Fighting HIV with Juggling Clubs an Introduction to Ethiopia’S Circuses

Fighting HIV with Juggling Clubs An Introduction to Ethiopia’s Circuses Leah Niederstadt ircus performances were unknown to most Ethio- pians when the first troupe was established in the ALL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR EXcepT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED early 1990s by two expatriate residents of Addis Ababa. Today, dozens of circuses can be found throughout the country and Ethiopian circus acrobats, jugglers, and musicians have performed on nearly every continent (Fig. 1). From the beginning, expatri- Cate and Ethiopian administrative and artistic staff combined circus skills such as juggling and contortion with indigenous forms of dance, song, and costumes and with didactic messages about social issues such as HIV/AIDS. They actively drew upon indigenous performance practices—secular and, to a lesser extent, religious—to create a form of circus that was uniquely and posi- tively Ethiopian. They conceived of the country’s circus movement as a moral endeavor, one that allowed them to celebrate Ethiopia’s national identity with its emphasis on ethnic diversity and to educate the public about a variety of social challenges. Circus also became a means of empowering the country’s young- est citizens, as the performers in Ethiopian troupes are children and youth, not adults. Ethiopian circus performances provide two types of educational messages. First, they reinforce federal and regional state government rhetoric about the importance of ethnic diversity in the construction of a national Ethiopian identity. In doing so, they help teach Ethiopians about their country’s diversity, recognizing and celebrating it as a key component of national identity. Sec- ond, circus shows provide information about health and development issues and suggest how these challenges can be resolved. Several factors have combined to render circus performance a particularly popular mode of communication and entertainment, especially for addressing many of the challenges Ethio- pia faces as one of Africa’s newest post-Socialist nation-states. These factors include the circus movement’s role in addressing a lacuna in leisure activities for one of the continent’s fastest grow- ing young populations and the joining of familiar indigenous performance practices in music, song, and dance with gymnas- tics and the martial arts, sports with which many urban Ethio- pians are familiar. The combination of free entertainment with didactic messages has also contributed to growth in the number of Ethiopian circus troupes as numerous NGOs and government 1 Posters from the 1998 Circus in Ethiopia-sponsored tour to agencies have proven willing to fund projects that reach large Europe displayed on the wall of Circus Jimma’s amphitheatre. audiences with educational information about HIV/AIDS, the Jimma, Ethiopia. 2003. 76 | african arts SPRING 2009 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/afar.2009.42.1.76 by guest on 27 September 2021 10A17_AMM401_p76-87.indd 76 11/21/2008 11:03:53 AM 2 Members of Circus Dire Dawa performing a pyramid-building routine. Jijiga, Ethiopia. 2003. rights of women and children, and the numerous other issues addressed by the circuses in their performances. Each year, tens of thousands of Ethiopians either attend circus shows or watch televised performances (Fig. 2). Circuses are thus a prominent part of contemporary urban Ethiopian culture and one that remains vibrant, even in the face of limited funding, con- flicting donor demands, high staff turnover, and the numerous asylum claims made by performers when touring overseas. Dur- ing the past nine years, I have witnessed dozens of performances and watched as the circus movement has struggled to adapt to rapid growth and to the changing priorities of its donor agencies (cp. Askew 2002 on Tanzania and the case studies in Parkin et al. 1996). Many of the children and youth with whom I first worked are now adults and many no longer live and work in Ethiopia, having claimed asylum during tours. Several times in the past North America and Great Britain to this day (Kwint 1995:viii, decade it seemed possible that the circus movement would col- 2002:86-87; Stroud 1999). lapse, yet troupes continue to operate throughout the country Third, Ethiopian circuses do not use high wire or tightrope and new circuses are regularly founded. Although it is difficult acts or the flying trapeze, and although two troupes train with to estimate how many currently operate, given how quickly new a stationary trapeze, they rarely perform on it due to trans- troupes may shut down due to lack of funding, approximately port and safety issues. In addition, performances have rarely, if twenty-five circuses currently exist in Ethiopia. Thirteen of these ever, incorporated what Westerners might think of as clowns, are members of an umbrella organization called Circus in Ethio- although clowning or joking behavior is common, often incor- pia (CIE), which