Humanities 211
Culture(s) & Literature of Africa
(Oral Arts & Film)
Prof. Cora Agatucci

6 October 1998: Learning Resources
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/SocSci/1998/ss-981006.html

Example Student Discussion Papers #1
See also: Discussion Paper #1 Directions & Topics - HUM 211, Winter 2003

Sarah Elliott
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #1 - Revision
28 January 2003

Part I: Cultural Awareness in Learning

Studying African History and Literature is very fascinating to me. I love to learn about the African people, the places they lived and the customs and traditions they held. Honestly, until about our second class, it did not occur to me that what I was learning or had learned in the past was primarily through the eyes of a white man.

The Europeans that came from a different set of traditions and “norms” all together were trying to tell me the history of Africa. If you bring into perspective the prejudice that had already formed against African people, that only adds to the inaccurate account the Europeans would give. It reminds me of the Mandi proverb, “It is the hunter that always beats the lions, because it is the hunter that tells the stories.” (Keita MS) Meaning that the white man tells the story making his people look more intelligent and more advanced than the black man who is portrayed as being misguided and confused.

The language itself provides such a barrier between understanding and not. A spoken language can not be written truly accurately to grasp the full meaning of each sound or movement. In addition that translation is then stuffed into the confines of a history book and the accurate story is lost even more. I think it is a beautiful thing to have so many African languages spoken and not written. I believe it keeps them sacred and personal to that culture. I believe they deserve to have that as their own.

Certainly some of the historians and storytellers did wish, and still do wish, to portray an accurate picture of Africa, its people and empires. However, coming from a different culture and belief system their perception is off. Without fully immersing themselves within the chosen African culture, they are unable to fully understand the historical background, customs, and their meanings and are therefore unable to retell them accurately.

Despite the shortcomings, I am thankful to be able to read about Africa’s history. I do believe that the information, even with its inaccuracies is better than no information at all. As long as we study it with the understanding that it is one culture’s interpretation of another. Personally, I will be more focused on learning about Africa from African sources so as to eliminate as much inaccuracy as possible.

I thought it was explained so well when said, “People everywhere have personal interests, agendas and goals, but what we need to all remember, regardless of the culture we find ourselves within, is the tremendous need to learn, to question, to strive to perceive through that culture’s eyes, the situations and history that have shaped that culture” (Solberg MS).

Works Cited

Keita: The Heritage of a Griot 1994; Dir. Dani Kouyate. (MS)

Solberg, Ron Mpho Shea. E-mail communication with Cora Agatucci. 11 July 1998.
Rpt. 1.3 Cross-Cultural Study: Some Considerations. Cora’s Online Reserve [Access Restricted]. Humanities 211: African Culture and Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR, Jan. 2003.

Part II: African Oral Arts

The oral arts are an integral part of African culture. The griots or praise singers are the most accomplished both musically and at mastering story telling which requires incredible memory skills that must be practiced for years. (Agatucci, Praise MS)

The master griots pass this occupation down from generation to generation. They believe in spiritual forces that they must be in sync with to be accomplished. Among Mande peoples, these forces are called “nyama”, and the griots are called “nyamakalaw” or nyama-handlers. (Agatucci, Praise MS)

I find it fascinating that the African culture is primarily an oral language and not written. It is no wonder that so much time and training is put into the griots when they carry within them so many details for their people. They truly are walking libraries with endless stories to teach of the past. Elders and griots that have mastered these traditions are truly revered, (Agatucci, Praise MS) in contrast to our elders who tend to be looked down upon as “past their time”. I also thought it made a lot of sense to put these words to music, in turn helping the griots and the people remember the details through song. I believe a culture that is continually reminded of its past holds that much more respect for the past and future together. The griots seem to create a lasting bond between all the people within the community.

I was also drawn to the African proverbs. I especially noticed in the film Keita, so many small sentences with large meaning. Proverbs are a perfect way to remember important wisdom. Some of my personal favorites: “You can not run and scratch your foot at the same time.” Meaning, to me, focus on one thing at a time. Another of my favorites, “An empty belly has no ears.” Or, take care of the largest problem, then work on the rest. And, “not everything can be seen, but everything exists.” (Agatucci, C. 2.4) I believe this to be a proverb with spiritual meaning. These are powerful words that stay in your mind. It makes me wish that our culture used and learned from proverbs more.

The African oral arts of griots and proverbs are truly beautiful, especially in their own original language. I know we lose some of the meaning within translation, but I am grateful to be exposed to any of it.

Works Cited

Agatucci, Cora In Praise of the Word: Traditional African Oral Arts. Humanities 211: African Culture & Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend OR.

Agatucci, Cora 2.4 African Oral Epics Humanities 211: African Culture & Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend OR.

© 2003, Sarah Elliott

Crystal Freeman
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #1
28 January 2003

Africa: My Thoughts Then and Now

            When we were children, we believed in the concepts and ideas that our parents and teachers expressed to us. After that, where did we derive our information from? It seems that people not seeking higher education can literally go through life believing that they know all they need to know. The study of other cultures, including the different facets of American cultures we come in contact with daily, are not being taught to children in school. What is the difference between an African and an African-American? For some, this question may be a bit redundant; however, until I began taking this class I had not analyzed why I viewed Africa and Africans in the way that I do.

            People tend to believe what they read in the newspaper and see on television. Always believing what we see can be dangerous. If you’ve heard of Africa before, one word may come to mind: AIDS. It’s an epidemic of monstrous proportions in Africa. In addition, an image that comes to mind when thinking of Africa is that of starving children. How many times have you seen a “Feed the Children” commercial on TV, with a plump Sally Struthers selling the idea that children in Africa need our help … for just a dollar a day. How much of that money actually goes to the children, I wonder? And who pays for the commercials? Regardless of these familiar images that Americans recognize, the fact remains that we, as a nation, are undereducated when it comes to understanding what Africa truly has to offer the world.

            Africa is extremely rich in history, culture, music and language. Until this term I had prejudged Africa as being a barren wasteland. I had heard of Ethiopia, but I only knew that people from Ethiopia were unhealthy and thin. In fact, my friend named Carly used to be teased because she was so skinny; kids would call her an Ethiopian. That’s sad, isn’t it? And a show on Comedy Central, South Park, had an episode about an Ethiopian named Stan that was sent to the children instead of a free watch. Then last year I saw that Bono, from the band U2, and Chris Rock, an actor, visited Africa and began a crusade with the help of MTV to raise awareness about Africa. They focused largely on what our country could and should be doing to help them. But yet again, this is information I got from the television.

            In an e-mail addressed to Cora Agatucci from Ron Mpho Shea Solberg, he states, “[Cross Cultural study] requires a personal commitment and willingness to learn, and in some cases, unlearn what they have been customarily taught. It requires an open mind; a willingness to question, sometimes entering and working through an uncomfortable zone.” I completely agree with this statement. It is all too often that cultural studies center around skin color, when it should actually be centered around the people and the culture. Sometimes moving to the “uncomfortable zone” is the only way we can leave our preconceived notions behind and see things with clearer vision.

            Before taking this class, I had not heard of a praise song. At first the tone and fluctuations in the performer’s voice were off-key to my virginal ears; but the rhythm, the drum beats that accompanied the artist’s song, made me want to jump from my seat and dance. Praise songs are poems performed by a griot or griote, a “[master] of nyama and the occult secrets of the spoken word” (Agatucci 2.4). It is a great honor to be a griot(e), but it does not come easily. A griot(e)’s job is to remember the lineage, praise names, and birth names of the families they serve. To remember all of this information, it takes great amounts of training, practice and skill. Children in Africa begin learning performing arts early in life, through song, dance and playing traditional instruments.

I love the concept that they believe every instrument has a voice. “Talking drums, also called tension drums, imitate the tones of spoken language and are used by some cultures to transmit messages” (“Drum”/Encarta). There is an enormous variety of drums and percussion instruments used by Africans, such as talking drums, djembes, shekeres and thumb pianos (“African Drums”/Carousel Music). When these instruments are played, they “are understood to sound as “voices” of interpenetrating tone, colors, and pitches” (Agatucci 2.1). Like a weaver makes his cloth, the sounds and rhythms weave and bounce off each other, creating a unified beat.

When I was in middle school, I was the only girl percussionist. Although I was good at playing the snare drum, I had more fun playing other instruments that had a clearer voice. Tympani drums, xylophones, cymbals, bells, the triangle, and the bass drum were some of my favorites. I didn’t like to blend into the background, but my instruments’ presence was always known, either as the bass line or as the extra “ding” at the end of the song. Rhythm has always been an important thing to me. And now that I’m older, I play congas and bongos with my husband. Our energy bounces off one another, much like the music in the praise song I heard.

            Last night I reexamined my thoughts about praise songs. I thought about what it was that I could not embrace about the praise song we heard in class. Again, the tone and unfamiliar words came to mind, so I decided to try an experiment. I began singing my own praise song, the one I wrote for Seminar 1, first in my head and then aloud. My words held more power when being sung. They meant much more than just reading them on paper. Because I am not a professional song writer, the melody changed a few times by the time I was finished with my song.

For the praise song to have importance to me, I had to understand the words and the meaning behind the words. My thinking is very much a product of where I grew up and how I was raised. Through taking cross-cultural classes, I hope to broaden my perspective on my place in the world. Getting to know more about the African art forms has brought me one step closer to gaining an understanding of African culture. In addition, it has succeeded in sparking my interest for this class.

Works Cited

“African Drums and Small Percussion.” Drums and Hand Percussion from Around the

World. Carousel Publications, Ltd. 1999. [Accessed:] 25 January 2003. <http://www.carousel-music.com/nf/africanf.html>

Agatucci, Cora. 2.4 African Oral Epics. Humanities 211: African Culture and Literature,

Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR, Jan. 2003.

