Adaptations

So this is my second attempt at this post this week...I apologize if some of you already saw the original and are getting repeated information...

Anyhow, this week in class we were assigned a couple of very interesting readings about art adaptation in African arts. I found the article, "Imaging Otherness" to be very interesting.  A majority of the time in history courses, especially as children, we are taught how to the newcomers interpret a new foreign place but not so much how the native people perceive it. The Portuguese arrived in Africa and to the peoples Beni, Kongo and Sapi there was an uncanny resemblance between their personal beliefs and the actuality of the Portuguese.

 Images of pale skinned, long-haired individuals are evident on many of the ivory carvings.  Pronounced cheek bones and elongated noses distinguish the portuguese from typical African styled figures. I would not have initially thought much of these images of the portuguese on salt cellars but it actually serves as an accurate way for them to document their arrival.  I was argued that it is impossible for us to know what and when much of these events occurred, but its fairly easy to know simply from looking at the reliefs carved on these pieces.

Today, the concepts of adaption and assimilation are the ones we push on ourselves to be more open minded.  The arrival of the portuguese introduced a totally new world to these peoples and in doing so initiated a different kind of art making. Images of Olukun, the god of the sea were used to refer to these new foreign people as well as the mud fish because of their ability to dwell in two places (both land and water).

Overall I thought it was pretty fascinating to see how so early on people were adapting and assimilating. I feel like a lot of people today pride themselves on their ability to welcome change with open arms but in reality thats how we've survived over the centuries. The ability to change and evolve on all levels is what has brought us to the point we are at now. More or less I suppose we can look back and appreciate it a little more.

Parlez-vous français ou espagnol?

Week 9 for me was one of the more interesting of classes, partly due to the video we were shown in class over Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A lot of what we had talked about dealt with the practice of vodou in Haitian culture.  I was very surprised to see how strong the separation between the Dominican Republic and Haiti continues to be. Geographically they are separated by a river but they are also separated by a long line of resentment for one another that originates with oppression.  

We had spent the first part of the semester learning about African cultures to which the members are very proud to be a part of. In contrast the view of "blacks" in Hispaniola is night and date between the two countries that make up this island.  Dominicans are proud to be multi-racial until they are forced to associate themselves with black heritage. 

 The qualities that we as Americans would use to distinguish someone as being black are completely different than those used in the Dominican Republic.  People go out of their way to disassociate themselves with African heritage. I struggled to understand this until we continued to watch the video where I learned of the political and racial struggle that existed in the colonial days of Hispaniola. On the opposite of the island, in Haiti, African pride is clearly evident. Vodou is practiced as opposed Catholicism that dominates the eastern half of the island.  The differences are literally night and day. I could never have imagined that  two countries who are so closely located to one another could be different in so many ways.     

Yoruba culture reflections

The visual culture of the Yoruba people communicates their spiritual and cultural beliefs through functional pieces used by its people.  Representations of idealization and ancestral homage are among some of the most widely recognized subjects.

Like previously talked about African cultures, the Yoruba people have a king who adorns himself in an abundance of beadwork and lavish clothing. When the king wears this beaded crown, his spirit takes on another essence. His feet cannot touch the earth when he is wearing this crown and the spirits of his ancestors embody his own figure. The rest of the Yoruba people see the ancestors looking out from behind this beaded crown rather than the king himself and therefore provides them a direct visual connection to their spiritual beliefs.

Divination boards used for Ifa are another form of visual art that connects the Yoruba people to their spiritual culture. Divination is a way to for the believer to potentially answer a question or connect with the spiritual world. The divination board is elaborately decorated with relief carvings and a number of symbols. The babalawo recites specific verses to which others may interpret dependent on their own scenarios. These decorated boards may appear to be mainly aesthetically pleasing but hold a much more meaningful purpose when in practice. It would seem that almost everything in Yoruba culture has a defined purpose.

The Egungun masquerades are another interesting aspect of Yoruba visual culture.  Representing the dead, entertaining the audience and providing comical amusement are among some of the situations represented by the masqueraders.  These dances and performances are a way for the masqueraders to be in touch with themselves as well to present idealized qualities.

Overall I found the connections between the spiritual beliefs of the Yoruba culture to have a unique connection to how they visually represent these ideas. I think it is a really beautiful concept to have the visual and spiritual parts of a society so deeply interlinked with one another.