I found it rather sad to find very limited information on mysticism in African contexts, particularly outside Islam.
I want to define what I mean by mysticism since it is not always used in the same manner in different accounts of the term.
By mysticism, I refer to the theories, practices and experiences associated with ideas of conscious participation in or perception of ultimate reality.
A number of African writers demonstrate mystical attitudes, Christopher Okigbo and Wole Soyinka being two of such, while Hampate Ba's work and Germaine Dieterlen's exposition of Peul cosmology are explicitly mystical, although, since most of their work is in French, a person inadequately informed in the languages required for a comprehensive grasp of African literature like myself might have to commission translations in order to read those works. Marcel Griaule's controversial work on the Dogon is very rich in ideas suggesting mystical possibilities. Susan Wenger on the Yoruba/Orisa cosmology in general and Awo Falokun Fatumnbi's writings on Ifa are promising in terms of mystical theory and perhaps practice. I hope there are others I will find out about soon.
An approach I am adopting to address this gap in accounts of mysticism in African contexts, Africa understood in terms of limitation to the continent as well as in terms of the continent being the origin of ideas moving beyond Africa and Africa as the point of convergence of ideas and practices originating from outside Africa, is that of developing the mystical possibilities of classical African cognitive forms. I am doing this through theoretical exposition and practice. I hope to eventually offer comprehensive information on some of these forms in terms of mystical theory- metaphysics, epistemology, hermeneutics- and practice, along with accounts of personal effort in applying these ideas.
I began with Benin nature spirituality, particularly in relation to trees, classical Benin religion having developed very conspicuously the veneration of sacred trees, and made some amazing discoveries, though not yet reaching the ultimate goal. I am writing up my experiences and reflections in an essay. I continued with Yoruba/Orisa Ifa and have written an essay developing a preliminary theoretical framework for an Ifa mystical system, along with the beginnings of a method. Inspired partly by the range of values that have been and which may be developed in relation to Ifa, Western esoteric and Hindu symbols, I wrote a book I am in the process of editing on the cognitive possibilities of Kuntunkantan, an Akan/Gyaman Adinkra symbol. I am continuing with Benin Olokun symbolism and have begun to develop a mystical theory in relation to its ideas and practices, and the basics of a method. . I have begun working gradually with the system described by Ba in various publications, using his writings and gathering works on Ba, of which Monika Brodnicka's essays seem particularly sensitive to its mystical possibilities. Her Tale of Knowledge could be fruitfully compared with your reading of Ba's Kaidara.
As the project has progressed, and particularly under the inspiration of the ideational flexibility of Adinkra, I have begun to move from a conception of mysticism centred in particular bodies of ideas and practices to distilling an ideational mystical core which can be adapted to a range of cognitive goals, mystical and non-mystical.
Please forgive my taking the opportunity to summarise my projects. Its a way for me to take stock by making a concise statement of effort.
thanks
toyin
On Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 5:36 PM, kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> wrote:
hi toyin--
thanks for the kind note. it has been a long long time since i did that work on Le Regard du roi by camara laye.
here is how i came about: in trying to understand the voyage of the protagonist all i could find was christian symbolism, which i found strange in a novel by a muslim author. in those days christian symbolism was considered universal, so any sacrificial figure, for instance, had to be understood as representing a christ figure.
anyway, i tried to find what i could about laye and his religion, the practices in the region. long story short, there was close to NOTHING on islam in african literature whatsoever. so i went to the library of congress, made up a story, got into their stacks and read everything on islam in the region. there was a tiny bit, but it was clear that sufi islam had its adherents, and the striking images in the novel evoked the practices of the sufi orders.
that was the reason i did the two editions on islam in african lit: because there was nothing, and people like me wanting to teach novels by authors like cheikh hamidou kane, tayib saleh, camara laye, and later hampate ba, needed guidance in understanding the beliefs and practices of the orders. hampate ba helped a good deal in that regard.
i have moved on since then; the references in my chapters in Faces of Islam indicate my sources on sufism in general and in w africa in particular. i have seen some more work done since then, but not tons, and i can't be of more help in who is currently doing that work.
the important point, for me, was to have learned how much there are elements of sufi mystic beliefs that inform w african islam (as well as islam elsewhere), how much those orders are in conflict with legalistic approaches to the religion. geertz wrote of this in morocco. alan and mary roberts did a beautiful job in presenting mouridism to us in his magisterial volume Saint in the City--i very strongly recommend it, esp if you are interested in how the religious representations of amadou bamba evoke the religious, and mystical, beliefs. you can find also much written on the mammywatta figure, where religious belief/mysticism meet with representation, in the work of henry drewal. the lines of mysticism stretch across african traditional arts and religion everywhere. but they have been scanted in islam, with much of the emphasis falling on the moral or ethical side rather than the mystical side. but the latter reaches across the entire muslim world, and has always been in tension with the moralistic or legalistic frame of the religion, with legal scholars wanting faith to come through moral choices, not through transing practices like chanting or dancing.
as for the gelede, i was teaching an undergrad intro to african humanities course, comparing senegal and nigeria, and one segment dealt with art and music. i found youtube videos the most wonderful way to access a million things: want to teach how the west disparages africa? it is there on kids' dumb videos. want to show the masks as they are actually danced in benin? they are there as well. things we could never have even dreamed of seeing or teaching years ago, it is there now. there is a beautiful scene of the ancestors dancing in a film by dominique loreau called carcass divine (not an anthropological film) set in benin, that is striking. lawal is the reference, you are right.
and of course the art & mystical stories of osogbo and the sacred grove came into the course as well. all tying back to the early years, with soyinka's interpreters, ulli beier, susanne wenger, twins 77, etc.
ken
On 3/26/12 9:22 AM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU wrote:thanks.
i will see the videos.
lawal describes the experience of live gelede dance as the ultimate spectacle, almost generating a numinous experience
forgive me prof. harrow but i would like to comment on the range of your academic work. your work first came to my attention through your easy on sufism in laye's radiance of the king. i can still visualise the illustration on its first page in an early issue of RAL though i saw it last more than ten years ago-i was so pleased with its discussion of mysticism in african literature and the only other context i have seen that apart from in relation to islam, is in one writer's work on hampate ba. i would be pleased to have more leads on mysticism in african literature, classical and modern] and later, your two ( ? ) edited works on islam in african literature, which are among my treasures. years later i learnt you have been also publishing in film.
im curios as to the context in which you taught gelede.
i want to demonstrate such scope too.
thanks
toyin
--
On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 6:58 PM, kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu> wrote:
when i taught gelede masks a couple of years ago i found some great youtube videos. seeing them danced brought them to life a million times more than seeing them sitting forlornly on a wall
ken
On 3/25/12 1:51 PM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU wrote:thanks
i wonder if you would consider seeing Gelede masks in their storage and use by Gelede practitioners in Nigeria, since Nigeria , specifically the South West, is the home of Gelede. Why confine oneself to seeing Gelede masks in Nigerian museums when they could still be accessible in videotheir storage and use by Gelede practitioners in the same country, unless your museum display of Gelede is central to your research.
Please forgive any sense of presumptuousness on my part .
If you want to see Gelede as used by practitioners you might consider getting contacts from Lawal and possibly seeing Benedict Ibitokun who has also published a book on Gelede, perhaps more recently than Lawal and the Drewals and since the book was published buy Obafemi Awolowo University he is likely to be teaching in Nigeria and possibly at that university.
i have a very keen interest in female centred spirituality, particularly in itys Yoruba and Hindu versions and so Gelede excites me. I look forward to the eventual entry into public blossoming of female centred roles in Yoruba spiritualities. Gelede, Ogboni and Ifa are centred on great female personalities in dialogue with potent male figures. My exposure to these issues, limited as it is, is even more limited with reference to their manifestations in the Diaspora, where they seem more dynamic. I am stirred by the public development of female centred spirituality in the West, and a consequent reassessment of the concept of witchcraft, which has now become a magical religion that shares significant relationships with female centred characterisations in Yoruba/Orisa spirituality. There is much unrevealed in those Nigerian practices because of old misogynistic attitudes and lately because these traditions have been demonised and fallen out of prestige.
I enjoyed what I have read so far of Teresa Washington's Our Mothers,Our Powers, Our Texts on female centred Yoruba spirituality, particularly the concept of aje, often translated as 'witch'. Her work is meticulous but she seems overly idealistic and theoretical. It would be useful to balance that with professed practitioners of these female centred spiritual disciplines and arts, both in and outside Nigeria. Such would include a group formed by some Diaspora women to practice female centred Yoruba spirituality, building a Yahoo group Iyami Egbe for the practice, a group for women only, its purpose being described as"to honor, give respect, teach, share, learn, and study the mythology, philosophy, and cosmology of "IyaMi - Great Mothers" - the Mother of the Ajes [witches] and women secret society, association of female deities, and ancestors [egunguns], etc."
I had a heated argument with the founder of a group serving an identical purpose some years ago on Facebook when I got to know if it through her recruiting drive on the site, if I remember well. My great disappointment with her stance was she was resolutely anti-men. She held tight to distortions on the role of men in history and one of her members supported her by asserting the necessity of women ruling over men, and presentig this female centred spirituality as a means to that end. It was very sad. I argued that Yoruba spirituality did not support this view.
thanks
all the best
toyin
On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 7:49 AM, Patrick Effiboley <peffiboley@yahoo.fr> wrote:
Thanks for this information. I know these references. But my interest is in which musems one can see Gèlèdé in Nigeria. otherwise I have myself a copy of Lawal's book.
Since you provide me with his email address, I may email him.thank you very muchPatrickPatrick Effboley, M.A.Portable: + 33 6 34 46 12 11
Muséologue
Doctorant, Université Paris X Nanterre,
Laboratoire d'ethnologie et de sociologie comparative
21, allée de l'Université
92023 Nanterre, France
De : OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <toyinvadepoju@gmail.com>
À : usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Envoyé le : Samedi 24 mars 2012 21h09
Objet : Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Please, I need your help!!!
addition
brooklyn museum gelede mask collection
or are you particularly interested in gelede masks in nigeria?
On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 8:05 PM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <toyinvadepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
dear Patrick Effboley,
if you dont have the information you need yet, this might be useful-
on national commission email
I expect you have tried emailing them.
i cant find a phone no on their site nor at that of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding
you could try to get the relevant phone nos from peopleactive in the art scene in nigeria
1. such as Nike Centre for Art and Culture. [various phone nos and an email] . The founder, Nike Davies-Okundaye (?) is well established on the Nigerian art scene
even more likely to yield quick results might be people in touch with the Lagos art scene
these could be private museums, cultural institutions and individuals
these include
2. Sylvester Ogbechie [ faculty page with email adss] . as evident from his blog he seems to have a close eye on the lagos art scene
3. possibly Molara Wood. arts critic. her contact info : laralara8@hotmail.com is on her blog
4. the goethe institute [site with email and phone nos]
on gelede
have you done a google search? many google hits on gelede
rand african art has a gelede page with gelede masks and their locations
it would also be useful to contact those in the field such as
Babatunde Lawal has written a powerful book on gelede. his email- blawal@vcu.edu
margaret thompson drewal-email -mtd859@northwestern.edu
and
henry thompson drewal- email -hjdrewal@wisc.edu
have also written a book on gelede
thanks
toyin
On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 2:46 PM, Patrick Effiboley <peffiboley@yahoo.fr> wrote:
--Dear professor Falola and people,I have been trying to contact the people of the National Commission of Museums and Monuments without success? >Could you help me knowing the museums holding collections of Gèlèdé masks?Patrick Effboley, M.A.
