Nyang

SPIRITUAL SPACES

Sulayman 5. Nyang

Immigrants

^from ^the

^Muslim

^world^have^introduced

globalIslam intothe

American

culturalandreligious mosaic.

They

can beeasilyseenattherituals,rites,and celebrationstheyperformas partoftheirfaithcommunities andatannual eventsthatreaffirmandrevalidate their iden- titiesasMuslims. This aspect of

Muslim

lifeinthe United Statesis

now

feltaroundthecountry andespeciallyin the greater

Washington

area,wherealmostall

Muslim

coun-

triesarerepresentedby theirrespectiveembassiesand whereasmall butgrowing

body

ofimmigrantandnative- born

Muslims now

reside.Estimatesbylocal

media

putthe

Muslim

populationintheareabetween 50,000 and^75,000.

Muslims

annuallycelebrate several feasts

now

reportedin the localpressanddiscussedbetween

Muslims

andtheir neighborsandfriends in

American

^society.

The

threemost widelycelebratedevents

among

^African

Muslims

arethe Eidel-Fitr,Eid el-Adha,and

Mawlad

el-Nabi.

The

first feasttakesplaceeveryyearattheendofthe

month

of fasting

known

Ramadan.

Becausetheyhavenot yet establishedreligiouscentersoftheir

own,

African

Muslims

inthegreater

Washington

area usuallyjoinother

Muslims

atvariouslocalmasjids(mosques)andIslamic centersfor theEidprayers. Iftheyhave beenabletosecure leavefrom

work

tocelebrate,theyalsopartakeinamealofchicken boughtfromhalal(ritualexpert)butchers,

who

cater specificallytoMuslims.

Some

payvisitsto relativesand friendsinthe area,whileothers arehostsorhostessesto other

Muslims

theyhavenotseen duringtheyearbecause ofconflictsin

work

schedulesandotherresponsibilitiesof

modern

urban life.

The

secondfeast,theEidel-Adha,

comes two months

and tendaysaftertheEidel-Fitr.This celebrationisare-enact-

ment

Abraham's

offer to sacrifice his sontoGod. Itis also thedayafterthe

Mus-

lim pilgrimsconvergeatMt.

Arafatas partoftheirhajj (pilgrimage) toMecca. Like the firstEid,thisoneiscele- bratedbyprayeratthe

mosque

andbysocialvisits

andmeals. This occasionis distinctivein itstraditionof sacrificinga

lamb

(orany otheranimal approvedby Islamic law)andsharingthe mealpreparedfromitwith neighborsandfriends.

The

third celebration,

Mawlad

el-Nabi, centers

on

the sira(biography)ofthe Prophet

Muhammad. On

this occasionAfrican

Mus-

limsorganizelecturesand chanting sessions atalocal

mosque

or rentedfacility.

Such

celebrationsareoften actsof devotion by

members

oflocal

Muslim community

organizations connected withAfrican

Muslim

brotherhoods.

These

American

branches ofAfrican Sufi orders

InMaryland,Sierraleonean immigrant Muslimspray at theEid Celebration attheendofRamadan,

1997. Photo by Harold Dorwin

upon

members

ofthe

Wahabi

sect from Saudi Arabia becauseitisseenasan innovation.

Duringthe celebrations,congregations sing

poems known

asqasidas,

composed

andwritten

down

longagoby Africanand

Arab

poetslike

Shaykh

Alhaji Malick

Sy

of Senegalandother

Muslim

poets fromMali. Nigeria.

Sudan,Tanzania,and Hararin Ethiopia.

Sulayman

Nyang,

atenured professorat

Howard

Uni- versity'sAfrican StudiesDepartment,

was

thefounding editorof^the

American

Journalof IslamicSocial Sciences.

Dr.

hassen'ed as

Ambassador

_oftheRepublic ofthe

Gambia

throughouttheMiddle East

and

northeast African countries.

