Its Moor than Fashion
Birth of a Moor
Variations of the term “Moor” have been used by world since the ancient times as a general description for indigenous Africans. The word Moor was used in many different languages But Rome being the most dominant language during the middle ages black skin was refereed to as MUIRIS. The Moors, who were religious fanatics, arrived in Spain in 711 A.D and thus began a period of history which would shape Iberia differently than the rest of Europe as the land adapted to a new religion, language and culture.
Africans from Morocco, Spain who civilized many counties through-out the world from 711-1480. Ruling territories for approximately 800 years, The Moors introduced elegance to fashion using the riches of materials such as silk, linen, leather,and animals of Africa. Also introducing new scientific progress such as, Medicine, Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Geography & Philosophy. At its height, Co’rdoba, the heart of Moorish territory in Spain, was the most modern city in Europe.
Before the Beginning
In the 10th Century, Cordoba was not just the capital of Al Andalus (Moorish Spain) but also one of the most important cities in the world, rivaling Baghdad and Constantinople. It boasted a population of 500,000 (200,000 more than now) and had street lighting, fifty hospitals with running water, three hundred public baths, five hundred mosques and seventy libraries – one of which held over 500,000 books.
The Moorish achievement in hydraulic engineering was outstanding. They constructed an aqueduct, that conveyed water from the mountains to the city through lead pipes.
All of this, at a time when London had a largely illiterate population of around 20,000 and had forgotten the technical advances of the Romans some 600 hundred years before. Paved and lighted streets did not appear in London or Paris for hundreds of years later. The Moors brought enormous learning to Spain that over centuries would percolate through the rest of Europe.
The intellectual achievements of the Moors in Spain had a lasting effect; education was universal in Moorish Spain, while in Christian Europe, 99 percent of the population was illiterate, and even kings could neither read nor write. At a time when Europe had only two universities, the Moors had seventeen, located in Almeria, Cordova, Granada, Juen, Malaga, Seville, and Toledo.
In the 10th and 11th centuries, public libraries in Europe were non-existent, while Moorish Spain could boast of more than 70, including one in Cordova that housed hundreds of thousands of manuscripts. Universities in Paris and Oxford were established after visits by scholars to Moorish Spain. It was this system of education, taken to Europe by the Moors, that seeded the European Renaissance and brought the continent out of the 1,000 years of intellectual and physical gloom of the Middle Ages.
Black soldiers, specifically identified as Moors, were actively recruited by Rome, and served in Britain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. St. Maurice, patron saint of medieval Europe, was only one of many black soldiers and officers under the employ of the Roman Empire. Although generations of Spanish rulers have tried to expunge this era from the historical record, recent archeology and scholarship now shed fresh light on the Moors who flourished in Al-Andalus for more than 700 years – from 711 AD until 1492. The Moorish advances in mathematics, astronomy, art, and agriculture helped propel Europe out of the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance.
Source: Stewartsynopsis.com/moors_in_europe.htm
The Moors brought enormous learning to Spain that over centuries would percolate through the rest of Europe. The intellectual achievements of the Moors in Spain had a lasting effect; education was universal in Moorish Spain. At a time when Europe had only two universities, the Moors had seventeen, located in Almeria, Cordova, Granada, Juen, Malaga, Seville, and Toledo.
Universities in Paris and Oxford were established after visits by scholars to Moorish Spain. The Moors introduced paper to Europe and Arabic numerals, which replaced the clumsy Roman system. It was this system of education, taken to Europe by the Moors, that seeded the European Renaissance and brought the continent out of the 1,000 years of intellectual and physical gloom of the Middle Ages.
The Moors introduced many new crops including the orange, lemon, peach, apricot, fig, sugar cane, dates, ginger and pomegranate as well as saffron, sugar cane, cotton, silk and rice which remain some of Spain’s main products today.
Source: Blackhistorystudies.com/resources
Father of the Moor
Dogon of Mali
The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. According to their traditions, the star Sirius has a companion star which is invisible to the human eye. This companion star has a 50 year elliptical orbit around the visible Sirius and is extremely heavy. It also rotates on its axis.
The Dogon of Mali are one of the most interesting tribes in Africa. the Dogon people are an African tribe numbering between 400,000 and 800,000. These people of Africa live in the West African country of the Republic of Mali where they are known for their amazing mask dances, incredible architecture, religious traditions, and wooden sculptures
The ancient history and origin of the Dogon is not exactly known. It is probable that the Dogon people originated from many different peoples all fleeing Islamic persecution. The tribes oral history has been passed down from generation to generation and there are several variations pertaining to their origin. Based on the oral history it is believed that they came from the west bank area of the Niger River sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries AD. They eventually migrated west to what is now the country of Burkino Faso. They eventually fled Burkino Faso to avoid being Islamized. They fled to the rocky Bandiagara cliffs in South East Mali. There they created dwellings along the walls of a sandstone cliff which is about 90 miles long (150 kilometers) and reaches heights of 1,640 ft (500 meters). In this area they were well protected from their enemies and stayed isolated from the outside world for centuries. They had no contact with Europeans until the end of the 19th century, which is much later than most other areas of Africa.
Faith of our Ancestors
Most Dogon people practice a religion that involves belief in certain supernatural beings (spirits) and ancestor worship. A small number of the Dogon tribe practice Christianity and a small number practice Islam. In the main Dogon religion Amma is the name of the main god. He is the creator, knows all, and is the master of life and death. Amma is the creator of three other supernatural entities who are listed below.
Nomo – He is Amma’s son and is generally regarded as a water spirit.
Lebe – Is an agricultural god and is worshipped in the Lebe cult.
Yurugu – He is the mythical representative of fallen man.[huge_it_slider id=”5″]