Agatucci, Cora. 2.1 In Praise of the Word: Traditional African Oral Arts. Humanities    211: African Culture and Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend,       OR, Jan. 2003.

"Drum (musical instrument)." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2002.

Microsoft Corporation 1997-2002. [Accessed:] 26 January 2003. <http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761570843&pn=1#s2>

Solberg, Ron Mpho Shea. E-mail Communication with Cora Agatucci. 11 July 1998.

Rpt. 1.3 Cross-Cultural Study: Some Considerations. Cora’s Online Reserve [Access Restricted]. Humanities 211: African Culture and Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR, Jan. 2003. <http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/crossculture.htm>

© 2003, Crystal Freeman

Thomas S. Hage
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #1
28 January 2003

The Barriers and Facilitators that
Affect the Cross-Cultural Study of African Culture

            First, it is important to examine the pre-conceived notions and perceptions one finds in the pursuit of a particular knowledge. Such perceptions color the way we see Africa. In the interview with Chinua Achebe, the Western perspective is raised. “…the world doesn’t seem to be able to take to Africa, because of this baggage of centuries of reporting about Africa.” (Achebe)

            This “baggage” Achebe describes came about as a result of colonial attitudes and skews the real history of Africa. “The world was made to believe that the history of the African people began with the coming of Europeans to Africa in the fifteenth century. If the Africans had any history before that date….such history could be summed up as “barbarism, chaos and stagnation.” (Onwubiko)

            That view of Africa ethnocentrically ignores the importance of African culture and history. So, in order to better understand a place like Africa, one must first inform oneself about the real history and culture before a true cross-cultural study will succeed.

            In the film, Keita; The Heritage of the Griot, (Kouyate), the last scene between Djeliba (the Griot) and Mabo (the boy), Djeliba imparts a ‘moral’ of the story. “Do you know why the hunter always beats the lions in the stories? It’s because it’s the hunter who tells the stories. If the lion told the stories, he would occasionally win…”

            Such considerations offer a valuable lesson to cross-cultural understanding. Those who tell the story speak from their own point of view and perhaps control the outcome. As it was with the first stage of initiation for Mabo, it also teaches us the fundamental first step to cross-cultural understanding i.e., consider the source. Chinua Achebe said it best. “Story telling has to do with power. Those who win tell the story; those who are defeated are not heard…” (Bacon)

            The social sciences like social anthropology represent another view that predates colonial perceptions. These views, right or wrong, at least facilitate our studies in that they promote a discussion of Africa apart from the influence of colonial misrepresentation. The book, Guns, Germs, and Steel (Diamond) attempts to explain how and why humanity evolved the way it did. Such efforts naturally debunk racial stereotypes and tend to place Africa in its proper context as the “womb of civilization”. (Wells)

            Finally, the greatest facilitators for me are the writers of African literature like Achebe and Tsi Tsi Dangarembga who impart an image from inside Africa----from within the culture----giving outsiders a picture that cannot be painted by a western artist. Indeed, a ‘retelling’ of the important Story of Africa.

Characteristics of Traditional African Oral Arts

            One form of oration is lyrical poetry. With the Fulani peoples of Northern Senegal, the poetry is both lyrical and musical (Agatucci). “A verbal art, so pure and so complete, that writing, far from assuring its diffusion, merely impoverishes and weakens it by restricting its range of expression” (Seydou 178; qtd. by Sow)

            That statement struck me as the essence of the difference between orature and Western literature. It is not that they just differ. It is that orature is so much deeper a ‘range of expression’ than is the written word. It often is visual, rhythmic, colorful, and spiritual all at the same time. And it is personal. It requires participation, an interaction, and an involvement within the community.

            Another form of orature is the narrative often performed by a Griot (the story teller or “bard” of African orature). Unlike Western literature, these stories are practical, adaptable, and vary according to need or relevance within the community (Agatucci).

            In reading student perspectives (Hum 211, Fall 2000), the ideas put forth by Cameron Clark (2.3 Student Perspectives) were telling. Art for arts sake in Western thought has been shown to be disconnected whereas African art and life are one. They cannot be separated. One must take it all together to understand it meanings—or not at all.

            Of course, Western thought attempts to break it down into manageable bites as if the parts could stand without the whole. We try to translate the poetry without the rhyme, the song without the dance, the proverb without understanding the culture that created it. It is like trying to understand bacon without its smell, taste or sizzle in the pan.

            Lastly, as was pointed out by C. Agatucci in, In Praise of Word, oral African cultures are non-linear. The art form represent all time; past, present, and future. This cyclical nature conveys a wholeness which is far deeper and more satisfying to behold. To always be counted as part of your society even after death gives one a greater sense of belonging.

            Someone recently called Africa ‘the hopeless continent’. To the contrary, their rich oral traditions give all of us hope for a brighter future

Works Cited

Achebe, C.; Interview with Chinua Achebe by Katie Bacon. Atlantic Monthly. 2, August

2000. Reprinted in Images of Africa by C. Agatucci, Prof. of Hum. 211, Central

Oregon Community College. January 2003. Pg. 6

Agatucci, Cora; In Praise of the Word . Humanities 211: African Culture & Literature,

            Central Oregon Community College, Bend, Oregon   Jan. 2003

Bacon, K. Interview with Chinua Achebe. Atlantic Monthly 2 Aug. 2000. Rpt. Atlantic Unbound:

            Atlantic Monthly Group, 2000. 28 Jan. 2003.
            http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-08-02.htm

Cameron Clark; 2.3 Student Perspectives. C. Agatucci, Professor of Humanities 211, Fall

2000.    Central Oregon Community College. Work Cited: Art and Life in Africa.

Project School of Art & Art History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IO. Rev. 1999. 1 Jan. 2003

Diamond, J. (1997) Guns, Germs, and Steel; The Fate of Human Societies. New York;

W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Keita, The Heritage of the Griot. Dir. Dani Kouyate. Perf. Seydou Boro, Hamed Dicko,

Abdoulaye Kombourdri, and Sotigui Kouyate [video] Afix Productions.

California Newsreel, 1994.

Onwubiko; K.B.C. Onwubiko, “The Importance of African History Today”. History of

West Africa, AD 1000-1800. (1967. Nigeria; Africa.va) FEP publishers, limited,

rpt. 1985

Sow, Abdoul Aziz. “Fulani Poetic Genres.” Research in African Literatures. 24.2

(Summer 1993): 61 (17pp.) Rpt. Infotrac 2000 Expanded Academic ASAP: Aricle

A13891469

Kellen Norwood
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #1
28 January 2003

Part 1

            I often observe my ten-year-old sister with astonishment – her behavior mystifies me. After I graduated high school, my parents moved to Bend, and I stayed in Portland, so I had little contact with her outside of the holidays or the occasional phone call until just recently when I moved down here to escape the constraints of individual fiscal responsibility. In the past two years, it seems, she has become a real person: a freethinking, opinionated individual. I think about the music she listens to; I think about the sports she plays; I think about the clothes she wears. I wonder why she doesn’t listen to the Beatles, or Jimi Hendrix, or The Boss; I wonder why she plays volleyball instead of soccer; I wonder why she wears clothes from the Gap instead of grubby cut-offs and t-shirts like I did when I was her age. Very rarely do I consider the fact that she is of a totally different generation, grew up with different friends, has a different mother, or, most basically, is a girl. Generation, social influences, family, gender: from an objective standpoint, these would be fundamental considerations for cross-cultural understanding. I find it very difficult to get past my own experiences and biases when confronted with something foreign to me.

            The most prominent barrier to cross-cultural understanding is applying one’s own history to an isolated expression of another culture. When I read Things Fall Apart in high school I could not take it seriously. It seemed so absurd. Every conflict that arose, I met with disbelief, as though, because I could not relate, it was not legitimate. I read the book in my freshman English class with no background in African history. All I knew (or thought I knew) of Africa is that they were black, poor, and under developed. I was a slave to the Euro-centric worldview that utterly dominated everything that I had ever learned about that culture. I feel that my teacher made a grave mistake by assigning such a book without adequate understanding of the culture.

After what little I have learned so far in the first few weeks of this class, I feel that reading it now would be a totally different experience. I now can look at it from a different perspective. I think that, in order to properly appreciate a work of art from so different a culture, one must consider what it was to grow up in such a culture: How would I feel given the same set of circumstances? I think it requires a certain amount of maturity to step outside one’s own cultural constraints that I lacked at the age of fourteen. One must have a sound understanding of the cultural history behind the work of art to even try to relate to it. The foremost facilitator to understanding is ample historical grounding. Only after we understand where someone is coming from can we even fathom what they are going through.

Part 2

Art, despite its medium, serves the same purpose regardless of the culture it came from. Art is an expression of value. Orature achieves the same end as literature, though they seem very different. The two kinds of oral art we have studied give valuable insight to the African culture. Praise poems reflect the importance of identity in the culture. Every object, person, idea has a definite origin. The various praise poems we studied display the nature of the object of the poem clearly and starkly. In Praise of the Word is designed to express the intrinsic power that language and words possess. It imparts the significance of oral art and the powers that the Word contains. It can only be handled by those trained to harness its energy. It expresses the ineffable spiritual qualities of language.

Another significant art form is the Epic. The purposes of the epic are to record a people’s history, convey a cultural ideal, and evoke a cultural identity, among many others. These three characteristics typify the goal of the African oral Epic to me. The epic story of Sundjata accomplished each goal. Sundjata was the Mande King that created the largest African empire in history. The tale has evolved with each generation of griots. It is a living history.   Each griot would tell the story differently to each audience. It therefore was able to adapt to the changing times. With each new telling to each new audience, the griot was able to impart his message. He adjusts his story to suit the needs of the people. This ensures its longevity. It cannot become obsolete due to changing social structure: it is a persevering testament.

