An ancient writing system confounding myths about Africa

Samba Yonga from Women's History Museum of Zambia holds up a frame over her face showing a photograph of a sacred mask with Sona symbols etched on to its surface, each telling stories of women's significance, wisdom, and the vital knowledge they carried.


IMAGE SOURCE, WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM ZAMBIA

This sacred mask is etched with symbols of Sona, a sophisticated and now rarely used writing system

Article information
Author, Penny Dale
Role, Journalist
9 hours ago

A wooden hunters' toolbox inscribed with an ancient writing system from Zambia has been making waves on social media.

"We've grown up being told that Africans didn't know how to read and write," says Samba Yonga, one of the founders of the virtual Women's History Museum of Zambia.

"But we had our own way of writing and transmitting knowledge that has been completely side-lined and overlooked," she tells the BBC.

It was one of the artefacts that launched an online campaign to highlight women's roles in pre-colonial communities - and revive cultural heritages almost erased by colonialism.

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