Adapters

In “Imaging Otherness in Ivory” by Suzanne Blier art from the African groups of, Beni, Kongo, and Sapi are studied and used to show that one can understand how these groups perceived the Portuguese when they arrived.

In another article we read titled “Mami Wata Shrines” by Henry Drewal African groups and their adapting spiritual beliefs through interculturation are talked about. Both articles talk about overseas visitors. I found the articles to be interesting and yet challenging at the same time.

One of the key points I got out of reading these two articles was that through interculturation Africans have become adaptors. Africans saw the Portuguese and associated them with Olokun and in turn their ancestors based on where they came from and what they looked like. Also many peoples of Africa would receive a new lithograph or picture from another country and make a connection to fit it into their beliefs.

My question is why did or do they do this. Why did they or do they see new articles or pictures and change their belief. Is it because they are not certain what to believe so they chose to incorporate as many things as they can when they see a connection to an object or a picture? I do not see what their belief is based on because it seems to be ever changing and growing with new ideas. Does their belief have and solid beginning. Africa is full of so many differing beliefs and traditions. I wonder how they all started. I look at their differing beliefs and then try to connect it to America in some way. I look at how even in a school there are many different cliques that do not always communicate with each other and hold their own values and beliefs about others, life, and what is considered fun. In the same way Africans have so many differing beliefs across the continent but is it because the lack of communication with each other? Or is it deeply held in family roots and beliefs? I believe it to be a lack of communication because some do change their beliefs due to interculturation.

Also after reading the two articles I am interested to know if Mami Wata and Olokun have any major connections other than being thought of with objects like water, snakes, and wealth. Was Mami Wata created from Olokun?

Something that I found to be very interesting in Blier’s article was that all three groups, the Beni, Kongo, and Sapi peoples connected the arrival of the Portuguese to Olokun and to their ancestors. Blier talked about the idea that in all three cultural groups“… it was widely held that after leaving the earth, the dead travel across a great body of water to reach the place of the ancestors”, as well as that the dead were buried facing West with expensive items so that when they arrived to the other land they would be better off (378 Blier).In Benin the Portuguese were associated with Olokun because they brought many riches and were white. Olokun “the wealthy god of the sea” in Benin was believed to have mighty wealth (380 Blier).So when the Portuguese came from the water with many great new things they automatically associated them with Olokun. But because the Portuguese were white the Beni people associated them with death and their ancestors. Another question I have is where did Olokun originate?

Overall I see a lot of interculturation in Africa but I do not fully understand why it is seen more in their spiritual beliefs and not in other parts of their lives.

Sample of Yoruba Beliefs

This week we read about the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria. After reading about the Yoruba people(s), I have found that the Yoruba show their portrayal of women in a greater way than some other African peoples. It is obvious to many that they honor and cherish women and their power of fertility. I also have found that they have deeply rooted beliefs that are as current today as it was years ago.

Below is a picture of an Opon Ifa (divination board). At the top of this board the god Eshu is carved, and multiple figures/objects surround the board. These boards are used by a babalawo, when a client comes to them, and dust is put in them. Then the babalawo throws 16 palm nuts to look for signs/patterns. After finding the patterns, the babalawo will then say the verses that correspond to the signs/ patterns that were created. The client then interprets that info to apply it to their own situation. The Opon Ifa relates to the Yoruba peoples beliefs because of the imagery, like Eshu carved at the top, and the way it is used to guide people(s) in their own life situations.

Above is a picture of a Yoruba mother, of Nigeria, with two Ere Ibeji dolls. These dolls are carved figures that are embodied by the spirit of a deceased twin child. Multiples are frequently born within the Yoruba peoples, although there is a high mortality rate among the twins. When a twin does die the mother has an Ere Ibeji doll made in the same gender as the dead child. The mother takes care of this figure like it her child; she will feed, cloth, and bathe the Ere Ibeji. She does this because she believes a few things. One, she believes her live twin may be drawn to the dead twin and die as well. Two, she believes a mother of twins will be prosperous. And three, she believes the people who give offerings to a mother with twins will be blessed. A more current version of an Ere Ibeji doll would be that of a photograph or a plastic doll.

One can see that as times change the Yoruba have not changed in their spiritual beliefs. The Yoruba may create new versions of objects (i.e.: going from carved wooden figures to photographs or dolls) but their beliefs about the twins spirits needing to reside in the figure/object has not changed. In the same way Opon Ifa are still being created, but they may have many different carvings around the boarder. The Yoruba are a people with deep spiritual beliefs.