Sundjata also communicates the values of the culture. Sundjata is not necessarily an ideal role model meant to be emulated, but rather an example of one’s realization of potential. The Mande believed that each man had a destiny. However, one cannot take a passive role. One must grasp one’s own destiny and make it happen. The story provides a course of action for all Mande. In Kieta, the director makes the point that Mabo, the main character, must actively pursue his own destiny. The griot laid the foundation by explaining Mabo’s lineage. He gave Mabo an indication of what his potential destiny was, but only he could be responsible for realizing it.

Of the many forms of oral art from the African people, the epic and the praise poem stand out. Both illustrate important aspects of the culture from whence they originate. In reviewing examples from both, I have observed that the Africans place a high value on understanding the distinct character of all things. Individual things contain great powers that must be understood to harness. By creating these works, African cultures seek to trace the origins of their own reality.

Anonymous (1)
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #1
28 January 2003

Introduction to Humanities 211

            There are many barriers to learning about Africa. Africa is a huge continent, divided into many countries and even more cultures. Africans speak many different languages. The people of Africa are also very different from me. How they eat, how they dress, what they eat, how they live, and how they think is quite different from anything I have known. African cultures may be quite different from one another, and quite different from any American cultural groups. When I look at the websites about Africa, I am fascinated, but overwhelmed by how little I know about Africa. Like most of the students in our class, I have never studied about Africa. I will need to learn geography, history, and about many different cultures before I begin to understand Africa.

            The websites are good sources for information about Africa. They have a variety of information: maps, folktales, interviews, journals, short language lessons, sounds of African music. The barriers to learning about Africa are not lack of information, but the attitudes we have toward people that are different, and about Africans in particular.

Henry Louis Gates mentions the preconceptions that white people (and Americans) have about Africa: “the first images that come to mind are of war, poverty, famine, and flies…” (Gates, Jr., Wonders of the African World). K.B.C. Onwubiko and Ali Mazrui both speak of prejudice, misrepresentation of African peoples, and how racist attitudes have limited our learning about African history. Perhaps that is why so few of the students in our class have studied Africa; racist attitudes and “the desire to deny that Western civilization has been influenced or shaped by African sources” (Agatucci, ed., Summary of Interview with Ali Mazrui). James Giblin writes about these stereotypes also. The images from National Geographic or other sources (for example, the movie Out of Africa) may be distorted and misleading, but they are also sometimes very beautiful images of people, animals, or landscapes that have triggered our fascination and made us curious about a place that is so different from anything we have known. Those images may have opened our hearts to learning.

            If what we know (or think we know) about Africa has been formed by prejudice and preconceptions, we need to start fresh in the way we learn. I think that Chinua

Achebe and Jacqueline Jones Royster both give us some ideas about how to do that. The three ideas that I found among all of the writers on the websites that I think will be most helpful to me in learning about Africa are: heart, resonance, and respect.   Heart is wanting to learn and share with other people. Both Chinua Achebe and Ron Mpho Shea Solberg talk about having an open heart for learning. Chinua Achebe also talks in his interview with Katie Bacon about “resonance”. Achebe says, “people from different parts of the world can respond to the same story, if it says something to them about their own history and their own experience.” We can understand when we are able to identify and share with people. Literature helps this happen. So does music. Finally, “respect” is part of learning about other people. The “Code of Conduct for Cross Boundary Discourse” (Agatucci, ed. Summary of “When the First Voice You Hear is Not Your Own,” by Jacqueline Jones Royster) is about respect: we do not know everything about one another, we should not judge too quickly, we all have our own points of view.

Traditional African Oral Arts

The Griot is an African storyteller and historian. The Griot also acts as a counselor or spiritual guide. They seem to function somewhat like a preacher or minister. But, the images of Western religion and the Griot do not blend together well. A Griot would not preach or scold or stand behind a pulpit separated from his audience. When a Griot tells a story, it seems as if it is more a group celebration of its history together. I think a Griot sounds more like a Native American shaman or medicine man. The Griot does healing work.

Paul Simon, the singer, could be considered a western version of a Griot. He borrows African rhythms, music, and even musicians in his songs and concerts. He has complex storylines and uses historical references in his songs. In this way, his performances help us all understand our history and bring us together in spirit at the same time.

The Praise Song is a short song or poem about important things that have happened in a person’s life. It often tells about identifying features (for example, “eye of the dawn star” in “Young Girl”), totems or associated animals (the wren in “Ingrid—Slow Walker”), achievements or traits (“walks far slowly” in “Ingrid—Slow Walker”) and affinities or friendships (“with company of animals and friends” in “Ingrid—Slow Walker”).

I think these praise songs are a lot like Haiku poems. Even though the two forms of poem come from opposite ends of the world, and from very different cultures, they are both short and powerful images of something or someone.

Works Cited

African Oral Epics.   9 January 2003.

<http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/oralepics.htm>.

African Praise Songs. 9 January 2003.

<http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/praiseword.htm>.

Agatucci, Cora,ed. “A Code of Conduct for ‘Cross-Boundary Discourse.’” Summary of

“When the First Voice You Hear Is Not Your Own,” by Jacqueline Jones Royster.

College Composition and Communication (February 1996): 30-37.   22 January

2003. <http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/imagesofAfrica.htm>.

Agatucci, Cora, ed. Summary of Interview with Ali Mazrui. (Audiotape, Boulder, Co;

1994). National Public Radio, 11 March 1994: Paragraphs 1-5. Images of Africa

and African History. 22 January 2003.

<http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/imagesofAfrica.htm>.

Backgrounds for Keita: The Heritage of the Griot. 14 January 2003.

<http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/Keitabackgrounds.htm>.

Bacon, Katie. “An African Voice.” Interview with Chinua Achebe. Atlantic Monthly. 2

August 2000.   Atlantic Online, Atlantic Group, 2000.

<http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-08-02.htm>. Excerpted

in <http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/imagesofAfrica.htm>.

Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., Wonders of the African World (PBS, 1999)

http://www.pbs.org/wonders/. Excerpted in Cora Agatucci, ed., Images of Africa

and African History. 20 January 2003.

<http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/imagesofAfrica.htm>.

Giblin, James. “Issues in African History.” Rev. 1999. Art and Life in Africa Project.

Univ. of Iowa, School of Art and Art History, Iowa City, IA. 1999. 1 January

2003. <http://www.uiowa.edu/~africaart/toc/history/giblinhistory.html>.

Excerpted in Agatucci, Cora, ed, Images of Africa & African History. 20 January

2003. <http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/imagesofAfrica.htm>.

Henrickson, Ingrid. Ingrid—Slow Walker, A Praise Song. 11 January 2003.

Onwubiko, K .B. C., “The Importance of African History Today,” History of West

Africa, AD 1000-1800 (1967.Nigeria: Africana-FEP Publishers Limited, rpt.

1985). Excerpted in Cora Agatucci, ed., Images of Africa and African History. 22

January 2003. <http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/imagesofAfrica.htm>.

Solberg, Ron Mpho Shea. E-mail Communication. 11 July 1998: paragraphs 3-4. Cross-

Cultural Considerations.   21 January 2003.

<http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci_articles/crossculture.htm>.

Example Student Discussion Papers #2
See also: Discussion Paper #2 Directions & Topics - HUM 211, Winter 2003

Thomas S. Hage (2)
Hum 211, Professor C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
20 February, 2003

The Importance of Background Information in
Understanding Creative African/Caribbean Works

            From 1650-1900, it is estimated that 28 million Africans were forcibly removed from Central and Western Africa. Between 1450 and 1850, 12 million Africans were shipped via the middle passage to the Americas; eighty (80) percent (at least 7 million) during the 18^th century alone. Mortality rates aboard ship were ten to twenty percent due to conditions, illness, and/or homicide. “…From the 8^th to the 20^th centuries, Islamic slave traders from North Africa carried another 12 million black Africans into slavery around the rim of the Mediterranean and into the near and Middle East.” (MacPherson)   This background information ( Agatucci, African Time Lines, Part III) tells a haunting story of the world’s complicity in the slave trade.

            Reading, The African Holocaust and Diaspora, (Agatucci), one begins to understand the scope of the black holocaust. “ The invalides and the maimed being thrown out… the remainder are numbered… in the mean while a burning iron, with the Arms or Name of the Companies, lyes in the Fire; with which ours are marked on the breast… I doubt not but this trade seems very barbarous to you, but since it is followed by mere necessity, it must go on; but we yet take all possible care that they are not burned too hard, especially the women.” (John Barbot)

            Our task here is to identify background information and explain why it is so important in the context of African creative works. Don’t all creative works or art speak for themselves? John Barbot’s account as a slave trader certainly does.

            African creative works, however, need a little help and some perspective, because the real, largely untold history is so infused with this incredible holocaust. One can hardly expect creative works by Africans not to be touched or affected by these facts. Indeed, the film, I is a long memoried woman, (Solomon) attempts to tell the story of slave trade in dance and poetry from the perspective of a female slave. Its evocative and haunting performances underscore the incredible struggle, pain, and survival of millions of female slaves.

            Background gives us reason to want to understand why this happened. It helps us to want to put ourselves in the slaves’ milieu. I is a long memoried woman has little meaning except in the context of that holocaust. The film was based on the poetry of Grace Nichols. In the poem “Ala” (Nichols) she speaks of a rebel woman being tied down, spread eagle, covered with molasses and ants and her baby’s head pin pricked to death.

            How many ‘rebel women’ were treated in this manner we can only imagine. One thing is for certain, without the works like, I is a long memoried woman, we can never begin to fathom the depth of the black holocaust. But without our background, without this humanities education, without a retelling of this story, works like that of Nichols and Solomon have little meaning. If for no other reason than people will not be exposed to them.

