Unit: Diasporic Eclecticism

Theme: Carnival

Introduction

The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term describes the process of dispersal and the dispersed ethnic population. The African Diaspora has been formed by the movements of Africans and their descendants. Their varied ethnic groups found common ground in the Americas. Their traditions mixed with other diasporic influences from Indigenous America, Europe and Asia. Carnival is an example of how carnival is performed in different areas if the Americas as an eclectic transformation of other cultures.

Learning Objectives

Understand carnival as an expression of African diasporic history
Explain the meaning of the terms circum-Atlantic memory and socio-cultural density
Gain an awareness of the meaning of the society of the spectacle
Experience carnival dance choreography

III

Main Lesson

Carnival, the merrymaking and festivity that takes place in many Roman Catholic countries in the last days and hours before the Lenten season. The derivation of the word is uncertain, though it possibly can be traced to the medieval Latin carnem levare or carnelevarium, which means to take away or remove meat. This coincides with the fact that Carnival is the final festivity before the commencement of the austere 40 days of Lent, during which Roman Catholics in earlier times fasted, abstained from eating meat, and followed other ascetic practices. The historical origin of Carnival is also obscure. It possibly has its roots in a primitive festival honouring the beginning of the new year and the rebirth of nature, though it is also possible that the beginnings of Carnival in Italy may be linked to the pagan Saturnalian festival of ancient Rome.

Havana

Question 1

What is you impression of Havana's carnival in 1961?

Haiti 1977

Question 2

What is your impression of Haiti's carnival?

Bahia

Question 3

Why is Bahia's carnival important for Afro-Caribbean culture?

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New Orleans

https://youtu.be/8v4GM67KxhU

Question 4

Compare and contrast the experience of mardi grass between the people in the two videos above.

Question 5

Compare and contrast Trinidad and Tobago's carnival with the rest seen in class.

Philosophical Frames to Understand the Afro-Diaspora

LINK

Cities of the Dead by Joseph Roach

Question 6

What is circum-Atlantic memory?

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Go to the link below; scrawl to page 306 and read below "Carnival at Last" all the way to page 307, first paragraph.

LINK:

Antonio Benitez Rojo, The Repeating Island

Questions 7

1. Acording to Benitez Rojo, carnivals are above all "concentrations of paradoxical dynamics by virtue of which the world becomes a travestying mirror." Using the video and the reading, explain in one paragraph what you think Benitez Rojo meant.

3. What do you think about the concept of socio-cultural density posed by Benitez Rojo?

Rio Carnival / Brazil 2024

LINK

Society of the Spectacle by Guy Deborg

Question 8

According to Deborg, what makes the spectacular society vulnerable?

The Subtle Racism of Latin America

Carlos Moore

Link

https://www.international.ucla.edu/ccs/article/4125

Question 9

After reading this summary on Moore's ideas about racial relations in Latin and North America, what did you learn?

A Note to Remember

The African diaspora has left traces of their religious, cultural and social practices all over the continent. Carnival is one of the events that illustrates the impact that African cultures have had on Westernized culture since its insertion.

Case Study

Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham (1909 - 2006) was a world famous dancer, choreographer, author, anthropologist, social activist, and humanitarian. Born in 1909 during the turn of the century Victorian era in the small town of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, she became one of the first dance anthropologists, started the first internationally-touring predominantly black dance company with its own codified dance technique, became one of Hollywood’s first African-American choreographers, and authored many scholarly books and journalistic articles on dance and in the Caribbean.  

Katherine Dunham On Dance Anthropology

Question 9

Why is Dunham and important example of a dancer who saw dance as a subject of study.

Activity 1

Students choose an Afro-diasporic carnival dance to study and turn into a movement phrase.

Brazil / Bahia

Trinidad-Tobago

Haiti

New Orleans

Cuba

Activity 2

Samba Brasileiro: A History

https://worldmusiccentral.org/2004/07/01/samba-brasileiro-a-history/

The origins of samba can be traced to West African people who were brought to Brazil by Portuguese traders as enslaved persons beginning in the 16th century. Samba emerged as a musical genre after its birth in the region of Bahia known as “Little Africa”. Terreiros da Candomble (religious houses) were founded by Bahian priestesses also known as Tias (Aunts) or Baianas (Bahian Aunts), to invoke the gods through song and dance.

Learn the following samba steps from the videos below:

basic

cross steps & 2

VII

Journaling

VIII

Glossary

ascetic: characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

Escola de Danca: Samba schools are dance schools that participate in Brazil's Carnival, a festival that celebrates the country's culture and history. The schools are a vital part of Carnival, and spend the year preparing for the festival.

Lent: Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry.

Saturnalia: Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through 19 December. By the 1st century B.C., the celebration had been extended through 23 December, for a total of seven days of festivities.

Diaspora: A diaspora is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently reside elsewhere.

Mardi Gras: It is also known as Fat Tuesday, the final day of Carnival before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods in preparation for the fasting season of Lent.

Sources

Katherine Dunham. https://www.dunhamcertification.org/katherine-dunham-bio

Katherine Dunham on Her Influence on American Dance. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003839/

Carnival: Pre-Lent Festival. https://www.britannica.com/art/Fastnachtsspiel

Carnival Celebrations Worldwide. https://www.thoughtco.com/carnival-celebration-and-geography-1434470

Students' Work

Students making up, record and post your phrase using the music in the video.

