Material The Journal of Objects, Art and

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working with the ancestors. the kabra mask and the “african renaissance” in the afro-surinamese winti religion

markus balkenhol

To cite this article: markus balkenhol (2015) working with the ancestors. the kabra mask and the “african renaissance” in the afro-surinamese winti religion, Material Religion, 11:2, 250-254, DOI: 10.1080/17432200.2015.1059135

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17432200.2015.1059135

Published online: 01 Oct 2015.

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Download by: [University Library Utrecht] Date: 27 October 2015, At: 05:22

in conversation

Downloaded by [University Library Utrecht] at 05:22 27 October 2015 working with the Mama Aisa. However, the Afri- can-inspired sculptures he initially produced ­ancestors. the kabra did not stand the test of deployment when Markelo and Van Berkum used them mask and the ­“african in a Winti prey. The ritual had been pre- renaissance” in the pared well. The event was organized at Van Berkum’s studio on Brienenoordeiland near afro-surinamese winti Rotterdam, an island in the Maas river which religion reminded Markelo of the river islands in Suri- name; the sculptures had turned out beau- markus balkenhol tifully, and could certainly serve as spiritual objects (indeed, one of the sculptures is now In 1998 Marian Markelo (Nana Efua part of Markelo’s private altar). Nonetheless, Mensah)1 received a message from her they were not yet “perfect”: they did not ancestors. In their message, the ancestors have the spiritual presence Van Berkum had assigned Markelo, a descendant of enslaved aimed for. During the ritual Van Berkum did, Africans in and a prominent however, have a vision of how the sculptures priestess of the Afro-Surinamese Winti could be perfected. In his vision he saw peo- religion in the Netherlands, to “bring back” ple dancing and wearing sculptures on top the sculptural tradition in the practice of of their heads. “I thought it would be more Winti. That tradition had been lost during powerful if the sculptures were kinetic: mov- the Middle Passage and slavery, and, the ing instead of static. If they could actually ancestors argued, it was now time to restore dance among people. Perhaps there was this tradition in honor (“in ere herstellen”). still too much of me in them, too much of my I entered the project in late 2013 when own interpretation”, Van Berkum told me. I was asked to act as the project’s “chroni- Their project included not only the rein- cler.” At that point, there was already quite troduction of sculpture into the Winti religion, a history to look back upon. Thirteen years but also the safeguarding of African heritage after receiving the ancestral message, in the Netherlands. In 2013, Van Berkum and Markelo had made acquaintance with Markelo collected more than 12,000 signa- Boris van Berkum, a Dutch artist based in tures against the commercial sale of the Rot- Rotterdam. Van Berkum had just finished terdam World Museum’s Africa collection.2 a solo exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van The project received the name “Ik ben niet Beuningen in Rotterdam. He describes their te koop” (“I am not for sale”), a creed against first meeting at a Winti prey as a “magical slavery in general, and in particular against moment”, in which Markelo, guided by her the “unlawful sale of the Africa collection by African ancestors, chose Van Berkum as a World Museum director, Stanley Bremer. A partner in what she calls an “African Renais- waste of cultural heritage. That collection sance” in the Winti religion. belongs to the people of Rotterdam, of In 2011 and 2012, Van Berkum made which 20 per cent have African roots.” six ceramic sculptures of the Winti mother “Then it dawned on me,” Van Berkum explained to me, “we needed to go where Downloaded by [University Library Utrecht] at 05:22 27 October 2015 the African ancestors live in the Netherlands Markus Balkenhol is a social anthropologist working – in the great African collections of Dutch 251 on issues of colonialism, race, citizenship, cultural her- museums.” At that moment he connected itage, and religion. His PhD thesis “Tracing Slavery. An the dots. Safeguarding the African heritage Ethnography of Diaspora, Affect, and Cultural ­Heritage in Amsterdam” (2014) deals with different forms of in the Netherlands and reintroducing sculp- cultural memory of slavery in Amsterdam Zuidoost. ture into the Winti religion were two sides of He is currently affiliated with Utrecht University and the same coin. To achieve both, Van Berkum Meertens Institute as a postdoctoral research fellow. chose the technology of 3D scanning. This The research on the Kabra Mask has been conducted way, the ancestral masks could be con- thanks to a HERA-grant for the research project served as well as brought to life. On 25 May “Currents of . Places of History” (http://currents-of-faith.ics.ul.pt). 2013 Markelo and Van Berkum established

