Adaptation.

Adapting is was we do as people.  We naturally and un-naturally know how to adapt to other situations, ideas, strategies, peoples, etc.  Based on the two articles we have read this week and from our discussions in class that is the underlying theme that I have picked up on.  Within the Kongo, Beni and Sapi people's that is what they did.  They assimilated and appropriated images into their own cultures so it fit and made sense to them.


The articles talked about "others" and who they were.  In the first article, Imaging Otherness in Ivory: African Portrayals of the Portuguese ca. 1942 by Suzanne Preston Blier, the others were the Portuguese.  When the Portuguese were first introduced to these different cultures they were received, for the most part, pretty similarly.  The white skin, advanced technology, wealth and the facet that they came across the ocean all contributed to the assumption that they were ancestors and related to Olukun, the god of water, fertility and wealth.


The Portuguese, their looks and culture, were completely new to these African cultures.  How would you react if you encountered a new race, species, or alien race.  I am not sure about you, but I know that I would act similarly to these African Cultures.  I would feel the need to assimilate or adapt.  I would want(or need) a reason for this.  Would I consider this new something to be godlike? It is all unsure territory.  The reason I bring this up is to show that they were adapting to this new idea.  By the Portuguese coming across the ocean, the Kongo, Beni and Sapi cultures adapted this foreign idea and made it their own.


Because the Portuguese were then related to Olukun they were portrayed in art and objects similarly.  Symbols and animals were used to do this.  Olukun was often portrayed with sacred animals such as the leopard, crocodiles and mudfish.  Different objects were used such as ivories, salt cellars or plaques to represent the Portuguese with these symbols and ideas as well.


Since our class yesterday I have been trying to think of other ways we adapt in our culture today.  An example in class that was given was with food.  We have taken food from different cultures and then made it our own by fitting it to how we like and enjoy it.  Another example that we did not talk about in class that keeps coming to my mind is music.  New music is constantly being written all the time, but where does inspiration come from?  More often than not, we use ideas from other people and cultures.  I see this a lot in collaborations.  When are rapper joins with a country song to create a song a pretty interesting song comes from it.  While music is not a culture example I believe that it helps to portray how we adapt in our society.

Those Poor Chickens...

Well, I don't know about you guys but I was pretty darn shocked when we saw chickens' wings and legs being broken while they were still alive.  Along with the goat! I wasn't able to watch it.  It just freaked me out some!  This got me thinking though, about the normalcy that these rituals are for people who practice the vodou religion.  While this was very shocking for me and is something that pops in my head about this past week of class, another thing that I picked up was the relationship between the Haitian vodou religion and Catholicism.


As a practicing Catholic it is interesting to me that Catholic saints are used in other religions as well. I have not heard of this much before.  The way that these saints are handled is intriguing to me because they constantly change.  In the Catholic religion these saints stay the same all the time but in Haitian vodou they change to fit the times.  This is something I have noticed in other parts of vodou and other African cultures as well.  Rituals are changed to suit them as time goes on.


When watching the Divine Horseman there was a specific line that was brought up that struck me.  It said that the priest's responsibility(in Haitian vodou) was just as much important to the congregation as well as to the god's.  When  reading this, it seems obvious, right?  I think it is, but it is a new way to think about it.  The priest, who is a relation between the god and the congregation needs to equally serve and lead both.


One more thing that sparked my interest this week was that there was no need for masks.  Someone else mentioned it in their blog as well but with other African cultures a mask was needed for possession to take place but in Haitian vodou no mask is needed.  


In past classes I have noticed while our culture compared to different African cultures are very different they are in some ways similar.  This week continued that thought because of the relation of Catholicism and Haitian vodou.  We all interpret things differently though and we could really learn a lot from each other.  Diversity is so beautiful!

Egungun Masks

It's obvious that in the Yoruba Culture of Nigeria there is a strong presence of spirituality throughout.  You can see it within several of their objects and what we know as their art.  Their Egungun masks and masquerades are seething with spirituality.  These are seen as a chance for the living to communicate with the dead and also as a veneration of their ancestors.

When an Egungun masquerade is performed, the person under the mask(like many other cultures) takes on the whole personality of the spirit or ancestor.  When dressed in the mask/costume they are no longer themselves, but are the spirit fully and act like such.  These spirits and depending on the masks all act differently.  Sometimes, these masks are purely for entertainment while other times they are used to teach social norms to their culture.

An example that we discussed in class that I found very intriguing was the European Egungun masks.  I was surprised that while these costumes are considered some of our everyday outfits were considered to be much more spiritual to them.  These specific masks were used to teach the correct way to court and have a relationship between a male and a female.  At first, a performance is done based on how Europeans are too promiscuous and then the "correct" example is given.

Something else that I noticed about the Egungun masks was that when these are worn every part of the body needs to be covered including a person's hands.  Egungun literally means "power concealed" and it is said that these spirits have so much power that they need to be completely contained from everyone else.  The idea of having so much power probably seems foreign to most of us but this was/is a regular occurrence in the Yoruba culture.  

More objects and icons are used in many other ways to portray spirituality in the Yoruba Culture.  These Egungun masks are only one example and it is very clear how important of a role they play in their culture.