Author: Lahronda Little

Last July I travelled to Ghana with a group of colleagues whereby we explored Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast. In preparation for the trip, the group had lively and informative discussions on different social aspects of Ghanaian culture, ethnicity, race, language, and religion. I knew that Ghana would be a fascinating trip, however, I did not expect to experience such robust influence of pentecostalism. Upon arrival my eyes and ears were assailed by a plethora billboards that advertised religious events, and every other business and street vendor was identified by a religious name. Local television stations aired mostly religious programming, and the rhetoric towards witchcraft was visceral to say the least. At the time, I did not consider the eclectic dynamics of politics, economics, sensation, and imagination. However, Birgit Meyer’s Sensational Movies, Video, Vision and Christianity in Ghana considers the intersections of these along with religion which are “keys to gathering and forming people” through the media of state films and video movies. (p. 24) She seeks to study the effect that audio-visualization has in one’s interpretation of the spirit world and the material world and how one determines the nature of African gods, ancestors, and other beings that are considered to be contrary to Pentecostal beliefs.

Movies as a way of educating and giving moral direction is a familiar phenomenon. I recall in the late 80s a popular movie within evangelical circles being shown in every church I knew of. I do not recall the name of the movie, but it was similar to the Left Behind series. This movie was also the topic of discussion for quite some time among Christians and used as a tool to bring others to salvation through Christ. “A phenomenology of film experience offers fruitful incentives to deepen our understanding,” is an apropos statement even outside of West Africa. (p. 142) The ability to participate with a film through all of the senses gratifies the need to ascertain something far more sentient than mere entertainment. Meyer hints at the communal aspect of phenomenological experience in film watching as animation through the mediated experiences of the actors. This interchange is successful when the viewer is able to identify with the storyline and exclaim, “this happened in my house.” (p. 145) In order to create this synergy, Meyer describes the filmmakers’ commitment to studying audiences – their lives and their reactions to particular scenes. Even to the degree of creating spaces for more educated audiences who tend to be quieter. “Moving Pictures and Lived Experience” implicitly employs the notions of space and place in the phenomenology of film watching.

Meyer’s historical summation of culture, tradition, and heritage offers a helpful discourse that situates the development of African and African American cultures within a framework that helps to could connect dismembered people. Meyer also highlights nuances within the concept of sankofa – “go back and fetch it” – that have proven to be at times controversial. It is this concept that problematizes the co-existence of Pentecostalism and African Religious Tradition. This seems to be the impetus to establishing a new genre of film which convey indigenous religion in a more affirmative, though still tempered by Christian-Pentecostal language.

In Sensational Movies Meyer cites an interesting parallel between movie production and the evolving existence consumers in a neoliberal society – the struggles of film production and “wondering how to lead a successful life” in a quickly reforming and re-shaping context. Additionally, I interpret Meyer’s deep involvement with film producers to be a slippery slope in that while her attempt to convince audiences at film festivals to judge “Ghallywood” films on their own basis “collides” with the audience’s belief that these films combat the respect of indigenous traditional cultures. The impact of Meyer’s work illumines the troubling issue of what I call romanticization of African culture and discourses that exclude scholarly African thought which seems to prevail in the Lost in Nollywood event. (p. 317) The ambivalence towards scholarship in the disinclination to draw distinctions between genres in what I presume to be a predominantly “western” audience is deeply problematic within a discipline that purports to be humanizing. How can ethnographers do justice to the people studied and also effectively challenge audiences to broaden their range of view of people in a way that respects the culture?

Meyer argues that “while “tradition” and “cultural” heritage tend to be matters of ultimate value in current debates in Ghana, as scholars we need to resists echoing such views and, instead, rethink tradition and cultural heritage as dynamically shaped through imaginaries.” (p. 46) In Don Seeman’s response Sensational Movies, he seems to support Meyer by asking the question “how does film, even when we acknowledge its fictional quality, help to mediate the moral imaginaries we inhabit?” (Seeman, p.10) According to Seeman, to consider the work of ethnographic exploration in this way is “more humane” and “more adequate.” (Seeman, p. 10) As I continue to grapple with what it means to be an ethnographer and how to determine the ultimate concern, paramount to any question put forward for exploration is the humanity of persons, the entire person. Until Sensational Movies, I did not have an awareness of imagination as a salient consideration for study. For me, Seeman’s story about Moshe highlights quite palpably how important it is to carefully regard the subject’s whole being and their beliefs. My question is how does history bear out the argument for imaginaries?

 

Précis of Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
Lahronda Little

Divine Horsemen is an unintended ethnographic study of the religion of Voudoun and its practitioners in Haiti. Although Maya Deren’s original intention was to create a film on Haitian dance, the project evolved into a phenomenological study of Voudoun mythology as a communal experience that informs all aspects of life. As an artist, Deren’s approach to the culture did not include anthropological techniques or methodology, per se. But rather, without “professional or intellectual urgency,” Deren wanted to “permit the culture and the myth to emerge gradually in its own terms and its own form.” (Deren, 7) Moreover, Deren makes clear that the purpose of the book is to “delineate the metaphysical principles…in such a way that they may become, for the non-Haitian reader, as real and reasonable as they are to Haitian worshipper.” (Deren, 20) In this way, the personal narratives of the people who practice Voudoun and the collective experiences of the community were privileged as the main source of material for the book. Even in the detailed account of her own encounter with possession, Deren refrains from imposing value or deep interpretation. Instead she chooses to go inward to describe her initial feelings of vulnerability and embarrassment.