Material Religion volume 11, issue 2, pp. 250–254 DOI: 10.1080/17432200.2015.1059135 © Taylor & Francis 2015 Downloaded by [University Library Utrecht] at 05:22 27 October 2015 252 milled inpolyurethane foam. raw datawere computer-rendered, andthen digitally definestheshapeof object.The cloud coordinates”, amassofdatathat that dissolvesamaterialobjectinto “point using aportableArtec3Dscanner, adevice laser scanofthemaskswasperformed produces scansformedicalpurposes.A ination reality”), acompanythatnormally found 3DMatchEurope (“make yourimag- advanced technology, the3Dscan.They as torenewal, andtoaparticular kindof a particularhistoricalmoment,aswell “contemporary” (eigentijdse)ancestormask. original masks.Theywere lookingfora were notseekingtoacquire oneofthe the museum,butMarkeloandVan Berkum valuable woodenmasks,hadtoremain in Berkum selectedsixYoruba masks.The character” oftheobjects,MarkeloandVan museum’s depot.Guidedbythe“spiritual the collectionofYoruba masksinthe Museum inBergenDal,where theyvisited and realize theacquisitionoffunds. the ABANFoundationtosupportproject Museum BergenDal. The originalEgungunmask-PhotoAfrica FIG 1 “Contemporary” here refers toboth They were welcomedbytheAfrica 3 The dataisrendered. FIG 3 computer. The dataiscaptured andstored inthe FIG 2 would nothaveproduced the kindpresence size: “Theoriginalmodelwastoosmall,it The moststrikingchangeisthemask’s remained ofthatmaskwas onlyitsshape. ably largerthanthewoodenoriginal.What said, waspalpableinthem. is centralforme.”Thepowerofwomen,she symbolize fertility(vruchtbaarheid),andthat another dimension:“someofthesemasks tion againstwitches.Markeloalsovalued with theancestors,askingthemforprotec- main taskwastomaintaintherelationship by theEgungun(lit.“mask”)society, whose shaped eyesandaniron earring.Itwasused anthropomorphic mask with large, half-moon Yoruba region inNigeriaandisawooden mask (9×17,520.5 cm)originatesinthe which Iwillfocusonhere. Thisparticular XXXL”), anda66×4040 cmKabramask, high sculpture ofMamaAisa(“Mama one6-m high dancingmask(“PapaWinti”), (Figure the computer-rendered imagesoftwomasks The Kabramask(Figure 4)isconsider Six maskswere scanned(Figure 2 3 ) were usedtoproduce one1.5-m ), and ), and -