            Finally, the Jewish holocaust, perpetrated by the Nazis over a four year period cannot be minimized but the black holocaust lasted a thousand years---ten centuries---and was perpetrated, not by fascists, but by dozens of civilized societies. One must assume that the dearth of background is in no small measure, related to these facts.

I is a Long Memoried Woman

            Who am I ?

            I am every person that ever witnessed the rape of a defenseless black slave.

            I am every rape victim of slave owners and their black collaborators.

            I am every black man who was made to witness such indignities while powerless and impotent against them.

            I am every slave that expressed: “the sound of the birds singing

                                                                   pink and red hibiscus kissing

                                                                   I must devote sometime to the joy of living”

                                                                   (A- Nichols).

            I am every slave who bore children for their owners and still gave life to them. “now my sweet one it is for you to swim” ( B-Nichols).

            I am every slave owner and/or rapist because he cannot clean his memory.

            I am every slave owners’ wife who has turned her back.

            I am queen Nanny and all the maroons.*

            I am Toussaint L’Ouverture.*

            I am Olaudah Equiano who wrote the very first slave narrative in 1789.*

            I am Queen Nzingha of Angola and King Maremba of the Congo who both fought against Euro “Slavers” and their African collaborators.* (Agatucci, African timelines III*)

            I am all the female slaves of the West Indies.

I am the collective conscience of every black in the global black diaspora.

I am all the civilized societies of the world, who raped and pillaged an entire continent merely because it was profitable and because I could.

I am all the civilized societies of the world who have failed to tell the story even though my memory knows it.

Lastly, I am Grace Nichols, upon whose poetry this remarkable work is based. In her own words Nichols says, “the book is a celebration of the endurance, vitality, and spiritual strength of a black woman” (Phillips).

“ I have crossed an ocean

I have lost my tongue

from the root of the old one

a new one has sprung”

(Nichols, I is a Long Memoried Woman)

Works Cited

A-    Agatucci, Cora; Prof. African Time Lines Part III. (Humanities 211; Cultures

and Literature of Africa, Central Oregon Community College, October 6^th, 1998)

B-    Agatucci, Cora; Prof. 3.2 The African Holocaust and Diaspora. (Humanities

211; Cultures and Literature of Africa, Central Oregon Community College, January 2003).

            Barbot, John; Excerpts from Slave Narratives. (ed. Steven Mintz, University of Houston) http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/1.htm

            MacPherson, James M. “Involuntary Immigrants.” Review of The Black Diaspora by Ronald Segal (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux). N.Y. Times Book Review, 27 August, 1995.

            A-Nichols, G. “I go to Meet Him”- Part II, The Vicissitudes. I is a Long Memoried Woman. London: Caribbean Cultural International Karnak House, 1983.

            B- Nichols, G. “In My Name”- Part IV, The Bloodling. I is a Long Memoried Woman. London: Caribbean Cultural International Karnak House, 1983.

            C-Nichols, G. “Epilogue”- I is a Long Memoried Woman London: Caribbean Cultural International Karnak House, 1983.

            Phillips, M.P. – reviewer, ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries on CD-ROM, 1990-1994. Courtesy of University of California-Berkeley Media Resources Center Web site. Aug. 1998. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/LongMemoried Wom.html

Solomon, France-Anne Dir. 1990. Prod. Ingrid Lewis. LedaSerene/Yod Video, released 1991, by Women Make Movies, distributor.

Dan Hayward
Hum 211, Professor C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
20 February, 2003

Part I

I have taken a few literature courses during my college career and I do believe that there is a definite advantage to knowing a little bit of history and background about the country or origin of the Author. Take for example the film I Is a Long Memoried Woman. That film, if viewed from a non Africans point of view, may not make a whole lot of sense or at least seem like it could have been put together a whole lot better. But after one understands that the African culture utilizes the music, the dance, and the orature in combination in order to tell the complete meaning of the story. The cool thing is that it’s kind of like a puzzle, if you were to turn the volume off of the film, the dancing would be spectacular. In the same respect if you were to turn the picture off and only listen to the words or the story, one may think that they were being told a great story or listening to a really good melody. Still remains the fact that until you put them all together, you would never get the complete meaning of what its author was trying to portray.

Now, for the rest of the story……I also believe that a lot can be gained from having known absolutely nothing about African background or culture. In one of my class discussions a certain student had made mention the fact that he thought that the required text Things Fall Apart (by Chenua Achebe) seemed to be a really easy reading book. In other words, it flowed really naturally and had lead one thing right into another but by more than just words. It sort of felt like reading a child’s book yet with the intelligence of college level reading, it just seemed …well…easy. It wasn’t until after that particular student had mentioned something about it before I had realized that he was actually very correct in his statement. The book had actually seemed to flow so naturally that it had sped right along on its own. As I started to read it I hadn’t even noticed that I had read a lot more pages than I had thought. You could also feel like the characters as you read because just in the way the words were organized and how descriptive he was, not just about the characters, but about everything in the novel made it natural to feel as if I was one of the characters in the book. Now not knowing a whole lot about black history myself(other than what I have learned in this class) It had gained a confidence in me about my reading and about understanding literature. Then to find out that Africans are naturally masters of orature and story telling after words simply added respect and gratitude towards African authors. I guess you could say that it adds a little bit of excitement to jumping into the unknown first and then finding out the who, what, where, when and why’s later, but then again, that applies to a lot of things in life, we like surprises.

For the most part however, I do believe that most true African arts require at least some sort of knowledge or introduction before beginning to try to understand it. The film Keita: The Heritage of the Griot for example is a movie that just anyone could watch but in order to really understand for example what a Griot is or why they are so important in the lives of the African people, it would have to have been explained beforehand to see why Boicar allows his son Mabo to miss school and start slipping his grades just in order to talk to his griot Dejliba and learn his history to explain his name. (episode 1, scene 5)

The film I is a Long Memoried Woman is an even more complex piece of work. Without the handout along with some knowledge of the African culture, it would have seemed almost completely foreign to me. The way that it was pieced together with dance, music and orature had I not known what to expect prior to viewing this film, it would have made no sense to me at all.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that there are certain instances where not knowing any background about African history before dabbling in their arts might be advantageous and exciting, but the bottom line is in order to really and truly understand the messages that their authors are intending, and to appreciate the complete work that was intended, one must have some sort of pre-knowledge or introduction of what they are about.

Part II

The theme which I want to talk about is probably not a normal theme for this paper but it is one that I have had questions about for a long time and even more so now that I am in this class, it is about African history and prejudice.

Up until this class, the African history that was taught to me, even since grammar school was always about “Slavery”. Now I genuinely felt bad for that African people because the only thing that I knew of them was the fact that they were captured, locked up, shipped over, and enslaved until the early to mid 20^th century. As I grew, not from schools but from my own acquired knowledge I started to learn more about them and what had really happened. For example I found out that it wasn’t just Americans that had owned slaves but many other countries did as well and believe it or not, even the Africans themselves had imprisoned their own people for the use of slavery. Time went on and Black people started becoming more and more a part of my life and I started to wonder if there was more to their history than just slavery, deep down I knew that there had to be. Then I enrolled in this class at the college and low and behold, there was more to African history……….a lot more. Unfortunately at the start of the class, the instructor came out starting with the same speech that I had heard many times before in the teachings of African history and basically had said, “The poor mistreated Africans” but in her own words of course. Yes I do believe that the African people did go through a terrible time but really, who didn’t? The Native Americans went through the same thing except they don’t even have a place to call their homeland anymore. I myself am an American Indian and it is my belief that even though “my people” had gotten the shaft, I would not be where I am today and may not have all of the opportunities that are in front of me now had it not been for the past and what all went down. The Native Americans focus on writing about their past and the tragic times but they also have a lot of literature on their history before the white man had come and that is also taught in the school systems. I think that the African people had a great time and life before slavery came to pass and they should write a whole lot more about it, and not just the Africans but any author writing about African History. I would like to add that we are learning about pre-slavery in my class, and my instructor is very good and knowledgeable about African history and is not just thinking poor Africans, I think it was just an attention getter. That leads me into my second subject of my topic, prejudism.

I am sorry to say that in today’s times, the races themselves are instigating and prolonging prejudices. America is a Heinz 57 sort of country, it does not belong to whites anymore, it is more like a vacation spot that people from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe came to and wanted to stay. Yes, some people came over not by choice but by force and that is no longer the case. Black history month, the Ebony Awards, the NAACP awards, what exactly are those about? I have yet to see an Irish history month or a Chinese music award being handed out, not once. Black Power and American Indian Movement (AIM) are some more things that really bother me. Those are people to me that just can’t handle living together in a place that is meant to be a mix race of equals. There are many other place or countries they could go to if they really don’t feel like their being treated fairly but I think that they’ll find out that they didn’t have it so bad after all her in the good old U.S. of A. My opinion, “If you don’t like it, Go Home!”

There is a lot about African history that I still do not know and am very interested in, after all, they are people too and to me every person from any culture or place on this globe has a past and therefore a history. They all will contain some good, some bad, and some mediocre times in them but it all has brought us to where we are today. It is up to us to make the best of what we have and just try to make it a better place than the way that we found it so as to better our environments for our children, and their children, and so on until some day………..WE are the history.

Peace Out

Ingrid Hendrickson
Hum 211, Professor C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
20 February 2003

Part One: Learning From Context

            I will discuss how the study materials about African storytelling traditions and about the author Chinua Achebe help us understand and enjoy Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. What are some of the important “contextual” or background elements for Things Fall Apart? It is a novel set in a village in Nigeria the early 1900s, in the period of colonization of Africa. Things Fall Apart is written in English but contains many African words, phrases, idioms, fables, and proverbs. Finally, from biographical information and interviews with the author, we can learn about what is important to the author in writing his novel.