He

isalsotheauthor

and

editorof works such^as Islam. Christianity, andAfricanIdentity(1984)

and

Religious Plurality inAfrica:Essaysin

Honor

ofJohnMbiti (1993). which

was

co-authoredwithJacob Olupona.

Nature & Significance of Durbar in

Ghanaian Societies

Kwaku

Ofori-Ansa

&

Peter

Pipim

Ghanaian

traditional rulers sitinstateandmeet their peopleateventscalleddurbars(anIndo-Persian termfor "ruler's court").

To

the

accompaniment

of music anddance, ceremonieshonortheirancestors,re- kindletheir

bond

tothepeople, reviveunity,cleansethe society,andprayforthe fruitfulnessofthelandandthe welfareofthepeople. Beautifullyadornedkings,queens, chiefs,andtheireldersappearin publicprocessionamidst intensive

drumming,

singing, anddancing. Attheir destinationkingandqueensitin stateflankedbychiefs andelders, assound and motioncontinuearoundthem:

drum

languagesarticulatepraises; specialguestsextend greetingsand pay

homage;

giftsarepresented.

The Akan

people of

Ghana

organize durbars forthe installationofchiefs,kingsandqueens,andtheirelders, a tradition thathasbeen carriedovertothe UnitedStates.

Thisyearthe

Asanteman

Kuo. an associationorganizedby theAsante,one ofthe

Akan

groupsin theUnited States, will holdthe third installationofitsleadership,anevent

which

happens everythree years. Duringadurbar, the

Asanteman Kuohene

(chiefofthe

Asanteman

association) ofthe

Washington

metropolitan areawillhost

members

Asanteman Kuo

fromAtlanta,Toronto,

New

York,

New

England,Montreal,

Los

Angeles,Chicago,and Dallas.

The

chiefsandthequeen mothers oftheseAsante

associationswill appearintraditional ceremonialclothing ofhand-woven, hand-stamped, hand-embroidered, and hand-appliquedclothsaccentuated withglitteringgold,

silverjewelry,and precious beads.

Accompanied

drumming,

singing,and dancing, theywill processunder

ceremonial umbrellasofbrilliantcolors.

Symbols

ofstatusandauthority,theroyal paraphernaliareflecta

complex

arrayof philosophical, religious,andpolitical concepts,whichinformidealsand codes of

conduct.

The

large,colorful umbrellas(akatamanso) representthe protective roleandtheauthorityofchiefsand queens.Gold-platedstaffs

(akyeamepoma)

ofthechiefs spokesmen, orlinguists, symbolicallydepictpoliticalideals Ceremonialchiefstools(ahenkongua)

—

carriedby stool bearers andplaced infrontofthechiefs

—

aresymbolsof spiritual and politicalunity.Their carvedimagesreferto certainphilosophical, religious,andpoliticalconcepts.

Gold-platedceremonialswordscarriedbytheCouncil of Elders are traditionallybornebyroyalmessengers andare usedinswearingoathsof allegiance duringinstallationsof rulersandelders.

Traditionaldurbarscan lasta

whole

dayuntil sunset.

Sharing special drinksattheseoccasionssymbolizes hospitalityand

community

spirit.

The

durbarendswitha

OfficialsoftheWashington, D.C, Ghanaiancommunityorganization Asanteman Kuo wereattiredin regalia foraninaugural eventin

1994atalocalgyminLangleyPark, Maryland. Photo courtesyPeter Pipim, Asanteman Kuoorganization

Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife 41

procession from thepublic groundstothechiefspalace,

where

a libationispouredtohonortheancestors and thankthe

Supreme

Creator.

thanjustasocial gathering, adurbarrevivesand reinforcesloyaltyand strengthensthetiesandthe senseofbelongingthat binda people together.

Kwaku

Ofori-Ansa,

who

from Ghana,

^isProfessor of Artat

Howard

University.

He

holdsa Ph.D. infolklore

studies.

He

isalsoaculturalactivist

and

has beenan integral partof^the

group

community

scholar/advisors to theAfricanImmigrantFolklifeProject since 1994.

