Furra

 I got an e-mail last night from one of my regular readers, Yaya, telling me my last post on Queen Furra got her curisoity going and asked me if I knew any material written about her and could direct her to it.I looked up in Encyclopadia Aethiopica (Harrasssowitz Verlag, 2005) and I found a half page entry written by a certain Anbessa Teferra.Here it is.

The orgin of Furra, the legendary queen of the Sidama, is not clear.According to Gasparini, she was the wife of Ahmad b.Ibrahaim al-Gazi (Gragn, known as Diingamo Koyya among the Sidama).Others claim that Furra’s father was an honourable clan leader during the 14th or 15th cent. and when he passed away, she was made queen because she was the eldest daughter.

A statue for Madiba

A statute of Nelson Mandela has been unveiled in London this week. It was said the late South African anti-apartheid activist Donald Woods had the idea for the 9ft-high (2.7m) bronze statue.According to the BBC, Mandela, 89, who was in London for the occasion, told a crowd who gathered for the unveiling that, “Though this statue is of one man, it should in actual fact symbolize all of those who resisted oppression, especially in my country.”