31. The Saga of Shaka Zulu – A 60 page verse rendition of the birth, exploits and death of Shaka kaSenzangakhona, founder of the Zulu empire. Those who have read Henry Wadworth Longfellow’s famous Song of Hiawatha will immediately recognize the same verse form. Like the Song of Hiawatha, there are many violent passages in this work. This could not be avoided,however, since it is intended to depict a truthful account of a warrior king who usurped a small local chieftancy and turned it into the mightiest military state South Africa had ever known. In spite of the violent images, this saga nevertheless, also contains much wisdom and quite a bit of morality.

32 . Black Martial Arts III: Danced Martial Arts of the Americas: Part I: Capoeira & Congo – This is the first part of a volume that is divided into three sections. Part I describes Capoeira (of Brazil) and then compares it with the Congo Dance (of Panama); Part II deals with Danmye / Ladjia (of Martinique); and Part III will deal with Kalenda (of Trinidad), Mayolé (of Guadeloupe), and other African-American stick-fighting traditions (from Haiti, Venezuela, etc.). In addition to providing summary answers to such basic questions as the “what, where, when, how, who, & why” of each art, each section of this volume includes additional detailed information and photos dealing with: 1) musical instrumentation; 2) songs; 3) weapons; 4) apparel; 5) physical movements; 6) aims & strategies; and 7) philosophy, secrets & symbols.

33 . Black Martial Arts IV: African Arts of Stick-fighting: Part I: Northern Nguni Stick-fighting – attempts to identify and describe various African, Melanesian and/or Dravidian competitions involving daring or risk-taking with men, beasts, or elements of nature. Volume IV is divided into three parts, namely: a) Part I – which deals exclusively with the stick-fighting art as practiced by the Zulu (of South Africa), the Swazi (of Swaziland), and the Amamfingo Ndebele of Zimbabwe; b) Part II – which will deal with the stick-fighting arts of the remainder of the eastern coast of the African continent (i.e. Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Southern Egypt; and Part III – which will attempt to locate and describe other stick-fighting arts on the African continent such as those practiced by the Soto of Lesotho, the Pedi of Empumalanga, etc. Part I ( Northern Nguni Stick-fighting) contains 51 pages and 30 photos of Northern Nguni stick-fight practitioners and postures.

34 . Black Martial Arts Vol. III: Danced Martial Arts of the Americas: Part II (Danmyé / Ladjia / Wonpwen) - is the fifth publication in an open-ended series of books that attempt to identify and describe various African and / or Melanesian competitions involving daring or risk-taking with men, beasts, or the elements of nature. This 94-page publication with its 30 accompanying photographs provides the reader with a detailed description of Danmyé, a danced martial art of African origins that employs kicking, boxing, and grappling techniques all of which are subordinated to drummed rhythms accompanied by choral songs. The first part of this volume dealt with Capoeira and the third part will deal with stick fighting.

35 . The Adventures of Dan Aiki Books VI – X - This is the post-puberty continuation of the Adventures of Dan Aiki series. In Book VI Dan Aiki meets the “Ten-headed” Queen Gutsun Goma; in Book VII he marries a Fulani maiden; in Book VIII he heads an army; in Book IX he is betrayed; and in Book X he returns home. These stories, unlike books I – V, which were written for pre-pubescent children, contain a great deal of violence and some elements of sex.

36. The Lore of the Caribbean Part I: The Black Caribs - Through pictures (633 color photos) and words (1184 pages), the reader is taken on a breath-taking journey through those areas of the Caribbean associated with the origin and diffusion of the Garífuna (also known as the Black Caribs) where he/she will be exposed to their history, culture, and traditions and be left with a vivid impression of their trials and tribulations. This volume contains separate sections dealing with the Black Caribs of St Vincent & the Grenadines, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua as well as a section that links this proud race to sister populations in Dominica, St. Lucia, and elsewhere. It also presents the notion of a new race of people which the author calls “People of the Coconut”. Throughout this armchair journey of discovery the reader will: (1) come face to face with representatives of a number of local Garífuna populations and their neighbors; and (2) be referred to a number of interesting glossary entries that provide detailed geographical, historical, and cultural descriptions. The book is written in the first person plural ("We") and thus the reader soon feels that he or she has become a character in the narrative. Much of the information in this book was obtained directly from representatives of each of the countries visited on three separate trips to the Caribbean and Central America from March 1999 to June 2001. All photographs were taken by the author and are intimately linked to the narrative with which they are associated.

