25 Oct 2008

Changes: Cultural exposure




In 1997, if you asked me "what is culture?" I would've said something like "Culture is a way of life" thinking that I had a good understanding. Any other questions about culture and I think I would've been stuck. That's probably because at the time my biggest cultural experience I had was listening to "The Carnival" by Wyclef Jean. Now, I'm experiencing Zambian culture first hand, Liwiindi, Independence day, and just every day way of life.

23 Oct 2008

Right as Rain gone Bad?


As I'm writing this there are countless dead insects on my floor, even though I just swept it a couple hours ago. On top of that there are 10 times that many insects still crawling/flying around in my room, including a gray spider about the same size as a small mouse. Why? The rains. The rain brings more insects, and I think the more it rains the more insects will show their antennae. Also, it's a quarter to two in the morning and I'm probably only one with a light on. No wonder I can buy a can of insecticide called "Doom" that's stronger than anything that can legally be sold in the states.

21 Oct 2008

Right as Rain

Yesterday it rained, twice! The first time in the morning just a sprinkle and then in the afternoon it actually rained. If seen a few drops falling from the sky a couple times already, but real rain! The shower was quick and didn't do very much, but keep the dust down a bit. The strange thing is, I never thought I'd be so happy to see rain. Dark clouds, the thunder and cold rain falling from the sky, it was beautiful. Growing up in Florida and then I've been living in Va. where we get as much annual precipitation as Washington state, I actually missed the rain after 5.5 months of nothing but clear skies.

15 Oct 2008

Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (Punch in the face)


I read these two poems almost two months ago, but it’s taken me this long to blog it.

First, a bit about Okot p’Bitek

He was born in Gulu, Northern Uganda in 1931. He was also a footballer for his country and played in Britain at the age of 25. From there he decided to stay and study, earning a diploma in education in Bristol, then he studied law at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth and social anthropology at Oxford.

I heard about this Okot from a blog of a long time friend and became very interested. Hoping to gain a bit of understand by hearing from another point of view, I set out to find a copy of this book. I couldn’t find a full version online to read, only snippets, commentaries and criticisms. Also, there was not a copy in Macha to be found. Soon, I had an opportunity to spend a couple of days in Livingstone and I found it in a book store there, so I purchased it.

The first 20 or 30 pages consisted of an introduction about the author, the history of the writings, and a commentary on the work. Now, it was time to get into this story of a woman who is upset with her husband, who has basically forsaken her and his own culture because he had embraced the western culture. Ocol (the husband) was a politician and had married another more western woman. To anyone who has read these stories, I ask forgiveness if I'm leaving anything important out.

I think I read the book over a 3 or 4 day period and spent a week feeling worthless until I realized the source of my depressed state. After some thought I realized that reading these poems was like getting punched in the face and then kicked in the stomach. I know that they are fictional and supposed to be a defense of Okot’s culture against western influence, but man, I felt like I had no reason to be in any country in Africa. Oppressing feelings pressed in on me, making me feel as though I could nothing right in Africa. I would picture a kid in an antique shop and anytime that child went to touch something his mother would slap his hand and say “Don’t touch anything, you’ll break it.”

Now, I came to Zambia wanting to be culturally sensitive and not come with my ethnocentric Americanism and start running things. Running things, has never been my intention in coming to another country. Anyway, I still felt like I was worthless and it took me almost 2 weeks before I realized that the thoughts I had were just an attack on my identity. I was born white, in the United States of America. There are certain things we can change, and things we can’t change about ourselves. I can’t let some writer that doesn’t exist anymore to keep me from helping people because he doesn’t appreciate the color of my skin, or the culture that I was born into, or the beliefs that I hold. Before I go any further, I’m not attacking this book or the writer. I actually can really appreciate the skill and creative energy that was put into these writings. I actually was wishing that I could read it in Acholi so that I could experience it in its original form. I may even look for some of his other writings when I get back to the states.

Liwiindi festival

Just this past weekend I went to Chikanta for the annual Liwiindi festival. I rode with the Radio Macha crew and therefore I was a guest of Chief Chikanta. Chief Chikanta sees the value of keeping with the traditions and wants to keep the Tonga Traditions alive, by exposing the younger generations and other cultures to the dances, songs, and customs that are observed during Liwiindi. We drove from Macha on a very rough road for an hour. This festival is a time to celebrate the previous harvest and to hope for a good upcoming harvest. Also, it's a time for the people of Chikanta to unite with one another and to reunite themselves with their Ancestors. This video is a video of one memorials services they had for their 9th Chief. The Grave stone is round because the Chiefs used to be buried in a seated position. In this video you will see members of the royal family singing, dancing, and spitting Chibwantu (traditional Drink) on the grave stone. The chief explained to me that the Chibwantu is similar to leaving flowers on the grave site of a loved one. As I drove around with them to many grave sites of chiefs, he told me that he wants to do what he can to perserve the Tonga culture and would like for me to put this on the internet for others to experience.

14 Oct 2008

Arrival of the Container from Va.

This is a short slide show of the container that was shipped from Va. About 5 months after it shipped from Norfolk Va.