Culture on the Catwalk
February 26, 2009 • By Katie Thisdell, The Breeze
Print This Post
Email This Post
African Student Organization puts on “Taste of Africa” to teach others about different cultures that exist in 16 nations of the continent
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Senior Biruk Haregu distinctly remembers the weddings he watched as a child in Ethiopia. Surrounded by the community, the bride and groom, dressed in white, would celebrate.
During the traditional “Eskista” dance, they would shake their shoulders and necks in beat with the music. Later, there would be a communal meal, prepared by and shared with everyone.
“Weddings are such an integral part of our culture and everyone loves them,” Haregu said. “Even now, I am often asking my mother who is next in the family to get married because I want to attend a wedding.”
At JMU, Haregu maintains his Ethiopian heritage through visits to the Blue Nile restaurant, listening and dancing to cultural music and speaking the language.
“I really miss the everyday interaction with the people, because there is a certain friendliness and hospitality that is prevalent in Ethiopia,” Haregu said.
Haregu, along with more than 50 members of the African Student Organzation, shared these and other African traditions during the fifth annual “Taste of Africa.” Throughout last week, the ASO held three events to teach JMU about the varying cultures of the continent of Africa. After a panel discussion and a documentary viewing, the week ended with the “Taste of Africa.”
“What often happens is Africa is globbed up as if it’s just one country,” Haregu, the ASO president, said. “But there are various countries and various celebrations.”
ASO wanted to show JMU that these differences exist.
Junior Martha Alemayehu, secretary of ASO, was one of the Ethiopian dancers in the wedding scene. She said the celebration reminded her of traditions from her home.
“Whatever culture the students are from is what scene they’re usually in,” Alemayehu said about the members of ASO who performed in the skits.
ASO also performed a Nigerian Christmas masquerade celebration and a Ghanaian chief selection ceremony. Wearing traditional clothing, performers danced across the stage as characters from spirits to an African queen.
“There are so many countries and I think we accomplished the goal of showing that,” Haregu said, “especially with the skits that showed different traditions in three countries.”
The show began with a five-minute ASO documentary interviewing JMU students on what they knew about Africa. It wasn’t much.
Between skits, ASO members modeled both traditional and contemporary clothing along the stage-turned-runway. Women strutted in brightly colored dresses and skirts while men swaggered in tunics, shawls and loose pants. Haregu said all the clothing was made in Africa.
Dances wove the pieces of the show together. Ranging from the modest shuffling of footsteps to the flamboyant hip shaking of today’s hip-hop, the ASO members impressed the crowd.
“Get it, girl!” shouted one audience member as she watched a friend in the dance-off between the women and men.
Almost 350 seats were filled, surprising Haregu. More chairs were added as the event began.
“We’ve been having great shows for the past couple of years,” Haregu said. “But we weren’t expecting it to be this big.”
The final segment was a showcase of flags from 16 African nations displayed on T-shirts, representing many of the members of ASO.
“It really shows people that Africa is more than just one country,” said junior ASO member Victoria Adubofour, a Ghana native. This was her third year participating in the show. She also performed in the Ghanaian skit.
“It honestly makes me proud seeing this tradition on stage,” she said. “It brings back lots of memories. It makes me proud to be African and Ghanaian.”
Changing Perceptions
On Jan. 19, African Student Organization held a panel discussion with political science professors Kelli Moore and Melinda Adams in Taylor Hall. The small audience learned about aspects of African development and then asked their own questions.
CORRECTION: This article was updated at 2:21 on March 13, 2009, to change the word country in the subhead to continent.
Contact Katie Thisdell at thisdeke@jmu.edu
Click here to view the slideshow.
Comments
One Response to “Culture on the Catwalk”
Got something to say?
Best of the 'Burg Supplement
April 29, 2010 Issue in Print
Thank you JMU and the Breeze for covering this event. These are the kinds of events we need and report upon when they do happen to continue to move JMU forward.
Well written piece by Katie Thisdell and great photography.