            Chinua Achebe writes about the role of the African writer and says very clearly what he feels we must learn—that the richness and value of African cultures is not simply in their post-colonial “pacification”. He thinks the pre-colonial history in important:

            This theme… is that African peoples did not hear of culture for the first time from Europeans; that their societies were not mindless but frequently had a philosophy of great depth and value and beauty, that they had poetry and, above all, they had dignity. It is this dignity that many African peoples all but lost in the colonial period, and it is this dignity that they must now regain…The writer’s duty is to help them regain it by showing them in human terms what happened to them, what they lost. There is a saying in Ibo that a man who can’t tell where the rain began to beat him cannot know where he dried his body. The writer can tell the people where the rain began to beat them. (Achebe, “The Role of the Writer in a New Nation” excerpted in Fletcher, p.1).

Things Fall Apart can be seen as a response to western novels about Africa like Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness or Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson. Achebe felt that Mr. Johnson was a defense of racist views of Africa, that make its people seem mysteriously different and not easily understood (Bacon, p.5).    Achebe wants us to learn about Ibo society and its people. He wants us to understand their feelings and to know that the villagers had values of their own and that they thought about how they lived.

            One of the ways we learn about African culture in Things Fall Apart is through Achebe’s use of proverbs, idioms, and African words. The use of context materials about Achebe’s choice of words and language helps us see how much the words and stories are so important in achieving his goals in writing. He makes fun of the mistakes of the missionaries for their mistakes in using Igbo words. He also makes fun of the stiff, formal, uncaring, and scholarly language of the district commissioner. The language of the story itself is rich in colorful Igbo words and phrases like “cock-crow” (a name for early morning that reminds us that Igbo life is about farming):

The idioms, proverbs, and imagery of these books all invoke his Eastern Nigerian culture, forcing the reader to accept on Achebe’s (linguistic) terms, the story he has to tell….By combining poetic English prose with Igbo words, phrases, and images, he has attempted to make English all-embracing also. Rather than rejecting the colonizer’s language, he has used it as a medium through which the experiences of the colonized can be communicated (Slattery, “Chinua Achebe and the Language of the Colonizer”, p.1- 2).

The use of African words and proverbs in Things Fall Apart is one of the ways Achebe achieves his goal of making us understand African culture and history. We have to slow down and interpret or translate the words and meanings. As we do that, we learn more about how the characters in the story think.

The context materials also help us understand how other writers and African scholars view Achebe’s use of language.   Achebe has been criticized by some African scholars for his choice to write in English rather than Ibo. His answer sounds like a proverb:

“English is the language that was available to me….I have two hands,” he says. “They do different things. Some of my friends think you should cut off one hand out of loyalty to the other” (Achebe in Coeyman, “Going Home was a Sad Awakening, p.2)

His answer again makes us think a little bit differently than we would have in our own culture. He has used an African style of thinking to make us expand our own way of thinking.

Part Two: Interpretation of Language and Themes in Things Fall Apart

Having spoken plainly so far, Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten (Achebe, Things Fall Apart, p. 5).

            What are some of the African proverbs in Things Fall Apart? What do they mean and how do they help us understand the characters and Ibo culture? How are the proverbs “the palm oil with which words are eaten” for the reader of the book? Palm oil must give the food flavor. That is what the proverbs do in this book.   The proverbs slow us down and make us think about what the person means. The words of the proverbs paint pictures in our minds—we imagine cows, toads, sunshine, corn, moonlight. We get a picture in our minds of the things that were important to the Ibo, and help us imagine life through their eyes.   (All of the proverbs and remaining quotes are from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart).

            “The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them” (p. 6).   The Ibo show respect to the strong and important men of their village. This proverb this difference in power is natural—the sun shines on leaders first, some people are more important than others.

            “When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk” (p. 7). The Ibo didn’t like the dark, but everyone is happy when the moon is shining. People are not afraid to go out.

            “A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing” (p.13). There is a reason for odd behavior. There is always an explanation for odd things.

            “You can tell a ripe corn by its look” (p.16). We might say appearances don’t lie. You can tell whether to trust someone by his look.

            “Looking at a king’s mouth one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast” (p. 19). I think the king loses his humble beginnings. We should not forget that we all start out the same.

“When a mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth” (p. 49). We learn from our parents as models.

“A baby on its mother’s back does not know that the way is long” (p.71). A baby is protected by its parents.

“If a child washed his hands, he could eat with kings” (p. 6). If one does the right things in life, all people become equal. Or, you can earn your right to eat with kings by behaving properly. There is a way to improve your lot in life. We are happy that Okonkwo has worked hard and “washed his hands”.

The proverbs give us ideas and pictures to think about. When we read Things Fall Apart we have to solve the same riddles as Okonkwo and the other characters of the story. And, while we are trying to figure out the puzzles and meanings, we are enjoying the colorful images. In this way, Achebe has helped us understand (from the inside) and appreciate the value of the culture. That is just what he wanted to do.

Finally, I would like to show how Oberieka, the thinking man, is important in Things Fall Apart. The character of Obereika shows that the Igbo people are not primitive savages. They do not follow their own laws and customs without thinking. Oberieka is a man who questions the meanings of his own culture and behaviors. He asks hard questions that all of the villagers must think about. He thinks about why Okonkwo must be punished: “Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offence that he had committed inadvertently?” (p. 88).   He has a bigger view of the world. He has “heard stories about white men who made powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas” (p 99). He is the first to understand how the conflict with the missionaries and colonial officers has destroyed the village:

“It is already too late,” said Oberieka sadly. “Our man and our sons have joined his religion and they help to uphold the government…Now he has won our brothers and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (p. 124-125).

Oberieka is the person in the clan who thinks about their laws and customs, and he is the one who sees their way of life unraveling before anyone else understands what is happening. Achebe uses Oberieka to remind us that the African people had thoughts about what was happening to them.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Expanded edition with notes. London: Heinemann, 1996.

Bacon, Katie, “An African Voice (An Interview with Chinua Achebe) Interviews: Atlantic Unbound, 2 August 2000. The Atlantic Online 2000. < http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-08-02.htm >

Coeyman, Marjorie, “Going Home Was a Sad Awakening,” Christian Science Monitor, Vol. 92, Issue 31, p17. EBSCO Academic Search Elite #2649262

Fletcher, ed., “Chinua Achebe on the Role of the African Writer” http://courses.wcupa.edu/fletcher/afrwritr.htm 14 February 2003

Lindfors, Bernth, “Chinua Achebe: Novelist of Cultural Conflict,” America, 20 July 1996. vol 175, Issue 2, p.23 (3 pp). EBSCO Academic Search Elite 9608052905

Slattery, Katharine, “Chinua Achebe and the Language of the Colonizer” 15 February 2003

http://www.qub.ac.uk/en/imperial/nigeria/language.htm

Kristen Miller
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
February 20, 2003

Part I

The study of background information about Chinua Achebe and the very lengthy preface and explanations to his book Things Fall Apart can promote better understanding and appreciation of his work to readers from other cultures in many ways.

            After reading Achebe’s work and finding out that he changed his name from his Christian given name, Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, to a more indigeneous one, Chinua Achebe (NY Writer’s Institute), I thought it was unusual that although he rejected his “white” name, he chose to write his novel in English. In his novel, he portrays the European colonists as bad people, and his main characters go as far as to burn the church that the white missionaries built. It has been brought up many times in class that most African writers are writing for themselves and for other Africans, therefore I theorize that the only reason Achebe wrote in English was because African cultures are so based on oral history and storytelling, English may have been one of the only ways to get his stories out to be seen and heard and felt.

            The writing style, however, no matter what language it is in, is very unique. According to Cora Agatucci’s African Storytelling: Oral Traditions, folktales and proverbs are just two examples of ways that Achebe relates his uniquely African culture to readers of other cultures. The most interesting part about the way he writes and tells the story is that he is unapologetic about writing things that a reader may not understand; though he is writing in our language, there are several things a reader needs to find outside of the novel to have everything make sense. An example of this would be the passage about throwing away the twins; this is made slightly more understandable by the explanation (Achebe, pg. xxxvi) “The Enigma of Twinship.”

            In conclusion of Part I, I believe that it is necessary to read all context information to grasp the full effect of the meaning that Achebe is trying to convey to us. Without foreknowledge of the Igbo culture, history, and oral arts, Achebe’s work would be very mysterious and perhaps meaningless.

Part II

            I believe that an important theme in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is/are the different interpretations of masculinity. Okonkwo’s overly masculine, sometimes violent behavior seems to be directly linked to his father’s cowardly (thought of by Okonkwo as feminine) behavior. There is a direct passage that notes that any man who has not taken any prestigious titles is called agbala, also meaning “woman.”

            Okonkwo does have feelings on the inside, but on the outside he mostly shows anger and aggression. He abuses his wives and even fires a gun at one of them. When Ikemefuna is put to death, Okonkwo does not indicate that he plans on taking part in the killing, but when the event actually takes place, it is apparent that Okonkwo violently takes down Ikemefuna because he does not want to look weak in front of the other clansmen.

            Once Okonkwo is exiled to his mother’s homeland, he continually makes references to the fact that his maternal ancestors are not nearly as likely to take part in a war or be as manly as those of his paternal clan. Unfortunately for Okonkwo, when he returns to Ufuomia after seven years, his own clan appears to have lost some of their aggressiveness, and he sees this when he makes a bold statement of going to war, but lacks support from his clan.

            In conclusion of Part II, I see masculinity as a recurring theme in Achebe’s novel, and find it unsettlingly weak and uncharacteristic that Okonkwo chose to take his own life at the end of the story.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Great Britain: Heineman Educational Publishers,

            1958.

