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So, before I discuss the story about the ancient kingdom (Jenne Jeno), I would like to first began with a story about my first job that helped mold me into the person that I am today. For those who may not know me personally, may not know that I started my first job the day after I graduated high school. The reason why I was in such a rush was because I had to meet my team leaders and coworkers the next day. I don’t really recall having enough time to celebrate my new accomplishment as a high school graduate, but I still was excited for the new beginning that I would be soon starting at my new job. A brief description of what I was expected to do at this new job of mine was basically give away books in hope to receive a small donation in return to help me raise money for school. I considered this new job of mine to be kind of like missionary work, because these books that we had given away in exchange for small donations contained knowledge and information about how to establish a healthy diet and some books just contained pure motivation based off of text in the bible. I found most of these books to be very informative and intriguing. Two of my favorite books that I found to be really interesting were Foods That Heal and Plants That Heal. Although these books were really interesting there was a catch: I had to disperse these books by going door to door, and in front of businesses for 2 whole months during the summer.
Yeah, I know it was probably kind of dangerous, but fortunately we had team leaders who were really smart and were very careful in not putting us in dangerous situations. Also, we had to stay with our team at church? (Kind of like a lock in) But all of that was worth it.
To this very day I find that work experience to be the most amusing and insightful job I have ever had. Why? The first reason would be that some days I would knock on the right door and the people who answered would always believe it was like divine intervention just because I came with the right book or information they were seeking. The second reason I say that is because I had come to realization that although I worked with people who came from different backgrounds, we had the same mission to come together, and inspire other people of knowledge that was hard to attain. In duration of those two months we worked during the week and relaxed on the weekend. Every week day we all woke up each morning and completed our daily task together. Whether it was to clean or cook, we all worked together by doing our part. As the days passed by, we all developed from becoming shy individuals to becoming curious about the difference of how we cared for our hair and body. We gradually realized that although we appeared different, we were still the same in many ways. After we started becoming comfortable with each other we began helping each other out by uplifting each other up on tough days and entertaining each other during the weekend. I found the weekends to be very fun because we actually had a chance to wind down and show our true selves. We all had a chance to prove we actually had our own talent whether it was to sing, recite poetry, or cook that favorite meal that just reminded us of our home or culture. As time went by, we all eventually in some way made our differences and the various color of our skin look all the same. We proudly owned it because we knew we created a bond as if we were family. One weekend just like most weekends our team leaders took us to the grocery store and as always, we were in a great mood. We were helping each other with our shopping list and laughing together then we passed this lady and she glanced at us and said “I have seen it all”.
Surprisingly, I didn’t come quick to anger at what she was trying to imply, but I laughed because I understood she didn’t know the bond that we had built although we appeared different from one another. Which brings me to the thought of Jenne Jeno, the independent city-state that didn’t really care about the color of your skin but instead the knowledge and/or the craft others possessed? Jenne- Jeno was known to be established in the 3rd century of B.C.E. in sub Saharan Africa or what is now known as Mali. This city was very well known by people passing by on caravans or sailing in from afar by ship through the the Niger River. It was known as a popular attraction because it was a place of trade and a place to obtain knowledge. So just for a moment, just imagine with me passing by a university surrounded by a flea market on a major highway.
That’s pretty much how people on caravans seen Jenne- Jeno except it was a different time and era. The buyers did not purchase food, metal, or any other type of goods with a set currency or what is known as money, instead they had to trade with goods or labor. Aside from that well-known leaders from Europe and other regions across the world would sail by ship just to see this city and obtain the knowledge on how they became so successful off of thriving from trade and craft. Even if it took day or weeks to learn about this knowledge the Europeans and people from other regions who came afar would still harbor under the same roof as the Africans. When I simply heard about this city it was breathtaking not only because different races and creeds peacefully coincided together but also the way the people on the caravans had to learn to survive when passing through the city. Just imagine if we had no more money in today’s world. If you were to pass a local market on a major highway, and you wanted to purchase something you would have to exchange a valuable asset with the buyer by either offering some of your valuable goods or a product/service you had a craft or trade in. Today we do that we have so many major online platforms in which we can list good or services in exchange for cash. Still so many of us depend solely on a day to day jobs that usually take two weeks to a month to get a check. Yet we still have the option to offer our product/services on so many platforms such as (Etsy, eBay, YouTube, and many more websites). Just imagine how wealthy and abundant we would be if we exchanged our product/services into something we loved to do. So yeah, I’m making a Call for Action. It’s time for us to take back our time and be happier in doing the things we love by creating our trade/craft. So we may have more time to spend with our family, and more money to put on our table. Just Imagine how stress-free life would be then.
Peace and Love,
Mami Kelviana
There is no GREATER AGONY than bearing an UNTOLD STORY inside you
-Maya Angelou
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Click Here to learn more about the History of Jenne Jeno
Part 1: Virtual Tour of Djenne Djeno
Part 2: Virtual Tour of Jenne Jeno Remains