Peter Pipim.an Education Specialist at theNational

Museum

_ofAfrican^Art,^isalso activein

Ghanaian-Amer-

ican culturalaffairsasan officerofthe

Akan

organization

Asanteman Kuo and

oftheCouncil of

Ghanaian Organ-

izationsinthemetropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

Ikeji MasQuerade ⁱⁿ

New ^York City &

Ofirima MasQuerade

in Washington, D.C:

Research Reports on Two

Cultural Adaptations

The term masquerade canrefer toa

masking

performance, a

masked

performer, orthecharacter

embodied

bythe

mask

itself

Masquerade

isan important

mode

of^cultural expressionfor^severalgroups fromNigeria.Molly

Egondu

Uzo

researchedIkeji

masquerade

asitis

now performed

in the

New

York City area.

Tonye

Victor

Erekosima

researchedtheOfirima

masquerade

as^itis

performed

^by

theRivers State

Forum

inWashington,

D.C

Thefollowing are excerpts

from

theirresearchreports.

Ikeji Masquerade

Molly Egondu Uzo

In

Umuchu

in Nigeria,as in

most

ofAfrica,"masquerade isexclusively formen.It's a

macho

thing,"said Mr.Victor

Emenuga,

member

ofthe

Umuchu

culturaltroupe,based in

New

Jersey. Mr.

Emenuga was

addressingan audienceatthe 1996

Hudson

RiverArts Festival inPoughkeepsie,

New

York.

The

purpose of

masquerade

can betoentertain, to

commend

achievers,to chastiseevil-doers, tobring messagesof hope, peace, or

Members ofAkwaIbom, a Nigerian regionalorganizationinthe Washington, D.C,area,re-enacta masqueradeprocessionatthe1995 FestivalofAmericanFolklife.

Photo byJeff Tinsley,courtesy SmithsonianInstitution

impending

disaster, to

mourn

thedead orto receive aspecialnewborn, ortograce aceremonial occasion likeafestival.

To

these ends,its elaborately created physicalpresence evokesa greatrange of

feelings,

from

approbationandappreciationto fearand awe.

A good masquerade

has admirable

human

oranimal featuresandisa great dancer,too.

Men

use

masquerade

as anoutlet for their

macho

energy.

They

arestrong

enough

toinvokeand minglewiththespiritsofthedead, but

women

are not.

Of

course,it

makes them

feel

good

about themselves,andlifegoes on. Traditionally,masquerades havethehighestlevelof

freedom

inavillage.

You

cannot fightamasquerade.

You

cannot

unmask

it.

And

you have noright tosaythe

name

^ofthepersonunderthemask, evenif

you know who

itis.

Once

underthemask, he

becomes

sacred,aperson usedto

embody

thespirit.

As

moreAfricans

make

theUnitedStatestheirpermanent residence,

some

adapttheir traditional festivals to their

new

homes.

New Yam

and

New

Yearfestivalsare

now common.

Inaddition todance,food,andpageantry,

some

festivals featuremasquerades.Forinstance, theIkejifestival ofthe Arondizuogu

community

(one oftheIgboclans inNigeria)in

New

Yorkcannot be complete withouttheIkejimasquerades.

Sometimesadaptationseemstheonlyalternativefor surviving. InIgbolandthereisno one-manmasquerade,but

we

haveithereintheUnitedStates,thankstotheuseof audio cassettesforbackgroundmusic.

The

^Ikejifestivalmasquerades

are

among

thefewthatstilltry topreservetheir tradition. But they

come

outonlyonceayear, insummer.

They

^still uphold theirmyths.Theyhave onlyafew hours ofIkejimasquerade

New

York,asopposedtofourdaysinArondizuogu.They don'thaveenoughskilled

drummers

toback uptheir performances,sothey occasionallyresort totaped music.

To

avoidlawsuits,they limitopeninteraction withtheaudience.