Agatucci, Cora. African Storytelling: Oral Traditions. Humanities 211: Culture and

            Literature of Africa, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR, Winter

2003.    [Accessed:] 19 Feb 2003.

http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/afrstory.htm

No Author Listed. New York State Writer’s Institute – Chinua Achebe. University at

            Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY. [Accessed:] 19 Feb 2003

http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/achebe.html

Ike Mundell
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
February 20, 2003

Part I- Understanding African/African Caribbean Creative Work/s in Context

            Chinua Achebe was questioned in his video interview with Bill Moyer about his statement that “if one thing stands, another will stand beside it.”(PBS Video). Achebe’s response in the PBS video was that where there is one point of view, there must surely be another. This is generally not the western view of the world and directly identifies the differences between American and African perspectives, and the importance for students in the west which are studying the African/African Caribbean epics to develop some sort of background knowledge of the appropriate society.

            For many studying creative works of another culture it can be easy to misunderstand the use of specific words, phrases, or symbols. What one person may consider the obvious word choice to convey a certain meaning may not always be the same word choice the recipient of the message may have used. The symbolic use of an animal, person, place, or thing could be appropriate in one culture and the very opposite in another. This is why the study of some context points can be so valuable when better understanding the true message of African/African Caribbean creative works.

            The dialogue and the use of the Creole language in “I Is A Long Memoried Woman” is a prime example of the benefit of circumstantial background information when reviewing foreign literature. For someone without knowledge of the Creole language, it may seem a crude, misunderstood use of the English language. “From dih pout of mih mouth, from dih treacherous calm of mih smile, you can tell I is a long memoried woman.”(Epigraph 4, Nichols) It would support the narrow views of the colonizers that the African people were less intelligent and comprehensive than they were. For someone that knows about the history of Creole, it becomes evident that this language is more complex and adaptive than it seems. Understanding that these people from Africa, which had been enslaved in the Caribbean, took the language of their captors and not only learned to use it, but made it their own and even developed it into a code, will surely bring a great appreciation of the people as well as the culture and context it is used in.

            Without the study of background information, it can be easy to feel lost, confused, or frustrated when reviewing works of another culture. Learning bits about the history of the culture that a reader is studying can truly bring a greater appreciation for the ideal meaning of the message when examining creative works. Getting a feel for the background of a culture will give the viewer a better sense of what the fitting use of certain words or actions are within a novel or story.

Part II- My Interpretation Of Selected African/ African-Caribbean Creative Works

            A constant theme throughout the history of mankind has been the balance of appreciating the past with adapting for the future. This is both a constant and evident theme in the African/African Caribbean works we have studied. All of the characters in the stories share the struggle of blending the traditions of their ancestors with the impending threat of a changing environment.

            Our first encounter with the theme of a conflicting future and past is in the film “Keita: The Heritage of the Griot”. Our main character Mabo has problems balancing school and listening to Djeliba, the griot or historian-storyteller of his father. The boy is beginning to understand the importance of knowing his ancestral past, but still acknowledges the significance of his contemporary schooling. This conflict causes problems within Mabo’s family and eventually cause Djeliba to leave, but not before offering some advice for managing this problem in the future. “Always remember that it’s an old world and that the future emerges from the past.”(Episode #7, Kouyate). This is the first answer to an old problem we see in these works.

            In the film “I Is A Long Memoried Woman” the solution to this problem is a bit less evident. When confronted with the threat of never returning home, to the language and things that are familiar, the captured slaves from Africa modify the language of their oppressors in order to accommodate the new life in the Caribbean. They create Creole, a language that helps satisfy the communication between them and their slave captors and still gives them an identity all their own.

            For the characters in the Chinua Achebe novel “Things Fall Apart” the solution to the union of the old and the new was less evident. The character Okonkwo struggled to reestablish the traditions of his ancestors out of respect and appreciation, while the impending doom of the invading colonizers threatened the already unstable society. Okonkwo eventually lost his battle to maintain the customs of his forefathers to the white colonizers and their new views on cultural behavior. The Igbo society was unable to create a balance between the old and the new, and was instead given an entirely different set of values to follow. Their struggle was futile, but necessary in order to try to preserve a sense of the past.

The perpetual theme of trying to cope with a changing world and remembering the past was evident throughout these works. This is not a new idea, but one that man has struggled with since the existence of societies. The selected views about the various outcomes of this enigma were implanted in these works and offers ideas of the repercussions that a culture can experience. This will be a recurring theme through the age of man and works like these should be appreciated for their input on the situation.

Works Cited

Chinua, Achebe: A World Of Ideas. (Videotape Interview with Chinua Achebe, conducted by Bill Moyers and aired on Bill Moyer’s PBS television series A World Of Ideas, 1989.) PBS Video, Public Affairs Television, WNET/ New York and WWTTW/Chicago, Alexandria, VA; 1989. Prt. Films for the Humanities, 1994. (Run. Time: 28 min.)

I Is A Long Memoried Woman. Dir. Nichols, Grace. (Videotape). London: Caribbean Culture International Karnak House, 1983.

Keita: Heritage of the Griot (French: Keita! L’heritage du griot). Dir. Dani Kouyate. Perf. Seydou Boro, Hamed Dicko, Abdoulaye Komboudri, and Sotigui Kouyate. (Vidoetape.) Afix Productions-California Newsreel, 1994.

Shelby Scott
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
February 20, 2003

Part I

            As we have come through this term, we have been presented with many different types of art that come from African background. Perhaps the most interesting to me was watching I is a Long Memoried Woman. This video was presented in such a way that not only was I able to come to my own conclusions about the things that were going on, but I was also able to see some of the reasoning behind the different things when Grace Nichols would add commentary. In the following paragraphs I will show why having some context information helps in appreciating and grasping what is being portrayed.

            Before we watched the film in class, I went online and read a little about Nichols, and also general things about the film. I was instantly intrigued by the line, “I have crossed an ocean I have lost my tongue, from the root of the old one, a new one has sprung…” (Nichols Epilogue) As I began watching the movie, I kept that thought in my head, and tried to relate it to what was going on. I began to see exactly how this was portrayed in the movie. These people that were forced to live on this island had no choice. They had no choice to keep their language, their values, and their families. It came to the point where they had to make a new voice for themselves. I believe I was able to see these things because of my reading I had done before. The words running through my head helped me to focus on the story.

            I think when first watching a movie like I is… one is always drawn to the differences being portrayed on the screen. It is easy to watch the video and see the different dancing, or the “unusual” portrayal of the white man. But it is sometimes hard to just watch and find the similarities. Being able to read a little about the video beforehand immensely helped me to see that this was a huge change in these peoples’ lives, and they took it so much better than I ever could.

            I have read a little before on interpretive dance and the expression behind it. When I sing I try to convey my own feelings and thoughts to those listening. Although, it takes someone that is able to “listen” before anything that is presented can be heard. One must be educated, and able to know that the people in this video were not just dancing for fun; they were relating the story of their ancestors and paying homage to them. With this in mind I was able to feel, in my own way, their sorrow, victory, and renewal.

            Perhaps the scene that affected me the most was Part IV: The Bloodling. I could feel her pain as she found she was pregnant, and then even more as she had this child. As she squatted under the moon and gave her baby to the earth, with her first and last words to it, “…my tainted perfect child now my sweet one it is for you to swim…” (Nichols, I is…)

            The importance of understanding the background of different cultures dramatically increases one’s ability to appreciate the art that is shown. Different is often viewed as strange or weird. Many seem to be scared of what is not “normal” or things that they are not able to control. But one of the most important things when learning about another culture is to step outside of one’s comfort zone and put oneself into someone else’s shoes. In reality we all face them same problems, and in the end we come to the same conclusions. “As we have known never to rely on happiness or sorrow for our existence So rise you up my daughter So rise you up my daughter…” (I is…)

Part II

            Modernization is something that has taken a huge hold on many people in the world. It is no longer acceptable to do things at a slow pace, or even to do them in an “old fashioned” way. These ways are seen as time consuming and conservative. In Keita: Heritage of the Griot, an excellent example was show of what happens when modernization meets tradition.

            Young Mabo Keita is visited by Djeliba Kouyate, who is there to inform him of the history of his name. The boy is interested in this, and wishes to learn more about his heritage. The problem comes when he is “…brought into conflict with his Westernized mother and schoolteacher, who have rejected African tradition…” (California Newsreel) As Mabo is taught of the things of his past, his mother is constantly wanting him to study and to continue in the present and not have to learn about the past. When Mabo’s mother and teacher spoke with him they spoke in French. Even when they ate dinner, she made a Western meal (spaghetti). Djeliba, not knowing how to eat with a fork used his hands to eat instead. He was a little taken back by the dinner he were served, but he didn’t let it bother him.

            The slowness and deliberateness of Djeliba was incredible, and also a little annoying to someone like Mabo who wanted the whole story now and wasn’t prepared to wait for the time it was going to take to hear his entire heritage. He kept asking Djeliba when and why; Djeliba would only answer that he had to be patient. “Eat…you can’t run and scratch your foot at the same time…” (Keita…) Djeliba used other Mande proverbs to get across to Mabo that life isn’t about rushing, and learning about something cannot be done in just a few minutes or days, but could take years.

            I was happy to see that much of this relates to our lives as Americans today. Each generation seems to want to be faster, bigger, and better than the one before. But as I sat in the hospital with my grandmother, and listened to her describe things of her past; I was taken back to a slower time in life. It was not any easier, and of course there were things that had to be dealt with just as now. But the difference was the way she looked at it. She had lived in the modern world, but she chose to take her past, and let it shape her present.

            Many times when the modern world meets tradition there is a huge crash. Although, as we begin to listen to this tradition, and not to just pass it by, we are able to see that there are so many things of value in our past. Each person is able to not only learn for the past, but also to grow and achieve because of it. Mabo was able to see that he had a great heritage, and that he will be able to carry that on. And I, like Mabo, saw this same thing with my grandmother. We all have a heritage; it is each individual’s job to keep it alive.

