul that is more like a product of three major influences, such as, heritage of Eurocentric capitalism that was forced on Americans by the European colonialism, an indigenous heritage that bore out of climate change and the spread of religion. i.e. Islam by the support of both evangelism and jihad. In this program, Dr. Ali Mazrul explores identity, tradition, family lies, and modernity. The documentary is an exegetical analysis of the negative effects of history on independent African Leaders, taking into account the scenario where West tended to record Africa more as a recipient and less as a transmitter of effects. It can be viewed that Africa has transformed both America and Europe in past where Mazrul points out the situation where Africa is positioned today. It is asserted that the present timeline of Africa reflects Africans as a hybrid identity that is economically dependent, politically unstable and culturally mixed. It is significant to note that the documentary is a thought-provoking reflection regarding Africans that depicts facts.

Discussion

A triple triangle, A legacy of lifestyles is actually a portrayal of impact with which African lifestyle is influenced by Western, Islamic and Indigenous factors. Dr. Ali Mazrul has tried to make a comparison between simple African societies and more complex and centralized African lifestyles taking into consideration the importance of family life. In documentary, it can be inferred that when a baby that is born in Nigeria, he has three different badges of identity termed as, scars, name, and circumcision. The African family is not only differentiated in terms of identity such as there is no disjunction between cousins and siblings neither in the children and nephews and the nieces. In accordance with the traditional framework, there is a strong bond of loyalty between the old and the children because they spent time with each other. However, a man can have a number of wives ranging to eight with twenty-five children because Africans believe that they would be remembered after death in adherence to their legacy of inmates’ immortality, the interference of modern trends was not sufficient to bring about a change in the African legacy in the village. Even after the worldly success, a man could make a pilgrimage to his village where he can render advice to family and give money.

It is significant to note that in African villages, rule of democracy could be found, situations are being discussed by the elders of the village until a final decision is made. For marrying a woman, a man must have a plot of land for his wife. Dual fertility is being observed on the side of the woman as she gives birth to children and at the same time, she harvests the land for producing food. By taking a look at African history, it can be asserted that there are certain remarkable women as well such as, Hashitsup who ruled Egypt. It is illustrated that there are a number of women warriors in West Africa who are called Amazons. There were African females crusades as well, taking into account that they were treated as powerful portraits of society. It is inferred that African modern times are removed from the role of dual fertility taking into account that they opt for secretarial jobs and other jobs that were less influential on the world around them.

In African history, the interference of modern British law requires precise measurements of land in order to settle land disputes. In accordance with Islamic law, it has been highlighted that there was an adequate division of land among the man’s heirs. The stance of Muslim belief contracts with the African ideology of ownership that highlights that land is something that is limitless and it is valuable to have a number of children. A clear example of this fact is traced in Zimbabwe, a city that arose out of prosperity because of two major attributes, one of the fertile land and other is the presence of gold. It is lamented that about 500 years ago, the city was declined because of misuse, adhering to over cultivation and unsafe agricultural practices. It is asserted that in terms of African culture, civilizations may change but the only pertinent thing is family. The familial stance of African culture is polygamous, highlighting that the family deviates from actual Islamic familial paradigms. Under the impact of Islamic religion, there are only four wives allowed in the marriage of a single man. The Western Ideal adhering to one man and one wife cannot be traced even in Catholic Africans. In Catholic Journalist, in Zaire, a single man can have two wives and thus two families are allowed to spend time, married with a single man.

In a nutshell, the documentary is an examination of factors that influenced religion in Africa adhering to a particular emphasis on traditional African religions and the coexistence of Islam and Christianity. It is more like an illustration of the extent to which Islam and Christianity are prevailing, parallel to each other and how an Africanized stance is formulated. Dr. Ali has inferred how West has impacted Africa taking into account the development of the West in contrast to African natural resources and human resources, reflecting sheer exploitation. It is significant that the stance of exploitation can be traced to both before and after colonial period. The documentary explores inherited tension in the juxtaposition of three African heritages by looking at the ways in which these conflicts have paved the way for rising nationalist movement. The stance of nationalist movement adheres to the warrior tradition of indigenous Africa, the tradition of Jihad in Islam and the Modern Guerrilla Warfare. In a nutshell, it can be found that “A Triple Triangle” is an overview of the means of governing Africa taking into account the examination of social orders that can illustrate Africa looking for the viable form of government in the post-independence period. Dr. Ali Mazrul ends documentary in a stance that presents the problem of infant mortality. He highlights that the solution to ratio of birth rate in Africa is to lower the ratio of infant mortality. It is asserted that the fear of infant mortality has made Africans have a number of children, taking into consideration a belief that children are the carriers of the family line and a source of both moral and emotional support.

Conclusion

It can be found that the documentary illustrates strong historical background, adhering to the nature of content, leading to contemporary lifestyle, how it is influenced and then religious interferences that coexist. Side by side, there is a detailed narration of the tools of exploitation, how natural and human resources are exploited paving the way for conflicts between the three heritages. The documentary is more like a search for truth that could justify governance and governed. There is a clear depiction of family, wealth and other resources that can have a direct or indirect impact on African ideology and mold their way of thinking.