G-Man
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
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 Posted: Wed 05 Sep 2007 21:22 Post subject: VOICE OF THE LEOPARD: Origins of Abakua in Cuba |
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Related Auido File Here: http://afropop.streamguys.net/M3U/534L.m3u
From the opening:
The leopard cult of ekpe in Calabar, in present-day Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon, has one of the most unique performance traditions in all of Africa--a complex theatrical tradition, referred to in calabar English as "play," which encompasses a cycle of sacred dramas that takes many years to execute. The music of this society is almost completely unknown outside the region, because it was not recorded until the 1980s.. This program will feature Calabar-themed recordings by artists including Sexteto Habanero, Chano Pozo, Arsenio Rodríguez, and Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. Dr. Ivor Miller, the only scholar who has both penetrated the Abakuá society and visited the motherland in Calabar, and promoted the first-ever re-encounter between the two traditions, will play some of this powerful music and tell stories of this fascinating culture.
From: Afro Pop Worldwide. Interview can be read by clicking on link (too long to post here)
Some pictures
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Portrait of 19th century Abakuá leader Andrés Petit, whose title was Isué of the Bakokó Efó lodge of Havana. Petit is credited with ‘universalizing’ the Abakua by initiating men based upon their merits, not their African heritage. After African founders initiated their Creole offspring, eventually mulattos, then whites, then Chinese, and any other male who met the requirements could join.
An Íreme (masked dancer) performs in an Abakuá ceremony in Los Pocitos, Havana, 1999, by the Betongo Naroko lodge. Ivor Miller photo.
An Íreme greets the sacred Ceiba tree during an Abakuá ceremony in Los Pocitos, Havana, 1999, by the Betongo Naroko lodge.
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