15 Important Facts About African Continent

African History You Need To Know

 15 important facts about the continent of Africa:

Fact 1: Africa is the second largest continent in the world after Asia.  Its area is about 30,335,000 square kilometers.  And its population is about 831 million people

Fact 2: Lake Victoria is the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world after Lake Superior located in Canada and America

Fact 3: Lesotho is the only country in Africa that shares borders with South Africa, because it is located in the middle of South Africa

Fact 4: The largest island in Africa is Madagascar, its area is about 594,180 square kilometres.

Fact 5: Most of the inhabitants of the island of Madagascar are of Indonesian origin, and they arrived about 2000 years ago

Fact 6: The Nile River is the longest river in the world and passes through several countries in Africa.  Its length is about 6,695 kilometers

Fact 7: Coffee was first discovered by an Ethiopian shepherd named Kaldi from the Kaffa region, and from that word came the English word "coffee", as he noticed that the sheep were moving in a strange way after they ate the coffee beans

Fact 8: The word Ethiopia is of Greek origin, and it is composed of two words: “etho” and “ops”, which means burnt face.

Fact 9: Algeria is the largest country on the continent of Africa, its area is about 2,381,740 square kilometers, and deserts constitute about 85% of the land of Algeria, and almost all deserts are uninhabited.  Most of Algeria's population lives in its northern regions and near the Mediterranean Sea

Fact 10: The continent of Africa contains three major deserts: the Sahara Desert, Namib, and Kalahari

Fact 11: The largest desert in the world is the Sahara Desert in Africa, and it extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea

Fact 12: In the Namib Desert, located in Namibia, there are the highest sand dunes in the world, some of which reach a height of more than 400 meters from the ground.

Fact 13: The highest pea

OSOGBO FESTIVAL: ONLY VIRGIN IS ALLOWED TO CARRY FESTIVAL CALABASH

 𝗢𝘀𝘂𝗻 𝗢𝘀𝗼𝗴𝗯𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗯𝗮 (𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿) 

The current Arugba, 𝗢𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶 𝗢𝘆𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗷𝗶, is the young daughter of the sitting Ataoja of Osogbo. She took over from Abolade Oyewale, who carried the sacrifice calabash to the river goddess and was herself considered a goddess for 10 years. 

Every August, Osogbo town plays host to one of the most interesting festivals in the world, the Osun Osogbo Festival. Since the town became host of the country’s second World Heritage site, the gravitation pull of adventurous tourists has become hard to resist. Its a festival that allows tourists to discover the plains, the streams and forest of Osogbo, the land of Oroki, famed for its indigo dye, ‘aro’. 

The one month long festival is believed to be a covenant between the indigenes and the water goddess, during which time, the indigenes thank the water goddess for the peace, tranquillity and prosperity bestowed on the town by the goddess and also to ask for more favours from the goddess for the next year.

The Arugba is led by the most senior Osun priestess and Aworo Osun from the premises of the palace of the reigning Ataoja of Osogbo, enveloped on both sides by a formidable human fence, who must ensure that she gets to her destination without incident and, more importantly, with the calabash intact. As the tradition goes, the virgin so chosen ‘’is the personification of the goddess Osun and must not stumble’.

Arugba is carefully chosen by the priests. Sources say that as soon as these votary maids are picked, they live under the watchful eyes of the Ataoja during the periods that they serve as Arugba. Once an Arugba is picked, she more or less, becomes kabiyesi’s (king) daughter. She lives under the care and watchful eyes of the kabiyesi. This is because she must not know any man while she still bears the Osun calabash; so they don’t enjoy some freedom that their mates enjoy.” The Arugba’s are allowed to quit when they are matured enough to get married.

The practice, over the years, has been that the Arugba must be a virgin, a spinster from the king’s extended family, and must be chosen for the role by Ifa divination picked from ages 11 or 12 and dedicated to the service of the River goddess Yeye Osun, until she eventually gets matured. Usually, she would serve the town for about three to four years before she grows into womanhood, but with civilisation and most of them attending schools, the Arugba now serves the town or the River goddess for over ten years for those picked at tender ages. 

Arugba is not allowed to eat certain foods like, fish, snail, guinea corn, because Osun does not take them.

Whilst lots of restrictions are placed on the social life of the votary maid, she’s allowed to go to school and mingle with her friends. Though spiritual, being Arugba does come with its own perks such as enjoying preferential treatment in school, one of which is spotting long hair while other students kept short hair and getting whatever she desires from the ruling king. 

Fellow students are wary of her but for those who are close to her, a former Arugba once said, she is completely harmless.  She wore school uniform all through her years of studies except for two bracelets on her wrists which should never be taken off’. Of course that caused some few skirmishes with teachers, of which one physically yanked it off and the consequences were immediately devastating, she recanted.