It’s difficult to figure out where to begin backlogging the last few weeks. I wrote a little bit post Maafa and Essence, which I shall cut/paste for ease. Bear with me, valued reader. Let’s pretend it is now Monday of last week, shall we? Ahem. Here we go:
(This is definitely the present)
This weekend has so far been the craziest weekend of my internship. All of the activities and festivals we’ve been planning for and working towards happened all at the same time. Needless to say, I’m a little tired, but had a lot of fun.
Essence Festival is an annual African-American music festival that takes place in the convention center and Superdome here in New Orleans. Needless to say, Ashe was involved. The days prior to Essence, Taylor and I helped a lot in the boutique to get things packed up for the two booths we had in the Essence marketplace. One was primarily to sell things that are normally sold in our boutique, while the other’s primary purpose was to display Douglas Redd’s artwork.
But first things first! The Maafa was on Saturday. I believe maafa is the Yoruban word for “great tragedy”. It may not be a direct translation, but it’s the general idea. Maafa is basically an opportunity for members and supporters of the local African-American community to convene and celebrate, as well as commemorate, their history. Its primary function is to honor the ancestors who suffered and perished during the time of enslavement (hence “great tragedy”). All participants are asked to wear white. Nari came with me and participated, because she's cool like that. Nari and I woke up at four and were at the center by 5 to help set up.
Maafa begins in New Orleans every year with a brief service in Congo Square, pictured to the right.
There was an invocation of the different communities of faith, a call to assembly, a representation of the ancestors via the elder community, song, etc. It was really quite lovely. A lot of drummers were playing in the square, including this little guy, who seemed to be having quite a bit of fun joining in. 
After the opening ceremony, everyone gathered to begin the procession. The atmosphere was kind of strange on the march. It was both celebratory and mournful, which I think is the crux of Maafa. There is community, but that community arises from a difficult history. We processed to the tomb of the unknown slave where there was a libation by a Catholic group
as well as a song by Michaela Harrison. I have video of it, which I will post in a different entry (I shall post several videos in a different entry). She could sing her face off. Here is a rather dramatic photo of her at the tomb of the unknown slave: 
Next, we processed through the French quarter, which looked something like this from mine and Nari's vantage point.
The drummers drummed during the procession. It was very early in the morning (a holiday Saturday morning in New Orleans), so I think we woke a lot of people up. Participants with fliers marched on the edges of the procession and handed a flier to everyone who came outside. Once angered residents came outside and saw the procession, nearly all of them bobbed their heads along with the drums and smiled. It was a nice way to see the city. Some people joined the procession as it passed. It was just a lot of fun to march through the quarter with a group like that.
We stopped a few times for history lessons and Baba Luther pointed out historic locations such as the slave trade buildings in the French Quarter. Though I didn't get a picture of it, the words "slave exchange" were painted on the building. Someone has painted over part of the original lettering. The building now simply reads "change".
After the procession, we boarded the ferry to head over to Algiers for the second half of the ceremony. Here are pictures of Nari and I on said Ferry (we are very sweaty):
On the ferry I met a nice lady named Rose who happens to live 45 minutes away from my home town. The woman next to her was from Charlotte, NC. Small world! Whilst on the ferry, people threw the white carnations into the river in honor of the ancestors. Here's a picture of the view from the ferry. If you look closely, you can see the little white carnation dots in the boat's wake.
Once we got off of the ferry, we went to a service on the shore. Lots of interesting presentations were given, including more drumming, spoken word, and a performance by the Mardi Gras Indians. And of course, here is a picture of one of the Mardi Gras Indians.
Maafa was a really great experience, though extremely tiring, especially because of working Essence afterward. Still, I'm so glad I did it. Hooray Maafa! More backtracking and storytelling to come! Stay tuned.
Catching up for sure,
Jess
No comments:
Post a Comment