Material Religion Volume 11 Working with the ancestors. The Kabra Mask and the In Conversation Issue 2 “African Renaissance” in the Afro-Surinamese Winti religion Markus Balkenhol here is a deeply material and embodied process. The mask as an object is impressive. At Kabra Neti, but also at other performances such as the commemoration of slavery in Amsterdam, the mask appears at pivotal moments. At one Kabra Neti I attended in Rotterdam, it appeared after hours of ritual preparation, including food offerings, pouring libation, dancing, and singing. While the other spirits that are part of this ritual have always had a clear character expressed in relatively fixed and distinguish- ing style,6 the Kabra’s style has not been this clearly defined. The mask is now danced by Vanessa Felter exclusively, and she is beginning to develop a style of dancing that increasingly takes a more distinctive shape.7 Many people, in particular those older Afro-Surinamese women who are consid- ered the “culture bearers” (cultuurdragers), FIG 4 often express a sense of awe (Meyer 2014) The Kabra mask, Boris van Berkum 2013. in their encounter with the mask. The mask often evokes an embodied response that involves the entire sensorium: “it gave me goosebumps when I saw it for the first time.” ­(aanwezigheid) we were looking for,” Van At a Kabra Neti in Rotterdam a blind woman, Berkum explained. “In an African village, you beautifully dressed in the traditional koto have maybe 30 people, but we were looking dress, was trembling when she touched and for a public of 300 and more. And it also has “saw” the mask for the first time. to do well on television.” To Markelo and Van Berkum, however, Van Berkum also radically changed the the mask is not an invention, but part of appearance of the mask: instead of the what they call an “African Renaissance” original mask’s wooden color he applied in the Winti religion that is much broader transparent polyurethane varnish, through than the masks alone. The idea of “African which the light beige color of the polyure- Renaissance” taps into narratives that go thane foam is visible. On top of the varnish, well beyond the context of Winti religion, Van Berkum blew brass powder,4 then and touch upon questions of blackness sanded it off so that only golden-colored and citizenship in the Netherlands. The idea dots are visible on the mask’s surface. The that cultural traditions, along with other mask is dressed in blue-and-white “persie” things such as the right to be human, have cloth,5 which is glued on top of its head, been lost during the Middle Passage is a Downloaded by [University Library Utrecht] at 05:22 27 October 2015 thus echoing a head-tie. Around the neck, fundamental part of the commemoration the mask wears a collar of tulle, hiding a of the abolition of slavery that has become 253 wooden structure so it can be worn on top a central point of negotiating black citizen- of the head. The dancer wearing it can see ship in the Netherlands over the past two through the tulle collar. decades (Balkenhol 2014). The idea of an One could argue that the production of “African Renaissance” is therefore immedi- the mask is an “invention”, since prior to this ately recognizable in this broader context. project, masks did not play a role in Winti Indeed, the very material of the mask practice. It is, to speak with Diana Espirito is a reminder that inventions never take Santo (Santo and Tassi 2013), a process of place ex nihilo, but build on, transform, or “making spirits”, that is, rendering in material re-arrange existing traditions. To Van Ber- form something that is by its nature spiritual. kum, the Kabra mask is a “co-operation” As an invention, something “made” or between the ancestors and himself. “They ­“fabricated” that has not existed before, the provide the shape, I provide the finish.” He mask needs to persuade, and ­persuasion understands the technology used to create Downloaded by [University Library Utrecht] at 05:22 27 October 2015 254 remain. I takefullresponsibility for any errors thatmight improve thistext,makingit atrulyco-operativeeffort. but whohavegenerously read, re-read, andhelped andthe“AfricanRenaissance”, knowledge ofWinti kum, whohavenotonlyshared withmetheirintimate 3 2 1 notes andreferences 5 4 . tent/uploads/ProgrammaboekWintiBalMasque.pdf midst ofourpresent society”(http://aban.nl/wp-con- Foundation isbuildingashared culturalpalaceinthe 1975,200ff.): “TheABAN (Kumasi) inGhana(cf.Wilks Palace ofCulture intheAsante(Ashanti)capitalKumase for instancetheIndian (“Ingi”)Winti. whooriginate elsewhere, (as opposedtothose Winti and (marine)bluecolors.Itisusedforall “African”Winti and isforinstancelovedbyMamaAisa. 200,000 objects.See plan includedthesaleof17,000outtotal of puttingtheentire collectionforsale.Themostrecent whole. In2014Bremer distancedhimselffrom theidea cuts threatening theexistenceofmuseumasa 2011, arguingthesalewasmadenecessarybybudget computer technologyenableshimtoliterally or usedinreligious .Inhisview, the sense thattheymaynolongerbealtered, pieces thatare, notdead,butfinishedinthe living object,asopposedtothemuseum by Van Berkumenableshimtoworkona tors. Hencetheproduction process chosen produces theverypresence oftheances- the ancestorsactuallytouched,andthus able toretain somethingoftheobjectthat scan, unlikeanartist’s sculpturalwork,is To Van Berkum,thetechnologyof3D and thedead(orpresent andthepast). and theprofane, andthatbetweentheliving the sametime:thatbetweensacred The technologythusbridgestwogapsat gap betweentheartistandancestors. ates asenseofimmediacythatbridgesthe about precision andexactreplication, cre- the technologyof3Dscan,whichisall “has nowillofitsown.”Inotherwords, sense thatthetechnology, unlikeanartist, the maskasa“neutral”process inthe The foundation is named after the nineteenth century Thefoundationisnamedafterthenineteenthcentury Abatikclothwithaparticularcombination ofwhite materialculture, BrassisanimportantmetalinWinti Themanagementhadannouncedtheseplansin IwishtothankMarianMarkeloandBorisvanBer - 7 6 Cambridge University Press. structure andevolution ofapoliticalorder.Cambridge: the I.,1975.Asanteinthenineteenthcentury: Wilks, Tauris. . religion Libraryofmodern 20.London:I.B materiality andtranscendenceincontemporary Santo, D.E.andTassi, N.,eds.,2013.Makingspirits: 2 May2014. the studyofreligion. Marrett MemorialLecture, Oxford, Meyer, B.,2014.Howtocapture thewow. Awe and Afro-cool. Africandiaspora,7(2),260–289. M.,2014.Heritage,blacknessand de Witte, Unpublished PhDthesis. of diaspora,affect,andculturalheritageinAmsterdam. Balkenhol, M.,2014.Tracing slavery. Anethnography 2014). people intheNetherlands(cf.deWitte seeking torecover the“Africanroots” ofyoungblack and culturalexchangeprograms. Untoldisactively engaging inart,performance,theater, empowerment, composed thanotherspirits. her lookalmostasifshewere drunk,butsheismore ties, orabasketwithfruit.Herstyleofdancemakes robes, oftenwearingabrass basketwithfoldedhead Vanessa FelterispartofUntold, ayouthorganization Forinstance,MamaAisaistypicallydepictedinwhite an embodiedpracticeofmaterialreligion. religion is “African Renaissance”intheWinti use inthemuseumexhibition.Inshort, as opposedtoitsmore static“European” Markelo, thisisan“African”useofthemask, among thepeople.”To Van Berkumand be partofreligious ritualswhere it“dances original inthemuseum,thisnewmaskcan from themuseumcollection.Unlike is understoodasa“liberation”ofthemask ancestors. Second,thescanningprocess the artisttoliterally“worktogether”with duced shapeofthemask,thusallowing made present inthetechnologicallyrepro- achieved intwoways:first,theancestorsare the object. ancestors liveintheverymaterialshapeof mask thatisaliveprecisely becausethe on the“same”object,thusproducing a both Van Berkumandtheancestorswork work togetherwiththeancestorsbecause The “AfricanRenaissance”ishere

Material Religion Volume 11 Working with the ancestors. The Kabra Mask and the In Conversation Issue 2 “African Renaissance” in the Afro-Surinamese Winti religion Markus Balkenhol