Philosophical Rumination on Gelede: an Ultra-Spectacle Performance
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Introduction: Introducing Yemoja
1 2 3 4 5 Introduction 6 7 8 Introducing Yemoja 9 10 11 12 Solimar Otero and Toyin Falola 13 14 15 16 17 18 Mother I need 19 mother I need 20 mother I need your blackness now 21 as the august earth needs rain. 22 —Audre Lorde, “From the House of Yemanjá”1 23 24 “Yemayá es Reina Universal porque es el Agua, la salada y la dul- 25 ce, la Mar, la Madre de todo lo creado / Yemayá is the Universal 26 Queen because she is Water, salty and sweet, the Sea, the Mother 27 of all creation.” 28 —Oba Olo Ocha as quoted in Lydia Cabrera’s Yemayá y Ochún.2 29 30 31 In the above quotes, poet Audre Lorde and folklorist Lydia Cabrera 32 write about Yemoja as an eternal mother whose womb, like water, makes 33 life possible. They also relate in their works the shifting and fluid nature 34 of Yemoja and the divinity in her manifestations and in the lives of her 35 devotees. This book, Yemoja: Gender, Sexuality, and Creativity in the 36 Latina/o and Afro-Atlantic Diasporas, takes these words of supplica- 37 tion and praise as an entry point into an in-depth conversation about 38 the international Yoruba water deity Yemoja. Our work brings together 39 the voices of scholars, practitioners, and artists involved with the inter- 40 sectional religious and cultural practices involving Yemoja from Africa, 41 the Caribbean, North America, and South America. Our exploration 42 of Yemoja is unique because we consciously bridge theory, art, and 43 xvii SP_OTE_INT_xvii-xxxii.indd 17 7/9/13 5:13 PM xviii Solimar Otero and Toyin Falola 1 practice to discuss orisa worship3 within communities of color living in 2 postcolonial contexts. -
The Singer As Priestess
-, ' 11Ie Singer as Priestess: Interviews with Celina Gonzatez and Merceditas Valdes ".:" - , «1',..... .... .. (La Habana, 1993) Ivor Miller Celina Gonzalez: Queen of the Punto Cubano rummer Ivan Ayala) grew up in New York City listening to the music of Celina Gonzalez. * As Da child in the 1960s he was brought to Puerto Rican espiritista ceremonies, where instead of using drums, practitioners would play Celina's records to invoke the spirits. This is one way that Celina's music and the dedication of her followers have blasted through the U.S. embargo against Cuba that has deprived us of some of the planet's most potent music, art and literature for over 32 years. Ivan's experi ence shows the ingenuity of working people in maintaining human connections that are essential to them, in spite of governments that would keep them separate. Hailed as musical royalty in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, England and in Latin USA, Celina has, until very recently, been kept out of the U.S. n:tarket.2 Cuba has long been a mecca for African-derived religious and musical traditions, and Celina's music taps a deep source. It is at the same time popular and sacred, danceable and political. By using the ancient Spanish dicima song form to sing about the Yoruba deities (orichas), she has become a symbol of Cuban creole (criollo) traditions. A pantheon of orichas are worshipped in the Santeria religion, which is used by practitioners to protect humans from sickness and death, and to open the way for peace, stability, and success. During the 14 month period that I spent in Cuba from 1991-1994, I had often heard Celina's music on the radio, TV, and even at a concert/rally for the Young Communist League (UJC), where the chorus of "Long live Chango'" ("iQueviva Chango!") was chanted by thou Celina Gonzalez (r) and [dania Diaz (l) injront o/Celina's Santa sands of socialist Cuba's "New Men" at the Plaza of the Revolution.3 Celina is a major figure in Cuban music and cultural identity. -
Yoruba Art & Culture
Yoruba Art & Culture Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology University of California, Berkeley Yoruba Art and Culture PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY Written and Designed by Nicole Mullen Editors Liberty Marie Winn Ira Jacknis Special thanks to Tokunbo Adeniji Aare, Oduduwa Heritage Organization. COPYRIGHT © 2004 PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ◆ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY BERKELEY, CA 94720-3712 ◆ 510-642-3682 ◆ HTTP://HEARSTMUSEUM.BERKELEY.EDU Table of Contents Vocabulary....................4 Western Spellings and Pronunciation of Yoruba Words....................5 Africa....................6 Nigeria....................7 Political Structure and Economy....................8 The Yoruba....................9, 10 Yoruba Kingdoms....................11 The Story of How the Yoruba Kingdoms Were Created....................12 The Colonization and Independence of Nigeria....................13 Food, Agriculture and Trade....................14 Sculpture....................15 Pottery....................16 Leather and Beadwork....................17 Blacksmiths and Calabash Carvers....................18 Woodcarving....................19 Textiles....................20 Religious Beliefs....................21, 23 Creation Myth....................22 Ifa Divination....................24, 25 Music and Dance....................26 Gelede Festivals and Egugun Ceremonies....................27 Yoruba Diaspora....................28 -
