I like reading and watching stuff about ancient cultures. I like to think about stuff that was wiped out and largely undocumented.
I like stuff like: the mysterious story of Gao and Timbuktu in Africa. I’ve heard there are only two books that have survived, recording what happened from those times. Timbuktu was a cultural hub full of books and schools, and at one point they were almost all destroyed by the brutal conquest of a king from the south, if I recall correctly. The area was surrounded by the insanely huge Sahara desert, and nobody knew what was going on out there because, well, you had to cross the damn Sahara. It must have been such a strange and mysterious land, protected by a desert of unfathomable size, that no one dared to cross. Here’s a vid
(a long one, settle in, fantastic channel)
I’m currently reading an old journal from a Frenchman in what is now Quebec, where he documents a discussion with an Indigenous man from the Huron nation. This guy had learned French and maybe English too I dunno, but he traveled to Europe to try and have discussions with the Queen and fight for his people’s way of life. In this book, the man argues with the Frenchman over his views on religion, morality, ownership, marriage and so on. It’s fascinating to hear his views, from such a long time ago (1700-ish). There are many mic drop moments. Apparently it was a best-seller and people used to love reading these accounts from The New World over in France. I think it’s likely that someone like Rousseau used to gobble this shit up, before writing his own origin story for governments and private property based around the idea of “The Noble Savage”, which went on to directly influence the French Enlightenment and democracy. This is a theory put forth in the 2021 book “The Dawn of Everything” which is massive and damn near impossible to get through. I like these ideas though. There’s plenty of stories of European thinkers, poets, artists and so on, being inspired by/obsessed with stories from the colonies. “Studying” primitive ways and philosophy. Becoming amateur anthropologists. Picasso was obsessed with African sculptures and masks. Rimbaud stopped writing and fucked off to Ethiopia. And Jung, I mean, that guys whole theory was based around our connection to primitive peoples. I’m not saying it’s wrong or disgraceful that this happened, I think it’s important to have a diverse array of influences, I’m just saying you gotta give credit to where these influences likely originated from. Which is from colonized people in The New World, Asia, Africa, I mean, all over. And few of them have their names in the great lists of artists and intellectuals from history. And shit, maybe they could give a fuck to be on that list anyway.
https://archive.org/details/newvoyagestonort02laho/page/517/mode/1up
(this one took some tracking down, you’re welcome)
I’ve read a bit of The Florentine Codex, which is a series of journals kept by a Spanish friar in the 1500’s in what is now Mexico. He documented a bunch of stuff about Aztec culture before it was completely wiped out. There’s also drawings by actual Aztec people. They are so incredible. The artwork from that time in Mesoamerica is probably my favourite.There’s an ancient story about how they built a massive city in the middle of a giant lake. They created little farming islands that spread out for miles. That city was completely lost and buried underneath what is now Mexico City. The history was also completely lost for hundreds of years until quite recently really, where they started to excavate and find stuff. Some of the little islands and canals are still there.
https://florentinecodex.getty.edu
Ya, I dunno, I really love reading and thinking about this shit. It’s like it activates my imagination.
I’m currently looking out my window, watching a group of 3 birds hop around the branches of a big tree that grows almost into my balcony. I don’t see them often. Maybe once every couple months. They are so tiny and cute and pretty, with yellow underbellies. I wonder if it’s the same group I always see. There are usually three, come to think of it. I wonder what they’re eating. This is why I like writing in the morning. I usually end up looking out the window thinking of what to say. Then I spend 10 minutes watching birds. Shit is peaceful.
Ok gang. I need to put you on to some music, as per blog tradition. Lemme think. Maybe we go African, given some of todays subject matter. This one is from East Africa though. “Sina Makossa” is a really popular song in Kenya. I think I used to hear it a lot when I lived there as a kid, but I only came back to it later in life. Ya, I went to high school in Kenya, and I got some stories man. That’s for another blog. Throw this shit on in the morning and see if you ain’t happy and dancing to start the day.
(this video is a diy masterpiece if you ask me)