Cultural Lineages: Exploring Modes of History

By Sarah and Erica

African American Studies 310: African Diaspora Experience- Fall 2019

Introduction

The cultural lineage in communities comes in a variety of forms, often all playing off of each other. The rich and bountiful history that Africa has is one of prosperity, ingenuity, and resilience. It has not been until the last several centuries that such a history has been horribly tampered with and disturbed. Both by the physical removal of both humans and artifacts, outsiders have evoked a lapse in traditions and understanding. However, with a call for the return of African artifacts and the long lineage of storytelling, histories are being pieced back together and communities are constructing displays of their histories namely museums.

Theft of African Artifacts

Lions from Kenya, Benin Bronzes from Nigeria, that are actually made of brass, and even the Rosetta stone that is originally from Egypt are just a couple of examples of the array of artifacts that have been stolen and are being refused to be returned specifically by the UK.

There is a long habit of British powers taking artifacts from the continent and putting them in museums in England. With expeditions set to explore and excavate artifacts from communities, relics and important cultural symbols have been removed from their proper place. In Great Zimbabwe, for example, there are only eight sapstone birds that have been recovered, and none of them are in Zimbabwe itself. These statues were placed on the top of grand megaliths that surrounded the magnificent city.

The grand history of Africa is one that is very exciting and should be shared, but the artifacts are the property of the people, not the colonizers, and need to be in their home countries.

Ghanaian Museums

Some museums in Ghana today are as follows: the Manhyia Palace, in Kumasi was built by the British in 1925 after they had destroyed the original in a war with the Asantes several decades earlier. It is currently a museum that houses many royal artifacts. The National Museum of Ghana in Accra is focused on the overall history of both Ghana and Africa. The W.E.B. DuBois Centre offers a historical and interactive memorial for the great thinker.

Museums do not only give a community a source of knowledge and a place to admire history, they are also great sources of income, community building, as well as event venues for national celebrations and the overall observance and respect of a narrative.

Oral Traditions

What is an oral tradition?

Oral traditions are specific images, rituals, patterns of behavior, moments in time, or values that are “removed from their historical contexts” and are communicated orally. These ways of communication are not limited to solely verbal communication, but also appear through song and dance. Relocating these images or patterns (oral traditions) from the historical contexts allows them to be recontextualized in other modes of communication and/or art forms (Scheub). They link the past and present, the physical and the spiritual with their audiences. Additionally, it is commonly agreed that a common or core theme of oral traditions in West Africa “is the connection between all living things”. They create a connection or an understanding between human beings and nature (OAASC).

What do oral traditions look like?

Oral traditions can look like:

• Poems
• Lyrics 
• Riddles
• Tales
• Proverbs
• Heroic tales or epics
  • These epics often stem from or contain specific moments in history. Essentially, epics are based in part in the real and fictional world (OAASC).

These oral traditions can work in conjunction with other mediums or art forms like dance and drumming. Specific movements or rhythmic patterns communicate or convey different meanings. For example, specific individuals can be tasked with understanding and maintaining oral traditions: the Griot(te) is the one to undertake this role.

The role of the griot(te) is passed down from generation to generation, normally within a family line. Typically, these individuals hold status or importance, because the griot(te) is the keeper and custodian of histories.  Griot(tes) maintain the transmission of histories and values. They function as a “genealogist, historian, adviser, spokesperson, diplomat, mediator, interpreter, translator, musician, composer, teacher, exhorter, warrior, witness, and participant in a wide range of ceremonies from naming to initiation, courtship, marriage, installations of chiefs, and funerals” (OAASC). Griot(tes) are known for their musicality, lyrics, and connections to dance/movement. Here is an example of this:

Why do these oral traditions exist?

Oral traditions in West Africa allow societies, families, ethnic groups, etc. to work through challenges, contradictions or paradoxes, social taboos, or moral conflicts. As well as establish an understanding of human behavior and codes of conduct. These are especially important as they contribute to the upbringing of younger generations.

We are the most powerful because everything about our ethnic group is passed down through oral tradition… Even though we are not part of the ruling class, the ruling chiefs and the queens and the queen mothers rely on us to recount the history of our people

Habib Iddrisu, PhD, Professor of Ethnomusicology and Dance at University of Oregon, “From Ghana With Love” for Eugene Weekly

What are the impacts of West African oral traditions today? Why are they important?

Specific oral histories, tales, folklore, or traditions that have survived western colonization can allow us to better understand developments in (past, present, and future) cultural practices and movements. 

For centuries, Westerners were convinced that indigenous Africans were culture-less “savages” and therefore, a people(s) without history. Oral traditions disrupts this notion. Oral traditions function as a bridge between elders and younger generations.

Memory is crucial for Oral Traditions

Oral traditions have great influence on not only written literature but also other art forms and media, including theater, radio, etc.

However, due to technology, storytelling and the consumption of stories are typically a solitary act/event rather than a communal one→ Podcasts, radio, and television for example (Muchiri). Despite this, the future of oral traditions seems to be one mostly rooted in technology, specifically storytelling podcasts –as it allows one’s story or history to be recorded and shared on the internet with the masses. Podcasts typically can take any format and can be any length.

African oral traditions have a major impact on written literature and many of the stories we see from African novelists today. We see this in the work of authors such as Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta, Yaa Gyasi, and Wole Soyinka. African American Oral traditions are essentially an extension of these oral traditions in West Africa, and we see these oral traditions today in art forms such as “jazz, rap and ballads” (OAASC).

Conclusion

With a deeper understanding of history, there must come a deeper understanding of how we display and share history. For many West African traditions, the act of sharing of history is just as vital as knowing that history. For some ethnic groups, traditions of dance and song connects the past and present with physical and emotional being. In creating spaces like museums that honor history through the rebuilding of sites originally thought to be lost to colonization, it allows individuals to connect memory to space. In a way, there is also an acknowledgement that there are still many items from West African cultures that were taken by force by colonial regimes, and haven’t been allowed to return to their homelands to this day; the implications of this are still felt today. It is important for readers to understand that there is more to history than just the knowledge of important events or dates, but the way history is shaped, formed, shared, and contextualized is just as important for Ghanaians and other West Africans.

Citations

Eaton, Anne Wescott, and Ivan Gaskell. “Do subaltern artifacts belong in art museums?.” The ethics of cultural appropriation (2009): 235-67.

Hale, Thomas A.. “Griot.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought. Ed. F. Abiola Irele and Biodun Jeyifo. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford African American Studies Center. 

Horton, Mark. “Returning Looted Artefacts Will Finally Restore Heritage to the Brilliant Cultures That Made Them.” The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2019, theconversation.com/returning-looted-artefacts-will-finally-restore-heritage-to-the-brilliant-cultures-that-made-them-107479.

Lime, Ashley. “A Guide to Africa’s ‘Looted Treasures’.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Nov. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45406557.

Scheub, Harold. “A Review of African Oral Traditions and Literature.” African Studies Review, vol. 28, no. 2/3, 1985, pp. 1–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/524603.

Scheub, Harold. “Oral Traditions in Africa.” Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition. Ed. Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr.. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford African American Studies Center