I shall discuss further below. Given the chal- porated into performances by stock characters, such as an ibd lenges faced so far by the circus movement, it is remarkable that sew (lit. ‘crazy person’), an old man or woman who exemplifies troupes continue to operate in Ethiopia. I would argue that the the “old ways” of traditional culture or an uneducated individ- fact that the movement has endured suggests the central role it ual.3 It is important to note that Ethiopian circus shows typically now holds as a form of theater for development in Ethiopia.1 occur out of doors, not within a circus hall or tent. They are also free of charge to the public. Both factors are key to the popular- CREATING AN ETHIOPIAN CIRCUS ity of circus throughout Ethiopia, as free admission encourages Perhaps surprisingly, circuses can be found elsewhere in large audiences, which enables the didactic messages to reach Africa. Circus troupes—in a wide range of forms and with many more people, while performing in publicly accessible varying objectives—operate in Mali, Kenya, South Africa, and spaces allows for numerous spectators to gather. Uganda. Via its Cirque du Monde project, Cirque du Soleil sup- Like many other troupes around the world, Ethiopian circus ports circus programs throughout Francophone West Africa and artistic directors utilize indigenous folktales, music, song, dance, in Ethiopia, while indigenous acrobatic troupes have long per- and clothing as a means of making their circus “authentically formed throughout North Africa. Prior to the founding of the Ethiopian.” In doing so, they have much in common with the first circus troupe in 1991, what little most Ethiopians knew about Moscow and the Chinese State Circuses, which use their national circus performance came from watching televised performances identity as a marketing tool and a means of providing thematic of Russian and Chinese circuses during the Socialist period cohesion within performances. In Ethiopia, however, circuses known as the Derg (1974–1991). Although they are unmistakably also use costumes, dance, music, song, and props to celebrate and circuses, Ethiopian troupes differ from those with which most highlight ethnic identity for their Ethiopian spectators (although people are familiar. First, with very few exceptions, e.g., when these nuances are often missed by foreign spectators). A fur- an adult trainer performs as part of a particular act (see Fig. 9), ther difference involves the educational component of Ethiopian Ethiopian circus performers are all children and youth who were, circus performance. When performed within Ethiopia, circus until recently, compensated for their participation.2 shows are didactic, although this element may be downplayed on Second, animals are not part of their performances, although international tours. Educational messages about HIV/AIDS pre- not due to concern for animal rights, as several troupes have vention or land mine safety, for example, are woven into a show’s tried and failed to train monkeys, but rather because training and overall storyline, thus becoming a full-length circus play, or they feeding animals is too expensive. This is a significant departure are presented as short skits, a kind of public service announce- from the form of circus codified by Phillip Astley in eighteenth- ment, either before or after the performance of circus skills. century London. Animals, particularly horses, were critical to In this, circus performances in Ethiopia are similar to other performances by Astley’s troupes and by many of his competi- forms of theater for development elsewhere on the African con- tors and they remain a key element of circus performance in tinent. Scholars who have explored other case studies include SPRING 2009 african arts | 77 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/afar.2009.42.1.76 by guest on 27 September 2021 10A17_AMM401_p76-87.indd 77 11/21/2008 11:03:59 AM (clockwise from top left) 3 Circus Jimma jugglers performing with clubs. Jimma, Ethiopia. 2005. U4 nicycle riders during the T enth Anniversary circus parade for Circus Tigrai. Mekelle, Ethiopia. 2005. 5 Circus Addis Ababa pyramid-building act. Addis Ababa, Ethio- pia. 2001-2002. David Kerr’s study of social theater in Malawi (2002), Stepha- nie Marlin-Curiel’s article on post-Apartheid theater in South Africa (2004), Oga Steve Abah’s study of the Zaria Project in Nigeria (2006), and the numerous examples explored by Louise M. Bourgault (2003), among others. Similar work by Jane Plas- tow and her collaborators has focused on the use of theater (and dance) in Ethiopia during the Imperial, Derg, and post-Socialist periods (1996, 1998, 1999, 2004). These case studies share a focus focused on addressing key social challenges facing the country on exploring how performative practices, whether indigenous or and on promoting a nationalist agenda through characters that imported, are utilized to address social, economic, and/or politi- represent the multi-ethnic reality of the Ethiopian population.

Load more