Throughout history, Africa has been known for the compelling and vibrant stories of its people. In the past, these stories were passed down through oral tradition but as time has gone by, new methods like writing and recording became handy in passing on the heritage.
With more technology, new methods are still coming up to maintain the history and this is the story of how some young Africans have harnessed Web3 for a new wave of storytelling through NFTs.
A group of creatives from West Africa have come together to look at the iconic historical African stories through a new futuristic lens in the form of a collection of 6,000 NFT pieces in an undertaking that has been branded as The Alkebulan Tribe.
In a tribute to history, the name ‘Alkebulan’ is the original and by many historians’ accounts, the oldest name for Africa and fits perfectly into The Alkebulan Tribe’s mission to chart Africa’s history for the new ages.
The team at Alkebulan consists of digital artists and animators, developers, tech creatives, and entrepreneurs with a sole mission to unite Africa’s rich history with technology using comic books, games, and NFTs.
“This is more than just a project but a movement all about leading Africa into the Metaverse,” Justice Eneje, the co-founder of The Alkebulan Tribe says about their initiative. He adds that the team is aware and passionate about how tech can further African storytelling through art.
With the original collection focused on West African gods and folklore, one of the artists, Tobe Ezeogu points out that his creativity is powered by years of research that have made him well-versed in African mythology and folklore that he then throws into the mix to create the pieces.”
There are currently 6000 unique and exclusive Alkebulan NFT art pieces that showcase the rich cultural heritage and history of African warriors and royalty.
Each member will own all rights to their NFTs and ownership of the Alkebulan NFT comes with a series of benefits including free comics releases and Airdrops.
To join the Tribe, one has to mint an Alkebulan piece and minting is to be done from their official website here. The exact date for the mint is yet to be communicated but real-time updates can be found on the Alkebulan official channel on Discord.
Before the mint, a 2-piece limit has been set per wallet to allow as many members as possible to access the NFTs. At the time of purchase, a randomly selected NFT piece will be minted on the blockchain and delivered to a user’s wallet and OpenSea account 72 hours after the public sale.
To promote user interest, holders of each AlkebulanTribe piece will get lifetime revenue from character skin purchases and for every piece held from this initial collection, tribe members are made eligible to mint from future NFTs as well.