REVIEW

Havana's carnival in 1961 was a blast, showing off the city's lively vibe and strong cultural traditions, even amid political tensions.

Total party vibe, probably packed with energy, music, and vibrant traditions.

It's a big deal for Afro-Caribbean culture, showcasing rich traditions, music, and celebration in a huge way.

They were certainly different with one being mainly positive and the other being mainly negative for varying reasons

It's a massive, colorful party with fantastic music, wild costumes, and non-stop dancing. It's the ultimate celebration of Caribbean culture!

"Circum-Atlantic memory" refers to shared experiences among people of African descent across the Atlantic, shaped by slavery, colonialism, and cultural exchange.

Benitez Rojo thinks carnivals are like big parties where the world's quirks and contradictions are on full display, turning everything into a funhouse mirror of reality.

Benitez Rojo's idea of socio-cultural density is all about how cultures are super intertwined and rich with different stuff.

Guy Debord thinks the spectacular society's weakness is that it depends too much on surface-level stuff and passive consumption, hiding the fact that people are actually feeling disconnected and unhappy.

Katherine Dunham saw dance as a subject of study, blending her expertise with academic research to explore its cultural dimensions.

Simone Lantier

Havana's Carnival in 1961 was held while Cuba was in the process of being revolutionized. Although it was originally a colorful celebration of Spanish and Afro-Cuban folklore, the parade was infused with socialist ideology and nationalist sentiments. With the Bay of Pigs invasion coming, celebrations may have reflected the change in political orientation, as revolutionary ideology acted to redefine cultural paradigms.
Haiti Carnival is a colorful parade of energetic drumming and both a celebration and powerful expression of Haitian identity, as well as an African, European, and indigenous blend.
Bahia’s Carnival is very important for Afro-Caribbean culture because it celebrates African heritage through music, dance and spirit. It is based on Afro-Brazilian traditions and includes powerful symbols such as afro blocos and afoxés that celebrate the African roots and resistance. The festival features rhythms such as samba-reggae and has Candomblé influence, thus maintaining the cultural legacy of the African diaspora in the Americas.
The two videos present two different facets of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. The National Geographic video focuses on the traditional and mainstream celebration with over the top floats, selective krewes, and royal traditions. An African-American Side of Mardi Gras is centered on the Mardi Gras Indians, and explores cultural resistance through handmade suits and Black identity. Each one captures Mardi Gras’ great significance, but where one depicts spectacle and tradition, the other presents artistic self-expression and historical resilience.
A participatory celebration of Afro-Caribbean origin, Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival features mas bands, soca and calypso music, and the rebellious j’ouvert tradition. New Orleans’ exclusive krewes are unlike it because it engages the entire population. Haiti’s Carnival leans to political satire and vodou symbolism. Bahia’s Carnival also shares an African heritage, but concentrates on samba. Energy, music and deep cultural expression are what makes Trinidad’s Carnival so outstanding.
Circum-Atlantic memory aims to revisit the place of slavery and colonialism in the Atlantic world, recentering on the shared historical and cultural experiences of the American, Caribbean, African, and European regions, all of which were formed through the transatlantic slave trade and colonial domination. This project looks at how African, European, and indigenous people worked the land, formed identities, and developed traditions and cultural expressions in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.
Question 7
1. As for Benitez Rojo, carnivals are “concentrations of paradoxical dynamics” which are celebrations where, for a while, the norms of society are turned upside down to create a “travestying mirror" of the world. The carnivals such as Mardi Gras and the Trinidad Carnival break down the traditional roles of the society through the use of costumes, masks and music, allowing people to express themselves and to some extent challenge the social structures of the society as shown in the video.
2. In Benitez Rojo’s view, socio-cultural density is the way that carnivals and other like events contain and create cultural, historical and emotional significance and become cultural sites of significance, memory and transformation. These moments are culturally laden, and are not merely celebrations, but are actual processes of cultural self-reflection.
As Debord points out, the spectacular society is vulnerable in that it is oriented towards surface and media, and not towards the genuine connection with people. It results in the mass society which is easily controlled and unconnected with reality, and thus incapable of a critical reflection on the structures of its existence.
From the summary, I found out that Carlos Moore claims that historical Arab models of race relations from the Iberian Peninsula are key in understanding the racial dynamics of Latin America. He claims that although Latin American societies are less racially divided, they are also less likely to progress towards racial equality due to the existence of a subtle racial hierarchy in which light skin is preferred and racial integration is possible but within certain limits. Moore notes that Arab slavery and the racial structures of Iberia exported them to the Americas to create the basis of the racial systems of Latin America. In contrast, he notes that the U.S. has a more evident racial division, and that ignoring issues of race in Latin America may hinder the advancement of equality.

Unit: Diasporic Eclecticism

Theme: Carnival

Introduction

Learning Objectives

Understand carnival as an expression of African diasporic history
Explain the meaning of the terms circum-Atlantic memory and socio-cultural density
Gain an awareness of the meaning of the society of the spectacle
Experience carnival dance choreography