"Masqueradeswithcontroversialattributes, likeOgaranya AfoToro,

known

forhisexcessesincludingoversizedprivate parts,are cautiouslyavoided," says Chris

Awam,

originally fromArondizuogu. "But

we

will still performthemostau- thentic masqueradeintheUnitedStates.At leastourmas- queradesdon'twearsocks."

Awam

ismakingfunof

some

groups

whose

masqueradesareso

human

that theywear socks.Spiritsdon'teven havefeet.

They

canfloat intheair.

Socksareveryhuman;theyare foreigngoodsas well.

Traditionalmasquerades would neverwearthem.

Mary "Molly" Uzo

isa Nigerian-born

community

culturalactivist

who

has researched

and

presented

programs

in upstate

New

YorkonAfrican

masquerade

traditionsincluding those of her

own

Igboethnic

group

fromsoutheastern Nigeria.

Ofirima Masquerade

Tonye

Victor

Erekosima

The _by

^Ofirima

_men

_only.^(Shark)

_The

_headpiece

^masquerade

_that^is_is^generally

_worn

_indicates^staged

the kind of

masquerade

beingpresented.

Members

ofthe RiversState

Forum,

anorganization

named

^aftera province in southeastern Nigeria, stagedtheOfirima during theirannualouting in Washington, D.C. Inthe traditional outfitofan appropriatelydressed masquerade, the headpieceisa faithful

model

ofthe ferociousfish. It

was

carvedby alocal resident.

The many male

dancers

who accompany him were

alsoin theirpropertraditional attire,because every Rivers

man

living herehasat least one such outfitin his possession.

The

distinctive styleofthisdanceisa leisurelycadence withbroad sweepsofthearms and slow pacing ofthe feet;

thisshowsopulence,casualness, anda dignified bearing. It isverydifferent from

much

ofthedancingdone bythe Rivers people's neighbors.

Some

say itreflectstheslow ebb and flow of waterintheirgeographicalsetting; others,their history as traders

who

havetraffickedwiththeoutside world forcenturieswithrelative ease.

Audience

members

inWashingtonretaintheNigerian practiceofinformalconcourse throughthearenawhere the masqueradewasbeing played,butonly an entertainment

mask

like Ofirima could be performed.

The

sharkis

ferocious, soanattendant

—

dabbedwithwhite chalkor kaolin todispelnegative forces

—

followsitand checksitsaggressiveness.

As

aleaddancer, hewears an eaglefeather, thebadge of an accomplished

member

ofthe Ekine men'sdancingsociety.

He

precedesthe masquerade, pouringa libationand invokingtheancestorsto providea safeand nimble performance. That day,rich attire andcollective spontaneitywereshared

betweenthedancersand theaudience of Rivers

women who

enthusiasticallyjoined them.Everyone on thesceneleft feelingtheyhad participated ina

memorable

event.

Dr.

Tonye

Victor

Erekosima was

born in theRivers State region of Nigeria

and

has

done

extensive research on theKalahariethnicgroup, of which he^is ^a

member.

He

isa scholar

and

areligious minister

and

divideshis professional timebetween Washington,

D.C, and

Nigeria.

ThisIbibiomasquerade was danced^at^the1995 SmithsonianFestivalofAmericanFolklifebymembersof AkwaIbom,anorganizationof arearesidentswith originsintheCross Rivers StateinNigeria.

Photo byJeffTinsley,courtesySmithsonianInstitution

Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife 43

Yoruba Naming Ceremony in

Washington, D.C

Diana Band N'Diaye

with GilbertOgunfiditimi

&

Frederick Ogunfiditimi

Unless

^a^baby ^is

^named

^within ^seven^to^nine^{days of}

itsbirth, accordingto

Yoruba

tradition, itwill not outliveits parentofthe

same

sex.Thisbelief underscorestheimportance of

naming

and ofthecere-

mony

which

itisdone.

Soon

after theirson

was

born, Mr. Banyole and Mrs. Adiola

Adeboyeku

of Washington, D.C.,telephonedfriendsandrelativesandinvited

them

to thehouse. Mr.