Works Cited

Agatucci, Cora. 3.8 I is a long memoried woman Film Notes. Humanities 211: African

Culture and Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR, Feb. 2003.

Agatucci, Cora. 3.7 I is a long memoried woman Introduction to Film. Humanities 211:

            African Culture and Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, OR,

            Winter 2003. [Accessed 17 Feb 2003]

            http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/woman.htm

Keita: Heritage of the Griot [French: Keita! L’heritage du griot]. Dir. Dani Kouyate. Perf

            Seydou Boro, Hamed Dicko, Abdoulaye Komboudri, and Sotgui Kouyate.

            [Videotape.] Afix Productions – California Newsreel, 1994.

© 2003, Shelby Scott

Russell Stanage
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
February 20, 2003

PART 1 DISCUSSION

          When I think of the importance of understanding the background of African creative works I immediately think of Keita: The Haritage of the Griot. The importance of a name is the key, if not the whole basis of this story. With out at least some background and understanding we could not begin to imagine the full meaning and viable context in which a name becomes specific and individual.

          As we soon learn, the meaning of a name for Mabo Keita is not only a long process but also a detailed story, in which he learns how he came about. A large clash in the story of Mabo’s name comes out through his parents. We learn his mother was not quiet understanding the importance of a name and his father thinks that Mabo will be a better individual if he realizes who and why he is. If one were to look at this story from a simple “westerners view” I think one would be quick to side with Sitan (Mabo’s mother) and question why the need for a Griot. After all we seem to ignore the fact that a name could have a greater meaning, other than just a way to identify us. In (2.5 Backgrounds for Keita: The Heritage of the Griot) we learn that the

Stanage 2

Griot undertakes a much larger task than simply teaching the meaning of ones name. The Griot is a Historian, praise singer and musical entertainer (Cora’s on-line reserve). The Griot seems to encompass the traits of a counselor, teacher, and offers guidance for life and meaning for ones existence. Although people from out side this culture could not expect to fully understand the importance of the Griot, I believe some background of the Mali Empire gives insight into the meaning of peoples names.

          The importance of names in other cultures begs the question, what does my name mean. To find the answer to this I looked to the internet Web site: (Behind the Name) and found that Russell comes from a surname which meant “little red” in French. Another site (Namely-yours.com) had an Anglo-Saxon meaning for “Russell” meaning; Fox. As does the Griot traditions suffer from a changing society so does the accessibility of information to us about our names. As I looked for the meaning of my name on-line I found that there were plenty of options, as long as I was willing to pay a fee. I could even have a fancy certificate shipped to me with a pretty picture in the background and a poem depicting who I am. Quiet a far cry from a Griot, who councils, and teaches the grater meaning of a name.

Stanage 3

However it’s nice to know there is some information out there if one cares to find it.

          In conclusion, I found myself wanting to know more about not only my name, but the history of my being and why I am. This quest makes me wish I had the services of a Griot available to me in this day and age. I suppose like many things we do not truly know what we have until it’s gone.

PART II – INTERPRETATION

          Although we have discussed the in importance of a name, there is also another side to the story of Keita. I believe it is important to look at Sitans point of view. After all she seems to understand the importance of a Mabos name but quickly becomes impatient with Djeliba Kouyate (the Griot) when Mabo’s studies suffer.

          I believe Sitan brings up a valid point in that Mabo may be better served in life by learning the teachings of his schooling and society rather than a story brought to him by some stranger. Sitans main point is not so much the validity of the subject, but more the timing of it all. The Griot on the other hand seems to have little concept of time but simply sees it as a

Stanage 4

necessity that Mabo knows the meaning of his name. As I discovered while trying to find the meaning of my name, this may prove very significant latter when the Griot is not be available. Which brings us to Djelibas main point in that if one thing is to be put on hold it should be Mabos school work after all he is here now, so what better time. In part of the film Djeliba suggests that the officials change the vacation schedule to allow time for his story. This seems like a perfectly viable option for one who is so in tune with the history and culture that is beginning to be lost. This is quite a complex topic; on one hand you have the importance of a cultures history. While on the other you have the future of a boy and the significants of doing well in school. I don’t really know what I would do if I were Mabos parents, it’s a tough position to be in I guess I would hope that Djeliba would come back and finish the story for Mabo so that he could have the advantage of knowing where his name comes from.

Stanage 5

WORKS CITED

Agatucci, Cora. 2.4 African Oral Epics. Humanities 211: African Culture & Literature, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, Or Feb. 2003

Behind The Name.   “The Etymology & history of names” Online source @ www.behindthename.com, Maintained by : Mike Campbell Jan 3 2003

Namely Yours, Online source @ www.namelyyours.com modified 2-20-03 protected by “My sunny corner” 98’-02’

Yvonne Zbranak
HUM 211 C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
16 February 2003

How Important is Background Information?

Reading the essay, Igbo Culture and History, by Don C. Ohadike helped me to understand the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe a lot more clearly than if his essay was not available to me. Some background and knowledge about the Igbo culture helped me to look at this novel more from the perspective of the Igbo people and less from my altered American view of how things should be.

            One of the main things that Ohadike’s essay helped me to understand is the way that the Igbo’s social structure was formed.

“First, a person belonged to the smallest social unit known as uno, or house. This was a natural family, consisting of a man, his wife or wives, and their children. The second group was the umunna, or lineage, composed of a number of related houses. Finally, a group of lineages formed a compact village or town, obodo” (TFA, Igbo Culture and History, Ohadike, xxiii).

This presented a very clear understanding of how the Igbo village was formed so that when I began to read the novel I had a clear knowledge of how the village of Umuofia was formed.

            Another important aspect of the Igbo culture that Ohadike’s essay helped me to understand was the importance of father to son blood ties and the need for attainment of titles in the village. Ohadike states that “status attainment was clearly linked to the acquisition of wealth through hard work (TFA, Igbo Culture and History, Ohadike, xxvii).” So I the very beginning of the novel when we learn that Okonkwo’s father was a man of no title and no money, I could easily begin to understand why “he had had no patience with his father (TFA, Part I, ch 1, 3)”, and why even though his father was a liked man, Okonkwo was ashamed of him for being lazy and having no urge in his life to try and attain any titles for himself. That of course in turn would have made becoming an important man easier for Okonkwo.

            One final thing that I found important to know before reading TFA was that age played the most important role in their form of government. The Igbo people were brought up to respect their elders, but not just to the extent that we are taught to respect ours, they understood from a young age that the elders would be the ones to determine the outcomes of troubles within the villages and would also be the people who would deal with the troubles between villages. Though there were other groups of people that had an impact on the villages the “age-group associations” (TFA, Igbo Culture and History, Ohadike, xxv) especially the older ones were most important. All of this clarification helped me to understand why it was so important for Okonkwo to leave behind the baggage of who his father was and become a man that was respectable in, not only the eyes of his peers but more importantly in the eyes of his elders.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Classics in Context series. Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 2000.

Ohadike, Don C. Igbo Culture and History. Things Fall Apart. Classics in Context series. Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heineman Educational Publishers, 2000.

The Importance of Being Respected

In the final chapter of TFA Okonkwo kills himself after he severs the head of a messenger from the white man’s court. “Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead” (TFA, Part III, ch25, 147). Why did he do it? This is a question that has many answers which very depending on the audience. After reading the novel, along with the informative essay Igbo Culture and History, I have my own understanding of why Okonkwo feels he must die.

            I feel that it all comes down to the importance of being respected in the Igbo culture. Okonkwo had killed once before and had been sent away for seven years as punishment. This tore him apart. In my opinion this is when things started to fall apart in Okonkwo’s life. “His life had been ruled by great passion – to become one of the lords of the clan. That had been his life-spring. And he had all but achieved it. Then everything had been broken” (TFA, Part II, ch14, 92). Because he had worked so hard to overcome the legacy of his father and become a man that all of the village respected not only for his title but for how he came by it, his hard work, being sent away was devastating. He was forced to go to his mother’s village where the people welcomed him but didn’t respect him in the same way that the people in Umuofia did, they didn’t realize how great he was.

It was when he was away that the introduction of the “white man’s religion” started which was something that Okonkwo couldn’t believe that his people were buying into. He knew that his religion was the right religion and was disappointed that so many of his people were willing to sellout to something different. All of this created anger which was continuing to build up inside of him. A traditional man, Okonkwo could not wait to return to Umuofia to make up for the seven years that he had lost; what he didn’t realize is how different Umuofia would be. The white man’s church had made its mark on his village and not only that but “the white men had also brought a government” (TFA, Part III, ch 20,123). Okonkwo felt that the white man didn’t respect his religion and his anger towards them continued to grow. “Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men on Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (TFA, Part III, ch 21, 129). He couldn’t understand why the men of his village didn’t fight to remove these people from their land.

By the time that Okonkwo killed the messenger his anger had become so deep and so real there was nothing else that I would have expected him to do. He killed himself because he believed so deeply in his own religion and his Igbo way of life and couldn’t make himself accept much less live with the new religion. He could no longer sit and watch his people be taken over by something that he was so sure was wrong, but he had also realized that there was nothing that he could do to stop it. He killed himself so that he would not have to watch as the rest of the people that he so respected and looked up to became submissive to a religion and lifestyle other than the one he knew was right. I guess in the end Okonkwo ended his life to stop the pain and disappointment he felt not only for himself but mostly for the people of his clan and the entire Igbo culture.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Classics in Context series. Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 2000.

Anonymous (2)
Hum 211, Professor C. Agatucci
Discussion Paper #2
20 February 2003

Part. 1

     When studying another culture it is very helpful to study the literature and arts of that culture in an effort to better understand and appreciate the differences between the culture with that of our own. Understanding the past in which one comes from can help you to better understand and accept the life that one has lived. We are who we are based on what we have learned and what has been taught to us.   We take these cultural norms and live our lives based on those norms while in search for the self.

