Category Archives: Explorers & exploration

What Samuel Baker, Explorer, Can tell Us about Gum Arabic 1 of 3

Posted on 08/07/2015 by dianabuja

Gum arabic, the resin of certain acacia trees, has been an important product of east Africa and the Sahel for millennia.  In addition to being traded as far away as India, it is eaten by local animals and has also been a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blue Nile, Colonialism, Explorers & exploration, Gum arabic, Sahel, Samuel Grant, Sudan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mungo Park, Explorer and Scientist in Sumatra and Africa

Posted on 24/04/2015 by dianabuja

Following his trip to Sumatra [described below] Park traveled to west Africa under the tutelage of the Africa Association, which was keen to obtain more information on the river Niger and groups inhabiting the area. Park’s love of travel had … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-West, African rice, Agriculture, Colonialism, Explorers & exploration, Mungo Park | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Missionaries in Nineteenth Century Africa – A Few Considerations

Posted on 09/04/2015 by dianabuja

The Rev. Robert Nassau, who first landed in West Africa in 1861, spent the following 30+ years in this region, as a religious official and graduate of Princeton University.  And while there is much to be criticized in these early years of … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-West, Christianity, Colonialism, European colonizers, Explorers & exploration, Robert Nassau | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

What the well-dressed fieldworker is wearing this summer (i)

Posted on 29/04/2014 by dianabuja

Matthew Timothy Bradley is posting a series of blog on field-garb, which is both very useful for those in or going to the field and is also very amusing.  Some good analysis from, of course, a field anthropologist.  Here are a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-General, Anthropology, Egypt, Ethnography, Explorers & exploration | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wild Rice, Salt, and Navigation on Lake Tanganyika: 19th Century and Now

Posted on 03/09/2013 by dianabuja

The first settlers and explorers in Burundi were from Germany.  Their initial port on Lake Tanganyika was established at Kajaga – which is close to where we live and where the Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika is now located on the northern shores … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Central, Burton and Speke, Burundi, David Livingstone, European colonizers, European explorers, Explorers & exploration, Gatumba, Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika2, Imbo Plain, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants, Lake Tanganyika, Living here, Rusizi River ^ Wetlands, Sourcd of the Nile, Stanley and Livingstone | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Friday Funnies: Monkey-Business

Posted on 27/07/2013 by dianabuja

While it is the human-like qualities of primates that attracts us to watch and enjoy them, it is the case that in rural Africa – at least the parts in which I’ve lived and travelled – they are simply considered … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-General, Chimpanzees, Explorers & exploration, Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika2, Lake Tanganyika, Living here, Primates, Susan Savage-Rumbaugh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Adventures of Mary Gaunt, Alone in West Africa in 1910

Posted on 25/06/2013 by dianabuja

Not an explorer – too late for that – but certainly one of the most interesting travelers in Africa during the colonial period, whose insights bring to life colonial times along the west African coast. This is the first of … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-West, Colonialism, European explorers, Explorers & exploration, Mary Gaunt, Mungo Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments