African American – Special Collections & The Gallery

Object of the Week: Mangbetu Effigy Jug

Mangbetu Effigy Jug (reproduction)
Teaching Collection – Seton Hall University Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology Collection
T2017.01.0009
Courtesy of the Walsh Gallery

CELEBRATING AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH 2021

This year’s annual celebration of African American History Month is anchored by the theme “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity,” which focuses on the African diaspora and the spread of Black families across the United States. This reproduction from Seton Hall University’s Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology is from the Mangbetu peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Like other Central and West African groups in the United States, the first Congolese arrived in the Americas as enslaved people during the transatlantic slave trade which endured from the 16^th to the 19^th century. Congolese people were often taken to locales in Louisiana and South Carolina. People from West and Central African regions comprised almost 40% of enslaved peoples in the Americas.[1]

Mangbetu refers to an amalgam of linguistically and culturally related people in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The group includes the Mangbetu, Meegye, Makere, Malele, Popoi and Abelu. These groups share the common language known as Kingbetu.[2] Beginning in the 1960s, a new influx of voluntary immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo arrived in the United States, primarily to pursue an education. Immigration from the country to the United States rose again in the 1990s. However, this time, Congolese people arrived as refugees due to civil conflicts, violence and economic hardship.[3] The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees reports that between 2008 and 2013, approximately 11,000 Congolese refugees arrived in the United States, settling primarily in Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, and New York.[4]

Despite this fraught history, the Mangbetu have held fast to many of their rich cultural traditions. They are especially known for their pottery, metal work and as makers of musical instruments. Women potters would have been the primary makers of effigy jugs like this figurative vessel with its characteristic dark, burnished surface. Though the Mangbetu still make jugs like these, they are now sold to tourists and art collectors rather than used in daily life. [5] The elaborate coiffure depicted on this jug is characteristic of a traditional Mangbetu woman and is not idealized.

Contemporary Ivory Coast artist Laetitia Ky is inspired by traditional hair styles from African peoples such as the Mangbetu. Her art is a fusion of hair, design and sculpture. Ky ‘sculpts’ her hair into the traditional forms she finds in archival images of African women. Ky then photographs her style and juxtaposes her image next to the historic photograph that inspired her. She also teaches “Ky-braid” workshops to teach others how to style their hair in traditional African ways. Ky uses hair as a form of social justice – merging cultural and feminine pride while bringing awareness to issues such as violence against women, gender parity, colonialism and bullying. Ky uses her TikTok and Twitter accounts to reach the public.[6]

https://twitter.com/laetiky/status/1229867159335112708?s=20

Laetitia Ky (left) with archival image of an unknown Mangbetu woman that inspired her.

This video shows an array of hairstyles from Africa such as the types that Ky is inspired by. You can see the Mangbetu hairstyle similar to the effigy jug around the 3:30 timestamp in this celebration of hair.

The Walsh Gallery has a considerable collection of fine art, artifacts and archeological specimens for use by faculty, students and researchers. For access to this or other objects in our collections, contact us at 973-275-2033 or walshgallery@shu.edu to make a research appointment.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade, accessed 1/26/2021.

[2] https://thisisafrica.me/african-identities/mangbetu-people-drc/, accessed 1/26/2021.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congolese_Americans#cite_note-Africansdescend-11, accessed 1/25/2021.

[4] https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/congolese/population-movements/index.html, accessed 1/25/2021.

[5] https://spectrumartsincblog.com/2015/07/25/the-mangbetu-people-and-their-pottery/, accessed 1/25/2021.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetitia_Ky, accessed 2/8/2021.

Object of the Week: Guro Mask

Guro Mask (reproduction)
Teaching Collection – Seton Hall University Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology Collection
T2017.01.0001
Courtesy of the Walsh Gallery

SETON HALL UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

This year’s theme for African American History Month is “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity.” This theme illuminates the African diaspora and the spread of Black families across the United States. This mask, from Seton Hall University’s Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, is from the Guro (also Gouro) People of the Ivory Coast in West Africa. This region of the continent was profoundly affected by the Transatlantic Slave Trade. An estimated 12 to 12.8 million forced migrations of African people took place over the course of more than 400 years. Those who survived the passage were enslaved in Europe and the Americas.[1]

Despite this trauma, West Africans and African Americans have retained many customs from their respective cultures. Music and dance are two of the most prevalent ways humanity connects with the past, and masks are a powerful and important part of these traditions in West Africa. In many African cultures, including the Guro, masks are potent instruments of unity, family and community.[2] Used in traditional ceremonies and rites such as funerals, weddings and festivals, the masks are activated through music and dance, playing an important role in honoring ancestors and providing community members with palpable links to the past.[3]

Guro dancer performing — Guro Dancer performing
Courtesy of Danse traditionnelle du du centre-ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire (Zaouli) à la cérémonie de la flamme de la paix à Bouaké.
Feb 25, 2008
Courtesy of Zenman

In West Africa, secret societies are an important part of community life. The Guro societies are called Je for females and Kne for males. Only members of these secret societies may wear masks and perform in rituals honoring ancestors.[4] Chika Okeke-Agula, a West African performer/curator/artist and art historian explained, “When fully activated, masks become ‘spirits made tangible’.”[5] The mask provides an entry into the spirit world to channel the divine, summon ancestral wisdom, escort the departed, accompany initiates, reaffirm societal values, venerate the living, and to mark the natural cycles of existence, from birth to death, season to season.[6] The ceremonies in which masks are used are called ‘masquerades’ – interventions between the world of the living and the world of the ancestors. During masquerades, the full powers of the masks are released.[7]

The video below from UNESCO shows a masked Guro dancer wearing traditional clothing. Dances are energetic and marked by quick footwork, accompanied by drumming and elaborate costumes. This traditional music and dance known as Zaouli[8] plays an educational, playful and aesthetic role, contributes to environmental preservation, conveys the cultural identity of its bearers and promotes integration and social cohesion among community members.[9]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade#:~:text=Slaves%20were%20imprisoned%20in%20a,a%20span%20of%20400%20years, accessed 1/21/2021.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaouli, accessed 1/21/2021.

[3] https://www.africancraftsmarket.com/products/african-masks/African-Guro-mask.html, accessed 1/21/2021.

[4] https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/06/guro-gouro-people-artistic-mande-mask.html, accessed 1/25/2021.

[5] https://www.culturesofwestafrica.com/west-african-mask/, accessed 1/26/2021.

[6] Binkley DA. Masks and Masquerades. In: Peek PM, Yankah K, eds. African Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York, NY, USA: Routledge; 2004:479-485.

[7] Akubor EO. Africans’ concept of masquerades and their role in societal control and stability: Some notes on the Esan people of southern Nigeria. Asian and African Studies. 2016;25(1):32-50.

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaouli, accessed 1/26/2021.

[9] https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/zaouli-popular-music-and-dance-of-the-guro-communities-in-cote-divoire-01255, accessed 1/26/2021.

Object of the Week: Kwanzaa Celebration Invitation

“Kwanzaa Celebration Invitation”
2006
Black Student Union vertical file
Seton Hall University Archives and Special Collections

HABARI GANI

Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration of African American culture observed annually from December 26 through January 1. During Kwanzaa, it is customary to greet friends and family with the phrase, “Habari gani,” meaning, “What is the news?”[1] In response, one can reply with one of the seven different principles assigned to each day. Every evening during Kwanzaa, a candle is lit on the kinara, or traditional candleholder, to honor the seven principles:

- Umoja (Unity)
- Kujichagulia (Self-determination)
- Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
- Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)
- Nia (Purpose)
- Kuumba (Creativity)
- Imani (Faith)
  Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Myers (above), 66th Air Base Wing noncommissioned officer in charge of the Military Equal Opportunity office, lights a candle in the Kinara. photo by Christopher Myers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

These seven tenets of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba, are collectively referred to as Kawaida, a Swahili word meaning “common.”[2] The candles used in the kinara are red, green and black – each color having a different attribute. The three red candles on the left of the kinara signify the blood shed in the fight for liberation, three green candles on the right stand for the future of Black liberation and the single black candle in the center symbolizes the people this celebration honors.[3]

“Annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration Invitation” Black Students Union vertical file, 2004, Archives and Special Collections, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966 when Maulana Karenga, a college professor of Africana studies at California State University in Long Beach, created the holiday to honor and celebrate pan-African culture. Karenga said his goal was to “give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.”[4] At the time Karenga conceived of Kwanzaa, Los Angeles was reeling in the aftermath of the Watts Rebellion which devasted the south Los Angeles neighborhood in August 1965 after a traffic stop resulted in the arrest of a 21-year-old African American man, Marquette Frye. For the next six days, violence and civil unrest rocked 46 square miles of Los Angeles.[5] It was against this political backdrop that Karenga sought to create a positive force for African Americans and African American culture.[6] According to Karenga, Kwanzaa was partly inspired by the Zulu harvest festival, Umkhosi Wokweshwama, a five-day lunar ritual that takes place during the last full moon of the year.[7]

“Kwanzaa Celebration Invitation” Black Students Union vertical file, 2008, Archives and Special Collections, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

The name Kwanzaa is taken from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” meaning first fruits. The extra “a” was added, said Karenga, to make the word Kwanzaa seven letters to enhance its symbolic power.[8] Kwanzaa is a cultural event imbued with spiritual values, but it is not a religious observance. People of all faiths may celebrate Kwanzaa and non-blacks can also observe the holiday.[9] On his official Kwanzaa website, Dr. Karenga notes, “The holiday, then will of necessity, be engaged as an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it, and the rich resource and meaning of a people’s culture.”[10]

The Department of Archives and Special Collections maintains vertical files of documents and materials related to African American Studies, Black Studies, African American Alumni Association/Council, African American Heritage Month, African American Students Association, Africana Studies, African Student Association, Black History Month, Women of Hope, Black Studies Center, Institute in Afro-American History and Culture, Rallies, and University of Sierra Leone Summer School. The images accompanying this blog post show Annual Kwanzaa celebrations organized by the Black Student Union at Seton Hall University, part of this large collection of materials preserved by the university’s archives. These materials are available to students, faculty and researchers. For access, complete a research request form to set up an appointment or contact us at 973-761-9476.

[1] http://anacostia.si.edu/exhibits/past_exhibtions/kwanzaa/kwanz.htm, accessed 12/15/2020.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa, accessed 12/15/2020.

[3] https://www.womansday.com/life/a33663207/when-is-kwanzaa/, accessed 12/15/2020.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa#cite_note-5, accessed 12/15/2020.

[5] https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/frye-marquette-1944-1986/, accessed 12/15/2020.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_riots, accessed 12/15/2020.

[7] https://www.zululandnews.co.za/project/zulu-first-fruits-cultural-festival-umkhosi-woselwa/, accessed 12/15/2020.

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa#cite_note-5, accessed 12/15/2020.

[9] https://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-kwanzaa, accessed 12/15/2020.

[10] https://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/, accessed 12/15/2020.