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British-Ghanaian journalist and videographer Kai Lutterodt can trace her ancestry back five generations to the Tabom people, (check part one 'Roots and culture I' here ).   The Taboms were an Afro-Brazilian community of former slave returnees, mainly of Yoruba descent, that migrated to Nigeria initially and then settled in Ghana*. © Kai Lutterodt (centre) is flanked by Carnival-goers in Bahia 2013 The community derived its name from the Portuguese phrase: ‘esta bom’ or ‘ta bom’ for short, which means it is good. As the story goes, the returnees could not speak the Ga language spoken in Accra, or English so when locals asked them questions, their response was typically: ‘Ta bom’ – hence their name. Since then, the Tabom name has undergone a further transformation to Tabon, which is thought to be francophanisation of the name. Spiritual journey For Lutterodt, the exploration of her Tabom heritage was powerfully spiritual and gave her an opportunity to connec...

The story of how the Tabom people (an Afro-Brazilian community of former slave returnees mainly of Yoruba descent*) that migrated from Brazil Kai Lutterodt can trace her ancestry back five generations to Brazil's Tabom people ©  MisBeee Writes to West Africa has long fascinated me. Those of you who know me know of my love affair with Brazil, my search for its Twi-speaking community and my crazy experiences in the country over four trips. So, you can imagine my utter excitement when I found a living descendent of the Afro-Brazilian community right under my nose in London. Her name is Kai Lutterodt. She's British-Ghanaian, a recent journalism graduate and her two-part story is fascinating. Ancestral roots Lutterodt first learnt about her Tabom roots from her dad when she was eight years old. " I always considered it to be this exotic side that I had. It wasn’t until I became older that I explored it a bit further and I found out that it was a lot to do ...

What a year 2016 was for MisBeeeWrites! Thanks to you for your continued support reading, sharing and commenting on my posts. I have made it into some new and exciting publications such as TheNewBlackMagazine.com, Nuime.com and Kasoma Online. Some of my blogs were featured in a special Voice Online magazine for the Africa on the Square annual event. And in the latter half of 2016, I got to speak on platforms such as Ghanaian diaspora group Star100 and BloggingGhana about issues featured in my blog. I was invited to review books authored by Africans for the new initiative the Indie Book Show Africa. The initiative is an online platform that celebrates and validates the work of African writes through community engagement. Can't wait to see what 2017 will bring. I hope you will join me. Check out some of my highlight below: Where has the Black family gone from the John Lewis Christmas advert TheNewBlackMagazine.com 7 December 2016 ...