REFINING OUR HUMANITY THROUGH CULTURAL ARTS
Village of Kifinda, Guinea West Africa 2013
Some of the greatest moments of my life have occurred while experiencing Community. The word community is defined by the, Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.
In 2006 I traveled to West Africa to study dance in the country of Guinea, Conakry. I was a complete newbie to West African dance. But, my lack of experience in the art form did not stop me from diving head first into the journey that would change my life deepen my understanding of fellowship and the value of community.
My voyage began with my first stop in Morocco in the city of Casablanca. This common stopping point for traveling to Africa was my introduction to the French language. Here I quickly realized that for the next month my capacity to communicate openly and freely would be challenged. Though in Guinea I was in the company of other Americans, I was limited in my ability to communicate with the people I longed to connect with most. The language barrier served a greater purpose in the end. It forced me to become an observer of my surroundings. I witnessed the magic of human connectedness at a level that I had not experienced before.
I was immersed in a culture full of music, dance, art and delicious food. One of the most revealing cultural differences is how food is served and enjoyed. At meal times a large platter was set out loaded with rice topped by a delicious sauce of herbs, spices, veggies, and fish. But, the most beautiful part of this was to witness how people would gather around the platter and share the meal. The Africans would sit on a matt encircling the large platter. Using their right hand as a spoon for mixing the rice and sauce into a ball of flavor before consuming it. Words are not enough to articulate the flavor that is gained by this cultural technique of eating.
This act of community around the eating of a meal provided me with a fulcrum of understanding about what is truly important in life. You see as an African American I have never experienced hunger. I have always had my basic need for food met. We are a society of abundance. Our needs that are essential to survival are always available. These are luxuries that are not the norm in other parts of the world. There are many things about the way of life within the United States that we are to be grateful for, and our access to food is top of the list.
While experiencing meals in Africa I also became cognizant of another cultural difference. Within the United States we are taught to think and be very individualistic in our decision-making process. This is not the case for the culture of Guinea West Africa. Daily I witnessed how people made decisions based upon how their choices would impact others. This was a very different model for me to witness of how to be in the world. In a very tangible way, I came to recognize that conscious decisions that would impact group outcomes was really connected to the foundation of survival. But what was really being modeled was the structure of community. The value of coming together around the shared interest of food meant survival and a deep commitment to the continued existence of each other.
Upon my return to the United States I began to seek out experiences of community that would enrich my existence. Because we all want to feel that we belong. That we are part of the same journey… because we are. We are all having a human experience at the same time. We are all in need of the same essential resources… food, health, love. Because we are all longing for the same substances of what is to be human, we must reach to create moments that reinforce and validate our humanity. West African drum and dance experiences provided me with the connection to that community experience that I longed for. I have come to believe that the power of this art form can bridge differences and heal wounds of pain and suffering.
Here in the United States we are socially inept to address the true issues that continue to plaque our progress toward the creation of the society that we all long to be part of. You know a society in which we all feel safe. A society that no longer tolerates issues of racism, ageism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism… and all the other “isms.” So how do we create a society that is inclusive of diverse identities and cultures? I feel that it is essential that the model for solution is created at the community level. The community level provides an access point that is tangible for everyone. It is at this level of impact that sustainable changes can take place in the lives of the individuals who are part of that village connection.
My proposed solution to this identified void in our society is to create community experiences that add a richness to our daily lives. When we build community with an intention of inclusion, fellowship, kindness, consideration, and valuing others we create spaces that offers us havens for cultivating humanity while modeling to the next generation how to resolve conflict and move forward. We need more of this in our towns, our cities, our churches, our governments. When we create communities that are built around a culture that values inclusion, and kindness we are transforming lives. We are modeling God in a way that is tangible. This concept and structure for community is not just a theory, but something that I have experienced and have been transformed by.
My transformational process happened through dance. But my purpose with this art is all about the community that is created innately by the art form of West African drum and dance. The community that is produced by this art structure has the capacity to heal wounds. My journey of healing through the art moved me from being a broken female with personal issues of anger and sadness to the woman I am today. The role that the drum and dance community structure played in my transformative process was that it gave me a connection with others through moments of collective joy in which each of us walked away Spiritually uplifted. Over the years I have continued to immerse myself in various drum and dance communities around the world. And because the language of the music and dance has not changed for centuries, I am able to walk into a dance class in Mexico and feel at home. What I have gained from these experiences of community over the last fifteen years is a deep sense of my humanity. It is within these moments of feeling full as a human being I have found healing and the courage to no longer be limited by the truth of my past and my ancestral past. Because what I know now from deep inside of myself is that the history of who I am as an African American is beyond the boundary of this country and my truth washes up on the shores of West Africa. This awareness has given me freedom and courage to see myself as whole and powerful.
The beauty of all of this is that these types of experiences are there for everyone. We all need tools that allow for us to let go of trauma, pain, and isolative behaviors and bring us to places of community and connectedness with other human beings. Through my joy of drum and dance I have grown in my confidence as an African American woman. I have come to recognize that the value of my feminine energy is priceless and essential to the healing of my family, my community, and humanity.
The following Interview is of Heather Plaza. Heather is a beautiful West African dancer in Arcata, California. With her community program of West African drum and dance Heather educates and shares her love of the cultural arts from West Africa. Watch Heather’s interview as she brings it home with her statement about the important value of diverse cultural experiences when living in a community that is not ethnically diverse.