As an Expression of Yorùbá Aesthetic Philosophy
ISSN 2039-2117 (online) Mediterranean Journal of Vol 9 No 4 ISSN 2039-9340 (print) Social Sciences July 2018 Research Article © 2018 Ajíbóyè et.al.. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Orí (Head) as an Expression of Yorùbá Aesthetic Philosophy Olusegun Ajíbóyè Stephen Fọlárànmí Nanashaitu Umoru-Ọ̀ kẹ Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Obafemi Awólọ́ wọ University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria Doi: 10.2478/mjss-2018-0115 Abstract Aesthetics was never a subject or a separate philosophy in the traditional philosophies of black Africa. This is however not a justification to conclude that it is nonexistent. Indeed, aesthetics is a day to day affair among Africans. There are criteria for aesthetic judgment among African societies which vary from one society to the other. The Yorùbá of Southwestern Nigeria are not different. This study sets out to examine how the Yorùbá make their aesthetic judgments and demonstrate their aesthetic philosophy in decorating their orí, which means head among the Yorùbá. The head receives special aesthetic attention because of its spiritual and biological importance. It is an expression of the practicalities of Yorùbá aesthetic values. Literature and field work has been of paramount aid to this study. The study uses photographs, works of art and visual illustrations to show the various ways the head is adorned and cared for among the Yoruba. It relied on Yoruba art and language as a tool of investigating the concept of ori and aesthetics. Yorùbá aesthetic values are practically demonstrable and deeply located in the Yorùbá societal, moral and ethical idealisms. -
1 Chapter Three Historical
University of Pretoria etd, Adeogun A O (2006) CHAPTER THREE HISTORICAL-CULTURAL BACKCLOTH OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN NIGERIA This chapter traces the developments of music education in the precolonial Nigeria. It is aimed at giving a social, cultural and historical background of the country – Nigeria in the context of music education. It describes the indigenous African music education system that has been in existence for centuries before the arrival of Islam and Christianity - two important religions, which have influenced Nigerian music education in no small measure. Although the title of this thesis indicates 1842-2001, it is deemed expedient, for the purposes of historical background, especially in the northern part of Nigeria, to dwell contextually on the earlier history of Islamic conquest of the Hausaland, which introduced the dominant musical traditions and education that are often mistaken to be indigenous Hausa/northern Nigeria. The Islamic music education system is dealt with in Chapter four. 3.0 Background - Nigeria Nigeria, the primarily focus of this study, is a modern nation situated on the Western Coast of Africa, on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea which includes the Bights of Benin and Biafra (Bonny) along the Atlantic Coast. Entirely within the tropics, it lies between the latitude of 40, and 140 North and longitude 20 501 and 140 200 East of the Equator. It is bordered on the west, north (northwest and northeast) and east by the francophone countries of Benin, Niger and Chad and Cameroun respectively, and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south for about 313 kilometres. -
The House of Oduduwa: an Archaeological Study of Economy and Kingship in the Savè Hills of West Africa
The House of Oduduwa: An Archaeological Study of Economy and Kingship in the Savè Hills of West Africa by Andrew W. Gurstelle A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in the University of Michigan 2015 Doctoral Committee: Professor Carla M. Sinopoli, Chair Professor Joyce Marcus Professor Raymond A. Silverman Professor Henry T. Wright © Andrew W. Gurstelle 2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I must first and foremost acknowledge the people of the Savè hills that contributed their time, knowledge, and energies. Completing this dissertation would not have been possible without their support. In particular, I wish to thank Ọba Adétùtú Onishabe, Oyedekpo II Ọla- Amùṣù, and the many balè,̣ balé, and balọdè ̣that welcomed us to their communities and facilitated our research. I also thank the many land owners that allowed us access to archaeological sites, and the farmers, herders, hunters, fishers, traders, and historians that spoke with us and answered our questions about the Savè hills landscape and the past. This dissertion was truly an effort of the entire community. It is difficult to express the depth of my gratitude for my Béninese collaborators. Simon Agani was with me every step of the way. His passion for Shabe history inspired me, and I am happy to have provided the research support for him to finish his research. Nestor Labiyi provided support during crucial periods of excavation. As with Simon, I am very happy that our research interests complemented and reinforced one another’s. Working with Travis Williams provided a fresh perspective on field methods and strategies when it was needed most. -
A Walk Through the Gallery 5
A WALK THROUGH THE GALLERY MARGARET PLASS The new African Gallery has been designed to exhibit, simply and honestly, a selection of sculptures from our permanent collections. Proudly we present them as works of art; where possible they are arranged in tribal groups for convenience and comparative study. They are labeled briefly and clearly. Here are the materials from which our visitors may form a just view of the special characteristics and merits of Negro art. For more than half a century our Museum has been enriched by acces- sions of African sculpture, mainly by purchase and partly by gifts, to the end that our permanent collections are the largest and most varied in style in America. The following descriptive notes are not to be construed as an attempt at a catalogue of the exhibition; the serious student may have access to fully documented formal catalogues should he apply to the Museum staff. In Dr. Coon's introduction he has given us the anthropological and ethno- grapbical background of the people who produced this art, working within the framework of their tribal traditions. Here in this book, with their photographs, are small synopses of what we know of these sculptures, and what we guess. We all have conscious, and sometimes unconscious, difficulty in understanding such works of art; the philosophical barrier that lies in the way of full appreciation is almost too difficult to hurdle. Many writers have tried to explain the magico-religious significance, the strength and directness of African art; few have succeeded. Perhaps these notes are mere hints and suggestions, but we hope that they may sometimes be stimulating as well as factual. -
African Concepts of Energy and Their Manifestations Through Art
AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF ENERGY AND THEIR MANIFESTATIONS THROUGH ART A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Renée B. Waite August, 2016 Thesis written by Renée B. Waite B.A., Ohio University, 2012 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by ____________________________________________________ Fred Smith, Ph.D., Advisor ____________________________________________________ Michael Loderstedt, M.F.A., Interim Director, School of Art ____________________________________________________ John R. Crawford-Spinelli, D.Ed., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………….. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………… vi CHAPTERS I. Introduction ………………………………………………… 1 II. Terms and Art ……………………………………………... 4 III. Myths of Origin …………………………………………. 11 IV. Social Structure …………………………………………. 20 V. Divination Arts …………………………………………... 30 VI. Women as Vessels of Energy …………………………… 42 VII. Conclusion ……………………………………….…...... 56 VIII. Images ………………………………………………… 60 IX. Bibliography …………………………………………….. 84 X. Further Reading ………………………………………….. 86 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Porogun Quarter, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, 1992, Photograph by John Pemberton III http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/models.html. ……………………………………… 60 Figure 2: Yoruba Ifa Divination Tapper (Iroke Ifa) Nigeria; Ivory. 12in, Baltimore Museum of Art http://www.artbma.org/. ……………………………………………… 61 Figure 3.; Yoruba Opon Ifa (Divination Tray), Nigerian; carved wood 3/4 x 12 7/8 x 16 in. Smith College Museum of Art, http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/. ………………….. 62 Figure 4. Ifa Divination Vessel; Female Caryatid (Agere Ifa); Ivory, wood or coconut shell inlay. Nigeria, Guinea Coast The Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://www.metmuseum.org. ……………………… 63 Figure 5. Beaded Crown of a Yoruba King. Nigerian; L.15 (crown), L.15 (fringe) in. -
Orisha Journeys: the Role of Travel in the Birth of Yorùbá-Atlantic Religions 1
Arch. de Sc. soc. des Rel., 2002, 117 (janvier-mars) 17-36 Peter F. COHEN ORISHA JOURNEYS: THE ROLE OF TRAVEL IN THE BIRTH OF YORÙBÁ-ATLANTIC RELIGIONS 1 Introduction 2 In recent years the array of Orisha 3 traditions associated withtheYorùbá- speaking peoples of West Africa has largely broken free of the category of “Afri- can traditional religion” and begun to gain recognition as a nascent world religion in its own right. While Orisha religions are today both trans-national and pan-eth- nic, they are nonetheless the historical precipitate of the actions and interactions of particular individuals. At their human epicenter are the hundreds of thousands of Yorùbá-speaking people who left their country during the first half of the 19th cen- tury in one of the most brutal processes of insertion into the world economy under- gone by any people anywhere; the Atlantic slave trade. While the journey of the Middle Passage is well known, other journeys under- taken freely by Africans during the period of the slave trade – in a variety of direc- tions, for a multiplicity of reasons, often at great expense, and sometimes at great personal risk – are less so. These voyages culminated in a veritable transmigration involving thousands of Yorùbá-speaking people and several points on both sides of 1 Paper presented at the 1999 meeting of the Société Internationale de la Sociologie des Religions. This article was originally prepared in 1999. Since then, an impressive amount of literature has been published on the subject, which only serves to strengthen our case. A great deal of new of theoretical work on the African Diaspora in terms of trans-national networks and mutual exchanges has not so much challenged our arguments as diminished their novelty. -
An Appraisal of the Evolution of Western Art Music in Nigeria
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2020 An Appraisal of the Evolution of Western Art Music in Nigeria Agatha Onyinye Holland WVU, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the Africana Studies Commons, African Languages and Societies Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Musicology Commons, and the Music Pedagogy Commons Recommended Citation Holland, Agatha Onyinye, "An Appraisal of the Evolution of Western Art Music in Nigeria" (2020). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7917. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7917 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Appraisal of the Evolution of Western Art Music in Nigeria Agatha Holland Research Document submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University -
Oral Performance of Ìrègún Music in Yagbaland, Kogi State, Nigeria: an Overview
ORAL PERFORMANCE OF ÌRÈGÚN MUSIC IN YAGBALAND, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA: AN OVERVIEW Stephen Olusegun Titus, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Abstract Performance is one of the major arts in most African countries. Among the Yoruba in Nigeria several genre of oral performance has been researched and documented. These include the ijala, iwi, oriki ekun iyawo, Iyere Ifa, iwure, among others. However, very little attention and studies have been committed to oral performance of Ìrègún chants and songs in Yagbaland. This paper, therefore, focuses on the evaluation of oral performance of Ìrègún chants and songs among Yagba people in Kogi State, located in North central of Nigeria. Primary data were collected through 3 In-depth and 3 Key Informant interviews of leaders and members of Ìrègún musical groups. In addition to 3 Participant Observation and 3 Non-Participant Observation meth- ods from Yagba-West, Yagba-East and Mopamuro Local Government Areas of Kogi State, music recordings, photographs of Ìrègún performances, and 6 chants were purposefully sampled. Secondary data were collected through library, archival and Internet sources. Although closely interwoven, Ìrègún performance is structured into preparation, actual and post-performance activities. While chanting, singing, playing of musical instruments and dancing forms the performance dimensions. Ire- gun music serves as veritable mirror and cultural preserver in Yagba communities. Keywords: Iregun Music; Performance; Yagbaland; Chants and Songs Epiphany: Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, (2015) © Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences 9 S.O. Titus Introduction Performance of oral genre varies in Yoruba culture as varied as contexts for per- formance. In essence, oral performance can only be realized when it is actually performed. -
The Role of Sculptures in Yoruba Egungun Masquerade Author(S): R
The Role of Sculptures in Yoruba Egungun Masquerade Author(s): R. O. Rom Kalilu Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, African Aesthetics in Nigeria and the Diaspora (Sep., 1991), pp. 15-29 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784494 Accessed: 27-10-2016 14:30 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Sage Publications, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Black Studies This content downloaded from 141.213.142.215 on Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:30:22 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROLE OF SCULPTURES IN YORUBA EGUNGUN MASQUERADE R. 0. ROM KALILU St. Andrew's College of Education A vast body of literature already exists on African sculpture, largely because of the more than century-old fascination it has held for the Western world, which pioneered the study of African arts. The contents of this literature, however, have generated a lot of controversy. Appreciation of the functions of the sculptures has suffered because the initial criticism has largely been done by writers unfamiliar with African cultures.