Interestingly, Deren does not spend a great deal of time on possession, which is described as “being mounted.” Yet, the esoteric language she employs in her opening chapter and in the last chapter causes one to question whether she was under the influence of a loa or exercising artistic license.

Voudoun, according to Deren is “structured for the controlled development of a man’s gros-bon-ange (soul) and the enforcement of a collective, morality in action.” (Deren, 27) Therefore, “religion” for the Haitian is more of a way of life and must make practical sense given Voudoun’s West African origins; the inclusion of some elements of Catholicism in order to assimilate; and the socio-economic-political constraints of the practitioner.⁽¹⁾ As such, Deren weaves throughout her project the significance of deep ancestral connections and reverence to the loa. It is necessary then to discuss the nature of Voudoun which understands man as a part of  nature; this is a universal concept with cosmological implications. The African ancestors of the Haitians distinguished between “the principle of the thing and the thing itself and remarked that the material objects or phenomena are transitory or destructible and singular, whereas the principles themselves are persistent and pervasive.” (Deren, 88) That is to say that the objects and symbols of Voudoun though essential are not ascribed divinity; it is the principle associated with the object that is the essence of the religion.

The system of Voudoun is carefully depicted to include the loa and their attributes, the geographical origins of loa, and the principles through which they operate. Voudoun practitioners, or serviteurs, understand the loa and other phenomena to be logical and intelligible. The interconnectedness of humanity, nature, and the cosmos demands order in religious practice and in the ways through which the community interacts with one another. Subsequently, Deren takes the time to name the distinctions between religion and magic. All participants of Voudoun act on behalf of the community, and there is an expectation that persons grow and mature in their engagement with the community and the rituals. Contrastly, “magic is an individual action, undertaken because the cosmos is not believed to be benevolent…” (Deren, 76) Those who perform magic do not see themselves as a part of a community. To emphasize her point about Voudoun as a communal experience among communal people, Deren describes her association with Coyote and La Merci who wanted to have a wedding ceremony but could not afford it. The couple refused Deren’s offer to fund their effort due to fear of the community’s perception of them as somehow becoming affluent. The expectation is that they would have the means to support others in the village.⁽²⁾ Coyote and La Merci illustrate concern for self and others in a way that could easily be interpreted as foolish in other contexts. However, Deren’s association with the Haitian people as ‘learner’ leaves space to tease out the the root of their concerns and also provide help in alternative ways.

Distinctly featured in Voudoun culture is the way in which persons are given care and how Haitians perceive medical doctors. Illnesses are initially treated homeopathically with herbs and other natural substances, since most Haitians have knowledge of certain remedies for common conditions. The houngan (priest), because of his close proximity and intimate relation to the people of his community, provides particular care that intersects religion, health (physical and mental), and discipline. Psychosomatic symptoms are understood as a positive expression that allows the patient to participate in his or her own healing. The houngan engages the loa to determine if there is some breech in the patient’s relationship with the divine; prescribes a ritual to make amends; and makes recommendations that include a medical doctor (when warranted). The houngan, as mediator, takes seriously how the body functions, medical technology, and the loa, and is therefore, not interested in creating boundaries that may potentially be harmful to the individual or the community.

Drumming, dance, and possession by the loa are extraordinary expressions of Voudoun culture. Careful attention is given to depict the sacredness of drumming and the principles conveyed, rather than the person or even the drum itself, “…the sacred form is independent of subject matter, symbolic knowledge, and even degree of skill.” (Deren, p. 227) It is only after the drum is baptized that it is recognized as being sacred. Furthermore, drumming and dancing are acts that serve the loa, not the person through whom the actions are expressed.

Dance as a meditative practice is “principle in action” according to Deren. (p. 240) In her interpretation of dance, Deren posits that the purpose of the dance is to affect the dancer. Through the drums and movement, worship and prayer are expressed which “create a psychic state.” (Deren, p.241)

Deren’s willingness to suspend her initial plans to study Haitian dance lends to what I believe to be a comprehensive account of the people of Haiti who practice Voudoun. Deren’s own social location did not interfere with her ability to establish trust and friendship among the people. The personal nature of the stories she shared cause me to question if she received permission to share those narratives with the public. Also, how did the book and the documentary affect the community? Initially, I was surprised that Deren does not spend a lot of time on dance and possession given her primary interest in the arts. But her inclination to ask questions and lend herself to the experience of Voudoun provided for a much richer body of work that illumined Voudoun as a culture and community, rather than simply a religion.

(1) Deren sites on page 203 that in the initial salutation of two trinities are acknowledged, the Christian Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Voudoun Mystéres, Morts, and Marassa.

(2) Coyote and La Merci’s story also includes an example of psychosomatic symptoms how they are diagnosed, p. 167.