Muséologue
Doctorant, Université Paris X Nanterre,
Laboratoire d'ethnologie et de sociologie comparative
21, allée de l'Université
92023 Nanterre, France
De : "toyin.falola@mail.utexas.edu" <toyin.falola@mail.utexas.edu>
À : usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Envoyé le : Vendredi 23 mars 2012 18h32
Objet : USA Africa Dialogue Series - Zeleza In Search of African Diasporas: Testimonies and Encounters
--Announcing Publication of Paul Tiyambe Zeleza In Search of African Diasporas: Testimonies and Encounters (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, March 2012)
Author's Bio: Paul Tiyambe Zeleza is Presidential Professor of History and African American Studies and Dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University. He has published scores of essays and more than two-dozen books.
Book Description: This is an ambitious and brilliant book by one of Africa's leading historians and diaspora intellectuals. It is the first book by an African scholar to take us on such a captivating analytical and narrative journey in search of African diasporas around the world from Latin America to the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.From the Foreword: As the over 500 pages of the book show, it is an ambitious intellectual and political project, a relatively uncharted and unrecognized terrain of scholarship, action, and interactionsŠ. The book is analytical, in places combative, filled with insights and stories. It is an unusual genre in African writing - a combination of a researcher's field notes and a travelogue. - Tade Akin Aina, PhD., Program Director, Higher Education in Africa, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Blurbs
"Zeleza has been thinking about and living with pan-Africanism and Diaspora before its second wave of popularity and has done the experiential and intellectual work. In this book he takes us with him as he documents the existence of our various journeys and arrivals, and the ways we re-create and redefine an African world wherever we are. As we travel with him, the flavors and colors of the African Diaspora around the world vividly unfold." - Carole Boyce Davies, Professor of English and Africana Studies, Cornell University.
"For over a century, we have been flooded with Black American narratives of returning to Africa. Zeleza, a distinguished African scholar, reverses the poles and seeks to discover the global African diaspora. Part memoir, part travelogue, part history, part critical interrogation, Zeleza has given us a brilliant compendium of richly detailed and astute insights into how contemporary black intellectuals and activists understand racism and blackness, and how the black world sees itself, its relationship to Africa, and the future. As with Richard Wright's traveling observations a half-century earlier, Zeleza never avoids the hard questions or the difficult truths. A stunning achievement." - Robin D. G. Kelley, Gary Nash Chair in U.S. History at the University of California, Los Angels
"In Search of African Diasporas offers a landmark contribution to the growing scholarly inquest into the African Diaspora. Based on years of travel, discussion and reading, Zeleza presents a veritable tour-de-force, generating an utterly unique account that fuses his travelogue of a modern Diasporic odyssey with a penetrating analysis that both interprets the Diaspora's larger meaning, while also inhabiting its migratory flows. Highly readable, perceptively written, geographically broad, and refreshingly critical, Zeleza's 21st century rendition of the timeless' travel diary' is sure to set the bar for those who are attempting to grapple with questions of identity, culture, and society in a fast-paced world of global change." - Ben Vinson III, Herbert Baxter Adams Professor of Latin American History, Johns Hopkins University.
"A groundbreaking and powerful look at the African Diaspora in the world. Zeleza's existentialist commentary on multiple African Diasporas reminds the reader of Richard Wright's Black Power in reverse: sincere, intimate and controversial. The novelistic descriptions of people and places also recalls some of the best travel narratives of Ryszard Kapu_ci_ski." - Manthia Diawara, Professor of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies, New York University.
"Africa's memory and relationship with its diaspora is a troubled one, a mixture of ignorance, stereotype, sentimentality, alienation, admiration and distortions. Zeleza's book is an authoritative contribution to the initiation of Africa's own exploration of whatever happened to its descendants outside the continent and how they are faring today. It is a tour de force that combines the aesthetic sensibilities and descriptive force of a novelist and essayist that Zeleza is and the scholarly authority of a renowned African historian. Zeleza is an erudite traveler and thoroughly reliable guide whose account opens new vistas to the lives of Africa's dispersed descendants. The book is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand the complex outcomes of the Presence Africaine in the world." - Professor Thandika Mkandawire, Chair in African Development at the London School of Economics, University of London
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
-- kenneth w. harrow distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english east lansing, mi 48824-1036 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
-- kenneth w. harrow distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english east lansing, mi 48824-1036 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment