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26 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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autochthonous
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"spring from the earth"
refers to: native to the place where it is found from the greek world chthonic |
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Calypso
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Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the beginning of the 20th century.
word games, playing with language, improvisation, often topical Lyrics irreverent, dissident, sometimes politically subversive Seen in Derek Walcott'splay Pantomime through the character Jackson: "I want to tell you 'bout Robinson Crusoe. He tells Friday, when I do so, do so" (Walcott 138). |
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Etu ritual
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"Dead Resurrected"
A celebration of the dead with African origins. Raises the dead/ancestors. Most woman-centered, because ritual leader is usually a woman. Circle dance/Solo dance “Shawling” / “Dipping” “Earth-bound” movements Seen in Sistren Theatre Collective's QPH when Etu ritual is used to celebrate the dead, Pearlie and Hopie, and dramatise their unacknowledged contributions to the society. |
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Midnight Robber
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In earlier versions was a haranguing monologue in modern it is a duel of rhymes.
Seen in Mustapha Matura's play, Play Mas, through that character Frank: "Halt, quick, quick, quick. I mustn't be late. I have to be at de Robber's Gate by half past eight, so give, or your soul will be for ever calling the call of the speechless" (Mastura 136). |
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Ogun
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Yoruba deity, Yoruba god (Nigeria)
The warrior god, as well as the god of creativity and was the first god to travel through the void separating the gods from the human realm. Both aid and destroyer of humans. Shows how gods make mistakes |
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Esu
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Yoruba deity
The trickster (trixter) god. Represents paradox and unpredictability. Creates chaos and plays an important role in Ifa divination. |
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griot
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From West Africa.
Official story-tellers for royal households or other important families. [the griot] has to know many traditional songs without error, he must also have the ability to extemporize on current events, chance incidents and the passing scene. His wit can be devastating and his knowledge of local history formidable. An example of a Griot is the storyteller in the Epic of Son-jara (Sunjata): “Lion of the Manding” |
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dilemma tale
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No clear cut lesson, poses questions of moral or legal significance, issues are debated by narrator and audience.
Seen in Femi Osofisan's play Once Upon Four Robbers when Aafa, the storyteller, says "I need your help. One side is bound to win in the end. The robbers, or the soldiers..." (Osofisan 92). |
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Ijapa
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Yoruba trickster character
tortoise shrewd, greedy, and sometimes stupid and is used as a kind of yardstick against which human behavior and moral strength are measured. seen in storytelling trickster tales from Nigeria |
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Anansi
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Trickster hero of the Ashanti and Akan people.
Spider cunning, greedy, without scruples, gluttonous seen in storytelling trickster tales from Ghana |
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Scramble for Africa
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Post slave trade era, European powers divide up African continent for economic and political gain.
Congress of Berlin |
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scapegoat ritual
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Scapegoat (Hebrew/old testament)
Ceremony: high priest lays hands on two goats Catalogues sins of people from old year One goat burned on altar One goat set free to wander God: Israelis released from sin New Year Celebration Seen in Wole Soyinka's play, The Strong Breed, when Orogue the ritual leader says, "the evil of the old year is no light thing to load on any man's head" (Soyinka 59). |
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Canboulay
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(Cannes Brûlées: “burning cane”)
Slavery era: Enslaved blacks driven by whip to put out sugar cane fires Emancipation day celebrations: (Aug.1 [1838]) Blacks processed thru streets. -African drumming, dancing, singing -Carrying flambeaux (torches) -Satirizing ruling class thru song Canboulay incorporated into Carnival |
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Pan-Africanism
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Mid 20th century political movement that called for international mobilization of the Black world (Africa, Caribbean, US, Britain)
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Theatre for Development
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Sistren Theatre, which developed from a government project that was designed to help segements of the populace learn basic skills that would increase their oppurtunities for employment.
Kinsington Jamaica, 1977 |
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'Mas
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To put on a costume and
participate in a mas band or play as an individual in the streets. This is the key action of Carnival from which everything else comes. The expression "to play mas" has been incorporated into Trinidadian vernacular and means that you enjoyed yourself to the fullest or expressed yourself to the extreme as only you are able to do. In this context it is connected to the idea "to play yourself." |
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trickster
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Anansi the spider
Ijapu the tortoise Undermine the gods or other authorities. Introduce elements of chaos in an otherwise ordered society. Violate a society’s sacred institutions & values |
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Middle Passage
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refers to that middle leg of the transatlantic trade triangle in which millions of Africans were imprisoned, enslaved, and removed from their homelands.
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"world turned upside down"
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Bahktin's theory of medieval Carnival conveyed through Bruegel the Elder, The Fight between Carnival and Lent (1559) painting.
encompasses: Victory of laughter over fear Clown as agent of truth Mass of bodies in public space: awareness of self as part of collective Inversion of hierarchies Act out of hatred for official culture A safety valve, temporary release Similar to Carnival in Trinidad and Matura Mustapha's play, Play Mas, that draws attention to Carnival's meaning when Samuel says, "We go change dis whole island, upside down, we go make all dem people who was taking advantage of we, suffer" (Matura 132). |
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postcolonialism
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posture or attitude toward colonialism
Intent to challenge the power structures that arose during colonialism and persist after independence (EX: Four Robbers) which was written to end public apathy about state corruption and public exectutions. ≠ “after colonialism” an attitude of resisting or challenging the power structures established by the European nations who colonized countries in Africa, the Caribbean, & elsewhere Postcolonial playwrights in African & the Caribbean use theatre to challenge colonial assumptions about race, language, and indigenous performances. |
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Ifa Divination
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Process:
Supplicant visits Ifa priest Speaks problem to cowrie shells Priest casts kola nuts; recites Ifa verses Supplicant picks one Priest prescribes sacrifice Seen in Femi Osofisan's play, Once Upon Four Robbers, through the character Aafa who from the fold of his buba, he brings out an opele. Dabbling inYoruba traditions and taking on actions of an islamic priest. |
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Maya Deren
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In Haiti, Deren not only filmed many hours of voodoo ritual, but also participated in them, and adopted the religion.
Her book, Divine Horsemen: the Living Gods of Haiti (1953), is considered a definitive source on the subject. |
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fire dance
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Made up of three parts, jumping dance, ring play, and crow dance.
New Year's celebration from West Africa. Interpreted as a new awareness of diaspora and in Zora Neal Hurston's concert, The Great Day, staged similarities and differences between black diasporic practices. |
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Nyame
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Supreme being of the Akan people of Ghana.
Creater; sky god; eldest deity Giver of rain and sunshine. Master of life and death, sickness and cures. Gave order to the universe and named all things. |
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Call-and-Response
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Major device in story-telling makes connections between past and present
Seen in Femi Osofisan's play, Once Upon Four Robbers, when the storyteller begins the play "he shouts out the traditional introductory formula: ALO O! As usual everybody replies: AAALO!" (Soyinka 73). |
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Fourth Stage
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Wole Soyinka defined it as most important idea on how ritual functions.
Place for mutual reperation between gods and humans Yoruba stages of life: unborn, living, ancestors (dead) Soyinka adds: transition (between realms) Chthonic realm: abyss dividing gods from mortals (space of ritual) Tragedy: “anguish of this severance; fragmentation of essence from self” |
