Monkey See, Monkey Do

     "Foreigners" play an important role in the lives of many different groups of people. Such as the role the Portuguese played on the Africans. When the Portuguese arrived in Africa they had brought with them their beliefs and ideas. They where also perceived to the Beni as the living dead. This idea was probably reinforced by the fact that in Benin the color white is not only associated with death but also identified with Olokun the wealthy god of the sea. Olokun is sometimes worshipped in tandem with Mami Wata. In the article Mami Wata Shrines Henry John Drewal states, "Devotees of an African water spirit known as Mami Wata take exotic object, interpret them according to indigenous precepts, invest them with new meanings, and then re-present them in inventive ways to serve their own aesthetic, devotional, and social needs." The Beni also noticed that the Portuguese carried crosses with them which they took as the crossroads. Since the Beni thought these items were very similar they identified with the "foreigners" in this way.


     When the Portuguese arrived in the Kongo the Kongolese also connected them with the other world. The crosses that the Portuguese carried with them served as additional support for the idea that the strange white skinned, long haired Portuguese came from a nether world of spirits and the dead. After seeing the Portuguese these two groups of people took what they had seen and heard. Adapting them to their cultures the re-interpreted the different things and embraced them into their own way of life. Drewal said, "People intentionally or unintentionally use the objects of others to define themselves." We see this many times in the article Mami Wata. Her followers select fragments from their study of foreign cultures and invest them with new meanings to create sacred symbols that will appeal to their vain and potentially troublesome spirit. Everything is re-shaped, re-symbolized, and re-presented. 


The idea of taking objects or thoughts from others and re-presenting them to a culture isn't for certain people. We as Americans do it all the time from copying food from other countries that is changed to our version of that type of food to adapting the personality and looks of someone we know or admire, in other words pretending to be someone we're not, trends and such it's happening all the time. I think Bakhtin said it the best when he wrote, "We appraise ourselves from the point of view of others, we attempt to understand the transgredient moments of our very consciousness and to take them into account through the other . . . ; in a word, constantly and intensely, we oversee and apprehend the reflections of our life in the plan of consciousness of other men."




                                    Bethany <>< 
 

Haitian Ritual Art

     Vodou. What is it and where did it come from those are two very good questions. It is a religion that honors and calls upon various African gods. According to the DVD "Black in Latin America" Vodou comes from the slave trading days of Haiti when Africans were taken from their native land and shipped to a French colony in Haiti and is still practiced today. In Haiti flags with sequence called drapo have been used in the Vodou religious worship to proclaim religious affiliation and spiritual militancy in devotion to lwa. Many of the contemporary flags are made of satin, velvet or rayon and often have sequins, beads, or applique attached to them(A History of Art in Africa pg. 533). As embodiments of spirit they incorporate the colors and symbols of the deity. A emblem called a veve, a ritual drawing on the ground to evoke the lwa. The central point of the crossing lines of the veve indicates a crossroads where the spiritual and physical worlds intersect, and where the spirit comes when invoked through the ritual. Some drapos have snakes on them this refers to a deity called Danbala associated with water, coolness, and wisdom. Some have hearts this refers to Ezili Freda, a female deity who is associated with love and affairs of the heart. A circular form refers to Simbi a water deity associated with healing. Campaigns to suppress the practice of Vodou in the 18th and 19th centuries led to strategies to maintain it behind the face of Catholicism, so while the drapo designs can be related to African deities they could also be masked by relation to a Catholic saint. The saints where incorporated into Vodou because there histories and qualities closely relate to those of a particular African deity.

Women being possessed during Vodou ceremony, Haiti

    
  
       Now I would like to share some of my thoughts about Vodou. Honestly learning about this for me was a little uncomfortable and scary. When we read the article about possession by spirits  and watched the DVD it made me uncomfortable because to me that isn't normal, but for the Haitians who practice Vodou it's very normal. Some people may watch that movie and think that it's not real and they fake it. Being a Christian I believe it's unfortunately all too real and this stuff could and does happen. Sadly they believe that they are being possessed by their gods or ancestors when in reality they're actually being possessed by demons pretending to be their gods so that the people will keep on believing and never find the truth. Satan is out there trying in every way he can to keep everyone from knowing the one true God and if that means taking on the identities of many false gods he will do just that. Some people believe that the western world has demonized Vodou and that it's not supposed to be like that unfortunately that's basically what it is demon worship. For me this was a very hard subject to get into because I don't believe in it and I believe that it's dangerous to mess with. Luke 8:12b in the Bible says, "then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved."1Peter 5:8 says, Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

                                                Bethany<><

From The Visual To The Spiritual

     In Yorubaland there are many pieces of art although they are all different most of them share a common tie to Yoruba beliefs. One example of this would be King Ariwajoye 1's (ruler of Ila-Orangun, Yoruba, Nigeria, 1977) crown (A History of Art in Africa, pg. 239). This crown has fringe that protected him from the gaze of the profane. It also has three tiers of abstract faces that decorate the body of the crown. Depicting ancestors and ultimately, the god Oduduwa, they refer to the mystic union of the living king with his deified predecessors. When the king wears the crown his being is changed. His head is covered by the veil and the crown, and his inner head becomes one with the power, ashe, of the ancestors. He cannot touch the earth so he stands on a mat or puts his feet up on a cushion. The kings face is hidden behind the veil and the ancestor eyes stare out instead. This way it is the vision of dynasty that is emphasized instead of the person who wears the crown. Thus tying the visual culture with the spiritual.

Ariwajoye 1, Ruler of Ila-Orangun, Yoruba, Nigeria, 1977

     Another great example of visual culture tying with the spiritual is an Opon Ifa or Divination Board and an Iroke or Divination Tapper. Two gods Orunmila and Eshu, serve as communicators or messengers between gods and humans. Orunmila is the creator god and can help people gain knowledge of their destinies as they live them out. Eshu is defined as uncertainty, chance violence, and trouble. A diviner meditates between Orunmila and the human community through an ifa. The essential sculptural object for ifa is a divination board. Like most it is circular in design and has a plate-like surface with a raised edge filled with different carved images. The face of Eshu is carved in the top center, five more appear to the left and right of it. When used the tray is sprinkled with dust from a special wood. The diviner throws sixteen palm nuts to determine a configuration of eight sets of signs. There are 256 combinations that can occur and each one is known by name. To attract the attention of Orunmila and Eshu the diviner will tap the iroke on the center of the divination board while at the same time reciting verses to acknowledge and honor Eshu, the messenger.

Opon Ifa (Divination Board) Yoruba, Nigeria, 19-20th century. Wood. & Iroke (Divination Tapper), Yoruba Nigeria.

       Perhaps the most thoroughly dynamic art forms of the Yoruba are masquerades. One called egungun is associated with the veneration of ancestors believed of helping the community if they are properly honored. some of these masquerades impersonate the spirit of the recently departed, while others appear to entertain when ancestors are venerated. Egungun are identified with specific families and serve as a link between the living and the dead. Before it is danced prayers are said, ifa is cast and charms are attached to the bodies of the dancers and placed inside their costumes. Putting on there costume the masker is depersonalized, transformed into a human repository for the spirit of the returning ancestor. Then the dancer will enter a state of possession and speak with the voice of the deceased.

Four Textile Egungun Masquerades, Near Remo, Yoruba, Nigeria

     So even though the visual culture can take on many different forms we can always tie it back to the spiritual beliefs of the people of Yorbualand.