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Josip Broz Tito loved dogs.  Although people may not have known that before World War II, they certainly realized it after as photos of him with his omnipresent canine companions circulated throughout Yugoslavia and the world.  And if it weren’t for a dog, Yugoslavia may never have existed.  Or, at least, not the Yugoslavia that …

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This traditional poem from the Shona people of Zimbabwe is quite erotic! It is sung in private – from a husband to a wife – in praise of her sensual abilities. Thank you very much, Madam Nyemba! The single mother of one, Chivazve’s daughter,The Chivazves, who hunt elephants.Thank you, you of the girdle at the delicate …

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Vampires are from Serbia. They aren’t attractive, either. The question is – are vampires real? That is the question addressed in Kiss of the Butterfly by James Lyon. With the action taking place back and forth between centuries, the story follows grad student Stephen Roberts as he researches ancient folklore in a war-ravaged former Yugoslavia. …

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The Lascaux Caves of France may be the most famous prehistoric cave paintings in the world – even inspiring a popular book series- but the oldest cave art in the world is actually over 7600 miles away in the much less famous site of Blombos Cave, South Africa. The stone art in Blombos is estimated …

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Opobo women and children in Nigeria in the late nineteenth century The central theme of The Icarus Girl, by Helen Oyeyemi, seems to western readers to be supernatural. TillyTilly is real, or she is not. There is no in-between. Eight-year-old Jessamy has developed mental issues.   But to readers familiar with the dual worlds of the …

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Albanian sworn virgin, circa 1910 If you are looking for an in-depth examination of the history of the sworn virgin (or burnesha) phenomenon in the mountains of Northern Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo, Sworn Virgin by Elvira Dones, is probably not where you want to start. But if you want to understand, to live a possibility …

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On January 10, 2016 an earthquake struck the southern African nation of Zambia near Kariba Dam.  It wasn’t very big, with a magnitude of 4.6, and it didn’t cause any damage that was reported.  But it did lead to a lot of talk about what caused the earthquake – and while tectonic plates and fault …

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Werk IV, Pašino Brdo, Sarajevo When the Austro-Hungarians occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, they began a vast construction project of forts around the country, in particular around the city of Sarajevo.  The forts, constructed in the typically solid Austrian style, were meant to protect from the most likely invasion – a Serb army sweeping …

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