37. Black Relgiosity – Just as captured Africans were branded with the mark of slavery and inferiority, so their high achievements in religiosity were branded with the calumnious terms of witchcraft and ancestor worship. Because of the nefarious impact of black slavery and colonization upon Black peoples, high African cultural achievements in religious thought (and in many other domains as well) were deliberately belittled, misinterpreted, and assigned the lowest of values, if valued at all. In cases where the magnificence of the achievement could not be easily dismissed (e.g. the construction of the pyramids in Egypt or the magnificent stone ruins in Zimbabwe, etc.), it was attributed to mysterious alien peoples.

Nevertheless, even today, it is increasingly obvious that Africans and their descendants can perhaps - in spite of hundreds of years of indoctrination and adversity - be said to be the most spiritual people on the face of the earth and that though many of them (be they living in Africa or in the Diaspora) consider themselves to be devout Christians or Muslims, the essence of their spirituality actually has very deep roots in Black religious thought. Since the contributions of Africa (the birthplace of humanity) to our understanding of religiosity has hitherto been largely and unjustly slighted, I have undertaken to write the present 220 page volume which attempts to reveal the true nature of Black religiosity and, in the process, demonstrate its logic, value and originality. Utilizing Ninian Smart’s seven-dimensional framework for describing religions, I present and analyze some fifty “testimonials” of Black individuals in Africa and the Diaspora whose backgrounds have already been provided in my Twixt Cancer & Capricorn publications. Throughout this text I clearly demonstrate that the basis of Black religiosity is neither “witchcraft” nor “ancestor worship”, but rather a unique and all-encompassing worldview that - when properly understood – enhances peaceful coexistence and reveals yet another path to a greater understanding of the meaning of human existence.

38. Adventures of Dan Aiki Books VI & VII (Illustrated) – This is the illustrated version of books VI and VII of the post- puberty Adventures of Dan Aiki. In Book VI Dan Aiki meets the “Ten-headed” Queen Gutsun Goma and in Book VII he marries a Fulani maiden. These two stories contain both violence and sex. The book is handsomely illustrated with fifteen drawings by Djibrirou Kane, an up and coming Pulaar artist from Senegal, West Africa. Both color and Black & White versions are available.

39. Black Cuisine of the Tropics: We Are What We Eat & Drink – This 284 paged volume takes the reader on a journey to discover the culinary arts of various Black communities in the tropics including stops in Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean, Melanesia, the Philippines, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Not only is the reader given recipes for various dishes that will delight her/his palate, but s/he is also given a brief description of the communities who prepare them and how they go about obtaining their foodstuffs (i.e. through fishing, farming, gathering, trapping, manufacturing, etc.). Throughout the text, the author describes his most “memorable meals” and the setting in which they were consumed. He also presents some folktales related to food items and an interesting glossary which describes in great detail some of the foodstuffs consumed (e.g. arrowroot, banana, coconut, etc.). This volume relies heavily on information obtained from some 169 Black informants that the author interviewed while conducting research for this and other related books.

40. Folktales, Legends, and Stylized Speech of Madagascar & Their Meanings - is composed of excerpts from The Lore of Madagascar and aims to present a number of popular Malagasy tales and traditions to the reader in a shorter and more affordable publication. This text contains examples of folk literature [i.e. folktales (angano), stories, traditions, legends, riddles, proverbs, sayings, and stylized speech] from 28 of Madagascar’s 51 indigenous ethnic groupings as well as the author’s interpretation of their meanings.

Here, the reader is exposed to: the fascinating hira gasy tradition of the Merina; the kabary and rijo traditions of the Betsileo; the riddle-making of the Bara; “walking or hanging adages” inscribed on lambas fabricated by SOTEMA; etymological tales of the Sihanaka; blood-brotherhood tales of the Betsimisaraka, Antaisaka, and Antambahoaka; ghost tales of the Sakalava; the trickster tradition of the Antaisaka; fishing stories of the Antanosy, and much more – all of which reveal important Malagasy concepts about life and living. Here, too, one finds numerous accounts of how and why the various ethnic groups call themselves what they do as well as the etymology of a number of place names. Among the most important socialization topics dealt with in the folktales appearing in this volume are: fady (taboo), tsiny (fault), fafy (blessing), sorona (sacrifice), vintana (destiny), fatidra (blood-brotherhood), valim-babena (responsibility to one’s parents for them having raised you), fihavanana (“being kind to one's relatives”), razana (the role of the deceased ancestors as protectors), and group loyalty. The reading is not only entertaining, but presents a greater understanding of what it means to be Malagasy and it is hoped that that the reader will be motivated to incorporate into his or her life those elements that s/he may deem particularly appropriate.