Of
recent times in the Gambia, we have seen an encouraging rise of Gambian film
makers producing films that reflect realisms of Gambian social and cultural
life. Such a positive endeavour should be encouraged by the government,
supported by all and sundry because of its potential impact in shaping our
image and identity as a people. It shouldn’t be competition oriented, rather it
should serve as a platform that would accord film makers and the aspiring ones,
the opportunity to interact, network and as well learn from each other. The
experience and knowledge gained from such an endeavour would go a long way in
equipping them with the requisite knowledge and as well help create a solid
foundation for a vibrant film industry that would showcase Gambia’s cultural
heritage and artistic potential through the lenses of Gambian film makers. As
we strive with such endeavours to develop our cinema industry; by the same
token, we should as well work towards developing our artistic repertoire to
ensure a captivating reception from the wider world.
America
got talent, so the Americans say, Arabs got talent, so the Arabs say. Both the
Americans and the Arabs showcase their talents through their captivating media.
In the same vein, please allow me to blow my own trumpet and say with
confidence that GAMBIANS ALSO GOT TALENT but; let us first as a prelude, refine
and develop our raw artistic talents and repertoire to enable us better showcase
our cultural heritage and civilization as a people.
Though
colonized, but that didn’t make us a lesser civilized people. Of course we are
a civilized people. Our Jalibaa or Burr gewel did tell us who we are, but their
presentation was oral, or ‘orature’ to borrow the words of the Ugandan linguist
Pio Zirimu, who coined the word ‘orature’, but did not live long to develop the
theory. An outsider for that matter intentionally or otherwise, wrote and
misrepresented our history, and unfortunately his medium of presentation was
the written word referred to as literature. It is therefore time to translate
our ‘orature’ into literature. In so doing, we will rewrite our beautiful
history and re-present it for the whole world to appreciate. The role of film
making in this endeavour as an ideal vehicle for presenting our stories for
posterity cannot be overemphasized.
The
film maker, apart from his gadgets, his most important resource is the artist,
whom he works with, to hammer home his stories. Thomas Paine once said that, if
the pen is mightier than the sword, then the spoken word is mightier than both
the pen and sword combined. Let me add that, the spoken word is mightier if
only it is safeguarded for posterity, without which our glorified spoken words
will be lost to the air.
There
are of course the obstacles that we need to tackle, but obstacles we must
address with honesty and sincerity. This requires a case study of our problem
in respect of our cultural identity. The cultural crisis we are confronted with
is caused by western acculturation thanks to the western media. In Africa
today, western acculturation is the predominant cause of our eroding cultural
norms and values. This situation is one of the negative bi-products of
colonialism, whose education for the African was not premised on preparing an
Afrocentric or self-loving African. Rather it de-Africanised the African by
making him underestimate his intellectual potential and assimilated him to
think and behave like his ‘’tubab’’ colonizer which in reality he will never
be. Remember the African saying; no matter how long a stick stays in the sea,
it will never be a crocodile. By virtue of our mis-education, it is a common
occurrence in Africa today to hear a well-educated African by western standard,
to first plead with his tribesmen when addressing them, to forgive him because
he doesn’t have a good command of his mother’s tongue to articulately express
him or herself. What kind of education can make such a person? Another
contributing factor to the worsening of such a situation is the misguided
program content of our mass media which unquestionably is a powerful tool for
the dissemination of knowledge and the enlightening of the masses. The
television particularly, apart from its core function of entertainment and
information, is also a vehicle for nurturing understanding and appreciation for
one’s culture and ideology. In most African countries today, the Gambia not an
exception, the content of the television programmes we watch does not reflect,
or seek to portray a national image or character based on our cultural
identity. To add insult to injury, our school curricula leaves much to be
desired, hence the prevailing cultural crisis reflecting the mis-education of
most Africans today.
For
the African to be seen and be heard and be respected, we need to endeavor to
rebrand the African personality by portraying the African based on his culture
and identity. To realize this goal, we need to revisit and review our education
and culture, vis-á-vis national development and cultural identity. We need to
assess the content of our education especially in terms of the history lessons
taught, or social studies and civic education with a view to, moulding an
African conscious and proud of his cultural heritage, an African that pays
respect to unity in diversity. We need to introduce the teaching of cultural
studies in all levels of our education system.
The
indisputable role of the media in addressing this phenomenon cannot be
over-emphasized. Since it is the media in the first place that was utilized as
a vehicle for the brainwashing and indoctrination of the African; in the same
vein, it is the same media that should again be utilized as a vehicle to repair
the damages. As Africans we need to refocus our national cultural policies to
give relevance and direction to our propaganda initiatives on national media.
