an illustrated encyclopedia of —

THE AFRICAN
WORLD

Welcome, traveller. This is a living atlas of stories, stitched together from kingdoms, tongues, cloths, and songs that cover a continent and its diasporas. Turn the page — or wander the map. Every hut is a home; every home is a chapter.

Enter the map → Open a book Classic view
Vol. I · Est. 2024
54 Nations
250+ Tongues
12,400 Pages
N S W E

"Until the lions have their own historians…"

Chapter I

The Village of Many Homes

Each home on this map opens into a world. Walk between them as you please — there is no wrong order to learn in.

Folio I · The Map Start anywhere ✦ End nowhere PAGE 1

Chapter II

The Catalogue of Things

A museum's worth of objects, each a doorway to the people and places who made them.

Witnessed

Every entry is reviewed by a scholar who named it their home.

Written

Fresh essays, oral-history transcripts, and translated primary sources.

Shared

Open to contribute — a griot tradition, re-bound as a book.

Today's Pages

From The Archive

Samuel Maharero

Hero

Samuel Maharero

Rudolf Duala Manga Bell

Hero

Rudolf Duala Manga Bell

Koffi Olomide

Musician

Koffi Olomide

Zap Mama

Musician

Zap Mama

Kingdom of Luba

Empire

Kingdom of Luba

Kingdom of Burundi

Empire

Kingdom of Burundi