     In the novel, "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, the author attempts to take us back into time to show us life as he knew it. When reading "Things Fall Apart" we learn the traditions of the Igbo culture and when Achebe takes us back to the beginning traditions of the Igbo we can better understand them by putting ourselves in their position, in that point in time. Until we attempt to walk the path of an Igbo we cannot really understand the Igbo.

     For example, in Igbo culture we see people get killed and this practice is a very accepted part of the their culture. In "Things Fall Apart" an elder of the clan, Ogbeufi, came to Okonkwo to speak to him about Ikemefuna, the boy who called him father. He states " Yes, Umuofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it." (Ch. 7 pg. 40) And so they killed him because that is what the Spirit Fathers' ordered. Now in our culture, killing another human for any reason is considered murder and can be punishable by death. When learning the historical past of the Igbo culture we know that it is done because the spirits say it must be done. If one doesn't live up to the expectations of his/her spirit ancestors then the individual and possibly his family and even more possibly his entire clan could bear the consequences. "If one finger brought oil, it soiled the others." (Ch. 13 pg.88) Having known this as of an essential part of the Igbo tradition, makes it easier to understand and although I may not agree with the ways of the Igbo, knowing this enabled me to enjoy the novel "Things Fall Apart".

     Knowing African history also enables you to better understand the film "i is a long memoried woman" (directed by Frances Anne Solomon and based on the writings of Grace Nichols.) Knowing that these women came from a time of African slavery and brutality, rape and suffering helps to understand the film. As a woman, as a feminist, it enabled me to put myself in their shoes and mentally go through the pain and suffering they must have felt. The film opened my eyes to just how very strong and courageous these women were and how difficult it must have been to go and live life after they were freed. To live life in freedom but never, ever forget what they went through so that they could tell their story to others and others could see how strong and courageous they really were. In this they found the strength to carry on. By keeping a dream and a vision they were able to survive. Hopefully understanding their story and seeing this film, women everywhere will be sure to never let this happen again.

"Know that I smile

know that I bend

only to rise and strike

again"

(taken from I Is a Long Memoried Woman Film Notes by

Prof. C. Agatucci-African Diaspora)

Part 2.

     I believe that in the film "i is a long memoried woman" by Frances-Anne Solomon it is very important to understand who the long memoried woman is. A long memoried woman represents any woman who has lived through slavery, and abuse, and rape and held on to a dream that a day would come when things would be different-

We must hold fast to dreams

We must be patient

from the crouching of those huts

from the sprouting of these fields

We can emerge

all revolutions of rooted in dreams

(from i is a long memoried woman Film Notes by Prof.

Agatucci-African Diaspora. Part 1: The Beginning)

      To live through the torture and still have a will to survive without ever having

forgotten her brutal, horrifying past. Never forget because it is important to understand

the painful past of every woman who went through this. It is a very big part of who they

are and who they've become. Long after the days of slavery a woman will remember

with every step she takes what she went through. She must remember.......

"she hasn't forgotten

hasn't forgotten

how she lain there

in her own blood

lain there in her own shit

bleeding memories in the darkness

how she stumbled onto the shore

how the metals dragged her down

how she thirsted....

(i is a long memoried woman Film Notes by C. Agatucci-African Diaspora

part1: The Beginning)

In remembering she can also heal and in remembering her past she can see her strength.

In her dreams and in her memory she can see and understand the past of all women.

In this she finds the strength to carry on in her new life.

"I have crossed an ocean

I have lost my tongue

from the root of an old one

a new one has sprung"

(i is a long memoried woman Film Notes

by C. Agatucci-African Diaspora. Part 5:The Return)

Together these women hold on to a dream that it shall never happen again. It is in this that she can heal.

"As we have known victory

As we have known death

As we have known never to rely on happiness

or sorrow for our existence"

(i is a long memoried woman Film Notes by C. Agatucci-African Diaspora

Part 5: The Return)

In this film we see the strength of ours sisters which should never be forgotten.

     The main character in "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe is Okonkwo, who plays a very significant role that is important to understand. Okonkwo is depicted as a cold and ill-tempered angry man. "He was very violent and had a hard, strong temper. Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his children."(Ch. 1 pg. 9) Okonkow acted in this way because he didn't want to be like his father, who was poor and had many debts. He was thought of as a loser and a failure. "And so Okonkwo was ruled by 1 passion--to hate everything that his father Unoka loved. One of those things was gentleness and the other was idleness." (Ch. 1 pg. 10)   Okonkwo became just the opposite. When the spirits said Ikemefuna must die, Okonkow raised his matchet and finished off the boy who called him father in fear of appearing weak. (ch. 7 pg. 43) Okonkwo's life was spent proving his strength. In the end his drive for strength, power and recognition proved to only be a sign of weakness. Many people feared him.   During the sacred week of peace Okonkwo lost his temper and beat his wife. In the eyes of the Igbo--he had committed evil. (ch. 4 pg 22) He aspired to be a lord of the clan, but then he accidentally killed someone during a funeral celebration and was cast out of the clan for 7 years. Once again, he lost all the respect he had earned.

     Again and again we see Okonkwo's strength working against him. For in the end he hangs himself because he has lost hope in his people and sees that his individual strength alone would never give him what he desired from life. His strength only continued to bring him closer to his own weaknesses, and in the end--his own death.

Works Cited

1. Humanities 211 in-class discussions.

2. "i is a long memoried woman" film directed by Frances Anne Solomon based on the writings of Grace Nichols.

3. "i is a long memoried woman Film Notes by Professor Cora Agatucci-African Diaspora.

4. Introduction to the Film. Notes by Professor Cora Agatucci.

5. The African Holocaust and Diaspora. Notes by Professor Cora Agatucci.

6. "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe.

Russell Stanage (2)
HUM 211 C. Agatucci
Film Review (Seminar Make-Up)
20 March 2003

EVERYONE'S CHILD

Dir. Tsitsi Dangarembga. Prod. Media for Development Trust, Zimbabwe, 1996. Prod. Jonny Persey, John Riber, Ben Zulu. Wr. Shimmer Chinodya, Tsitsi Dangarembga, John Riber, Andrew Whaley. Perf. Elizjah Madzikatire, Nomsa Mlambo, Walter Muparutsa, Killness Nyati, Chunky Phiri, Thulani Sandhla, Simon Shumba. Videotape. Library of African Cinema, California Newsreel, distributor. In English. Runtime: 90 min. Audience: Adult. [COCC Library AV holding]

            Everyone’s Child is a touching film about the devastating effects of aids upon a young family in Zimbabwe. The film also incorporates the inherent difficulties that come along with living in such an impoverished land. For Itai and Tamari the two older siblings this time will prove to be an exhausting revelation into the world in which they live.

            Shortly into the film we find Itai, Tamari, Norah and Nhamo, the children taking there mother to town. Mother has been battling Aids for some time now and this turns out to be her last journey. Itai and Tamari soon find themselves left with the undaunting task of raising the other two smaller children Norah and Nhamo. Although they seem part of a small tight nit village they soon find out that no one seems to want to help them due to stigma of aids in there family. Ozias, a leader in the community seems to attempt to help in the beginning but his self righteousness soon takes over and the children are left with little hope for their future. Throughout the film people appear to make an attempt at helping the children, like when Amuya watches Nhamo and basically keeps him from falling in the well. Their attempts seem to be heart-felt but are a far cry from the help the orphans need.

In an attempt to better himself and possibly provide for the rest of his brothers and sisters Itai travels to the city to find his uncle Jimmy Sharp, and with any luck a job. With no avail Itai finds his uncle no longer work there any more. Itai soon falls into a life of gangs, violence and thievery. After some time the inevitable happens and Itai soon finds him self in jail after he attempts to steal a woman’s purse and gets caught. You can almost feel the hopes and dreams Itai ones had drifting away as he learns what the city has to offer.

            Meanwhile while Tamari is back in the village trying to take care of little Norah and Nhamo she finds herself with her own set of problems. In the process of buying food at the local store, it seems the storekeeper is not the nice man she once knew. He becomes a conniving predator and is soon giving Tamari food and essential items in turn for sex. The immediate concern that comes to mind when this happens is that Tamari will fall into the same lifestyle that probably killed her mother. After a couple of encounters with the storekeeper she is becoming known as the local prostitute and is looked at very differently than in the past. At one point she makes an attempt to get her younger brother back into school but the school master tries to have his way with her instead. This seems to be a turning point for Tamari and after getting beat up by the storekeeper she seems to be done with this dangerous way of life. Tamari seems to find hope in a young man named Taviso. Taviso is a local musician and is deeply in love with tamari, however, although Tamari seems to love him as well she seems to be too ashamed of her life style to do anything about it.

            Just as tragedy tore the family apart, we see tragedy bring the family back together as well. In a fire that burns down the children’s home, young Nahmo is killed and Iati returns home to be with Tamari and Norah. The children seem to immediately find the strength and love they have been searching for in the less desirable things of this world. As well the family coming back together so does the village. They seem to understand how they let the children down and that the whole idea of living in a village is to help each other when times are rough.

            This film was produced in Zimbabwe in 1996 as a direct result of the staggering statistic that by the year 2000 Ten million orphans will die from aids in Africa alone. To me this is an unacceptable statistic and one that should not be allowed to continue. Although it is unlikely that one could make a great difference in this staggering trend at least this film makes note of the inhumanity that is prevalent in today’s world and reaffirms the fact that “It takes a village to raise a child” –African proverb.

See also:
California Newsreel: http://www.newsreel.org/films/everyone.htm
Library of African Cinema, California Newsreel:
URL: http://www.newsreel.org/topics/acine.htm
Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0116243

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