Adeboyeku

hadalreadyprepared forthe occasiononhisprevious triptoNigeria.There he had purchasedrichlyembroidered whiteclothand hadtaken it

toatailor in

Lagos

tohavefestiveclothing

made

forthe baby'sfather, mother, andolderbrother, Babatunde.

Husband

and wifehadalready thought about names, and theirmothersinNigeriahadalso sent theirchoices.

When

the

baby would

visitNigeriaforthefirsttime, hisgrand- mothers

would

call

him

bythe

names

theyhadchosen.

On

^theday ofthecelebrationatthe

Adeboyeku home,

guests arrived

from

earlyafternoon bringing

money

and other

baby

gifts: layettesets,clothing,andblankets. After about an hour ofsocializing, the

ceremony

began.Every- one assembled aroundaliving-roomtable,

which

dis- playedritualfoods andobjects.

The

familyare

members

ofthecongregation ofthe International

House

ofPrayer forAll People,and their pastor,

Reverend

Frederick Ogunfiditimi.officiated.

The ceremony

beganwith a

hymn. Then

thereverend introducedeach ofthefoods and objectstothe

baby

^{to taste}or touch, declaringthe

sym-

bolic

meanings

ofeachashedidso.

He

expressedprayers forthe child'swell-beingand

good

characterand passed eachobjectaroundforthose presentto taste or touch.

The

baby's given

names were announced

toall:thefirstname, Orobola.

means

"riches";the second name, Adeleke,

means "We

arealready higher than ourenemies."Rev.

Ogunfiditimi pointed outthatifthe

ceremony

had been taking placein Nigeria,it

would

probably have been held outdoors.

The

baby'sbarefoot

would

have been touched

AttheirhomeinLanham,Maryland, theAdeboyekufamilyandtheir friendsgreetthenewbornwith tastesofritualfoodsinatraditional Yorubanamingceremony.

Photo

©

RolandFreeman to thegroundtoguide his

firststeps inthe right direction. Hereinthe UnitedStatesthisisnotpart oftheceremony. Singing andbearing candles. Rev.

Ogunfiditimiled the tiny

newcomer

Orobola and hisparentsand well-wishersto the baby'sbed,

where

prayersand

hymns

blessedtheroom.

Poetsrecited

Ewi

poetry

composed

fortheoccasion.

Guestsreturnedtothe livingroom, as festivefoods begantoappearfromthe kitchen.

Friendshad

cooked

^fried^plantain ^and

two

kindsofrice dishes.

The Adeboyeku

family had preparedgoatstew with /h/h andegusi. Boiled

yams

and fowl completedthe feast.

Throughout

theevening,

guests arrivedfor festive music anddance,

which

lasted until morning.

GilbertOgunfiditimi, African

Immigrant

Folklife Project

community

scholar

and

educationalspecialist,

and

Frederick Ogunfiditimi, pastor of^theInternational

House

Prayer

_forAllPeopleintheDistrictof Columbia,

were

advisorstothe Center's

World Wide Web

exhibitionon

Yoruba names and naming

metropolitan Washington, D.C.

authors' note:

Thisarticleisanexcerpt

from

anon-line exhibitiononthe

World Wide Web. To

reachthe entire exhibition,

which

includessound and

photographs,

go

to<http://www.si.edu/folklife/vfest/africa>.

Passing Culture

on to the Next Generation:

African Immigrant Language & Culture Schools

in Washington, D.C.

RemiAluko & Diana Sherblom

Language

^and^culture^areinextricably intertwined.

Cultureisthetotalityof

ways

ofliving builtup bya 4 groupofpeople inresponseto

how

they seetheir environment.

And

these

ways

arepassed fromgeneration togenerationby variousmeans,includinglanguage: prose andpoetry, writtenand spoken,informslikeproverbs, riddles, folk tales,jokes,fables,songs,drama,

drumming,

chants, raps, andothermusical media.

Peoplefrom

many

partsof Africahave beenvoluntarily

coming

America

forquite

some

timeforleisure, busi- ness,andeducation.

