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Overview
Ashaki is a west African name that means "beautiful". ASHAKI, AFRICAN PRINCESS is a children/young adult's fiction that tells the romantic adventures of a beautiful ancient black African princess named Ashaki. Her parents, the King and Queen of Shaba, have betrothed her to the powerful heir-prince of Kush, but she is determined to marry for love. After a romping series of adventures with her friends she falls for another handsome prince, and together they challenge the heir prince and head priest of Kush in an ultimate showdown where wits becomes more important than strength.The book presents the paradigm of a magnificent black African civilization: Kush (Nubia) was a powerful and wealthy ancient civilization located just south of Egypt. Their kings used stallions and elephants in royal pageantry and warfare and built grand palaces and pyramids. Kushites were also internationally renown for their archery skills, trade, and manufacture of iron. All these facts are interwoven into the story.
The plot is meant to appeal to both blacks and whites alike. Idealized in the genre of European children’s stories, magic is nevertheless kept to a minimum so that the heroine and hero must solve their own problems via ingenuity and imagination. Philosophical issues are subtly addressed by the main characters—such as slavery (which every civilization employed) and the important role of books/knowledge/ technology in building a strong civilization. The story takes place in the first century B.C., so the general public still believes in idolatry--although the idols are smashed in a final dramatic scene and a new head priest is employed who worships only one God.
Synopsis
Ashaki is a west African name that means "beautiful". ASHAKI, AFRICAN PRINCESS is a children/young adult's fiction that tells the romantic adventures of a beautiful ancient black African princess named Ashaki. Her parents, the King and Queen of Shaba, have betrothed her to the powerful heir-prince of Kush, but she is determined to marry for love. After a romping series of adventures with her friends she falls for another handsome prince, and together they challenge the heir prince and head priest of Kush in an ultimate showdown where wits becomes more important than strength.
The book presents the paradigm of a magnificent black African civilization: Kush (Nubia) was a powerful and wealthy ancient civilization located just south of Egypt. Their kings used stallions and elephants in royal pageantry and warfare and built grand palaces and pyramids. Kushites were also internationally renown for their archery skills, trade, and manufacture of iron. All these facts are interwoven into the story.
The plot is meant to appeal to both blacks and whites alike. Idealized in the genre of European children s stories, magic is nevertheless kept to a minimum so that the heroine and hero must solve their own problems via ingenuity and imagination. Philosophical issues are subtly addressed by the main characters such as slavery (which every civilization employed) and the important role of books/knowledge/ technology in building a strong civilization. The story takes place in the first century B.C., so the general public still believes in idolatry--although the idols are smashed in a final dramatic scene and a new head priest is employed who worships only one God.