Summary: Mbiti (1969) argues that traditional African thought lacked an abstract, clock-based concept of time and treated time as event-based. Mbiti argues that the distant future was "virtually absent" as actual time, except for a short time horizon of about two years. Mbiti allows for predictable natural cycles (such as seasons) as "potential time," so agriculture is consistent with his model. Many observers describe African time as flexible and people-centered, where events happen "when people come" rather than at fixed times. Park (1799) reports that West Africans did not divide time artificially and counted years according to rainy seasons rather than days. Park (1799) also reports that belief in God and future reward/punishment was "complete and universal," contradicting the claim that Africans had no concept of the future. Park (1799) states that people recognized the future, but tried to end the discussion with the statement "nobody knows anything about it," indicating little interest in speculating about the distant future. Park (1799) states that "wasting time" was not important, and tasks could be completed today, tomorrow or months later without worrying too much about the future. Canot (1854) reports that an African king thought Europeans were fools for working from dawn to dusk and toiling to prepare for the future, describing it as "not African style." Park (1799) explicitly rejects the stereotype of the "lazy African," stating that the Mandingo work hard when necessary, but limit themselves to the bare minimum necessary to make a living, as the additional production has few viable markets. Rönnbäck (2014) argues that the stereotype of the "lazy African" originated before colonialism, challenging the claim that it was invented to justify colonialism. Rönnbäck (2014) attributes part of the perception of "laziness" to Europeans who overlook women's work and focus on men's political "talk," making men appear lazy. Modern "African time" is commonly used in the sense of lax punctuality or even lateness, and Africans themselves often describe it as normal and common. African writers and the ivory-tower campaign against tardiness explicitly blame "African time" for wasted productivity and stifling economic development. Widlok et al. (2021) report that "now" as opposed to "now now" in Soweto functions as a practical signal of uncertainty as opposed to greater certainty of imminent arrival.