Through many

ofthoseyears, cultural identity

was

notanissue, becausetheAfrican

commun-

itiesweretransient.

Many

peopledid noteven

come

with theirfamilies.

Many

Africans did not

want

to live far

away

from

home

forlong.This mind-setisreflected ina

Yoruba

proverbthat says, "A/'okoledundun, kionile

ma

re'le,"

"No

matter

how

pleasantand enjoyableyoursojourn abroad has been,you

must

return

home."

And,indeed, most people did.

But inthelastcouple of decades,

and

Africanshave been migratingpermanentlytotheUnited States. In responsetograve

economic

and politicalcon- ditionsin

many

Africancountries,theyhave been

making

their

homes

andraising theirfamiliesinAmerica.

The

feelingthesedaysisexpressedin this

Yoruba

sayingthat contrastssharply tothe earlierone: "Ibitiaiyeba ba^'ni, ni atinje,"

"Home

is wherever

you

findlifein abundance."

Immigrants settlingin

America

have hadtodeal witha sense ofculturaldislocationand shockasaresultofbeing

immersed

in avariedand verydifferent cultural milieu. In response, immigrantcommunitiesof Nigerians,

Ghana-

l

mi

2Al/k ?,»• .-

ians,Ethiopians,andothersexpress a

common

sentimentforpassingontheir culture totheirchildren, forthesake of individualand group identityandfor posterity.

One way

theyhave

begun

tocarryoutthis

mandate

^is by formingculturalassociationsand,

recently, language andcultureschools.For

many

African adults,of course, thisisa

much more

formalized

way

ofpassing on theculture than theyexperiencedthemselves. InAfrica, culturaltrainingoccursdailyin

many

aspects oflifeand through oral traditions.

Members

^ofAfrican socialasso- ciationsexert

communal

efforts toform language and cultureschoolsinresponseto theirshocked realization thattheirchildren

—

thoseborn hereand thosebrought fromAfrica

—

will

grow

tobepartofthemelting potof dominant

American

culture. Associationslikethe Isokan

Yoruba Language

Instituteteachthe

Yoruba

language to interestedchildrenandadults.

The

Ethiopian

community

organizationoffersalanguage andculture

camp

^{to child-}

renin responsetoparents' requests;

Hermela

Kebede, an officerofthatorganization,says parents askforclassesin

Amharic

sotheirchildren willbe able to

communicate when

visitingrelativesin Ethiopia.

"Even

here,

we

feel theyneedto

know

their

own

culture; theyneedto

show

partof

who

theyare," sheexplains.Other language and cultureschoolswere born from anindividual'svision.For example,

Remi Aluko

(co-authorofthis article)founded anddirects

Camp-

^{Africa, a}

summer

day

camp

forchildren thatprovides culturalenrichment through formaland informal instructionin languages,historyand geography.

A student at the Ethiopiansummer schoolexplainsgeometric formulae inAmharic. Photo by Harold Dorwin

Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife 45

Dalam dokumen t n 3 o ri (Halaman 42-50)

Nyang

SPIRITUAL SPACES

Sulayman 5. Nyang

Immigrants

Muslim

American

They

Muslim

now

Washington

Muslim

body

Muslims now

media

Muslim

Muslims

now

Muslims

American

The

among

Muslims

Mawlad

The

month

known

Ramadan.

own,

Muslims

Washington

Muslims

work

who

Some

Muslims

work

modern

The

comes two months

ment

Abraham's

Mus-

mosque

lamb

The

Mawlad

on

Muhammad. On

Mus-

mosque

Such

members

Muslim community

Muslim

American

Suggested Reading

upon

members

Wahabi

poems known

composed

down

Arab

Shaykh

Sy

Muslim

Sulayman

Nyang,

Howard

was

American

Nyang

Ambassador

Gambia

and

He

and

and

Honor

was

^Muslim

Ikeji MasQuerade ⁱⁿ

New ^York City &