Emphasis should be placed on programs that project national image based on our
culture and identity. Instead of spending huge amounts of monies to purchase
Opera telefilms or other western movies, we should encourage the production of
indigenous films that feature our culture and identity. Gambian film making
should be encouraged to complement the efforts of the National Centre for Arts
and Culture, and be facilitated to produce films that would not only entertain,
but re-orientate the masses; films or media content that would appeal
particularly to the psyche of the African youths, who are the most vulnerable
to western acculturation. This however does not mean that we should abandon the
western repertoire in our media. No man is an island; therefore any attempt
aimed at totally abandoning western content in our media repertoire could be
counterproductive in the context of globalization. There is therefore the need
for a tactful approach capable of projecting a cultured African with a broad
understanding of the diverse cultures of the world at large. We readily have
the raw talents to refine, brand and promote as uniquely ours, but we are yet
to live up to the task.
African
theatre has evolved through generations to what it is today, and is often
mistaken for contemporary, modern or westernised African theatre. Given the
adverse and imperial forces of western acculturation in Africa today, one is
tempted to believe that contemporary African theatre has its roots in the west.
This however is not true if one looks at African theatre from a broader
perspective beyond contemporary to African indigenous theatrical life.
Theatre
in general, can be simply defined as an activity in which an actor plays a role
other than himself through mime, speech, song and dance movements to convey or
communicate a message to an audience. If this is an accurate definition of
theatre, then theatre has always been deeply ingrained in African lifestyles.
Indigenous African theatre focused on day-to-day activities and was an integral
part of the whole conception of existence. Theatre in Africa was a communal
activity whilst in western theatre, cultural forms of expression are
compartmentalised and beautified with lighting, sound effects etc. and one
individual taking ownership of the theatrical productions among other things,
Theatre
in Africa existed within its functional context and it sought to perpetuate the
virtues of society and purge all evil. Through theatre we tell our story with
the accompaniment of songs and the audience invited to participate with the
ultimate goal of instilling moral values in the hearts and minds of members of
society. Africans are theatrical by nature which is amply evident in our
ceremonial songs and cultural manifestations. We sing and dance on the first to
the last day of our lives. We sing and dance to welcome the newly born baby and
sing and dance when we mourn our departed souls or when we seek spiritual guidance,
protection or blessing from our departed ancestors. We exorcise our mentally
ill by singing and dancing to entertain and appease the spirits when one of us
is possessed by evil spirit. (‘’ndopa’’ in Wollof). These cultural forms and
manifestations among others, shows that theatre is undoubtedly an integral part
of our lives as African, but this is only appreciated if one understands the
motive of our cultural forms and manifestations and the stories and messages
they relay metaphorically.
It
is therefore not enough to read all the books on African history and claim
expertise on African culture. It is one thing to read African history, but more
important is for one to understand and appreciate African culture for what it
is and its aesthetic. Therefore knowledge and appreciation of our culture and
artistic traditions could go a long way in helping our development planners or
policy makers; who ironically are often the most vocal with unrealistic
academic theories inappropriate for our cultural development aspirations.
Culture
evolves, and as Africans we have our own stories to tell now rather than later,
to showcase our diverse cultural heritage, norms and values. There is no better
person to tell these stories authentically but us, we the Africans. So who tells
the story and how the story is told is worth considering for posterity. In the
good olden days, there used to be story telling sessions held after dinner when
all the kids would retire to the courtyard while grand mom or dad would tell
stories of substance and relevance to day to day life. Story telling was used
as a pedagogical tool to teach the kids essential lessons and as well equip
them with the requisite knowledge of life and its vicissitudes. Today, we say
we are civilized; but I ask; are we ‘civilized’, or are we ‘westernized’? Our
lifestyle as Africans is a paradox to our cultural heritage. In the olden days,
there were no televisions or these communication devices we have nowadays to
facilitate the easy transmission of stories, hence practical narratives such as
story telling were the most effective means of inculcating the desired African
values. The custodians of such stories though scarce nowadays, but there are
few that are still around, and it is now while they are alive that we should document
and safeguard their knowledge for posterity.
A
good reference in this regard is the Senegalese television content of recent
times which is focusing on indigenous stories, be it cultural, historical or
contemporary. The Senegalese are usually referred to, as very
French-assimilated, given their comportment and mannerisms, but of recent times
they are trying to reinvent the will by producing their own television drama
series that have now captivated the attention of all. Cafe Avec, Wirri Wirri,
Dina ma Nekh, the list goes on. Such productions don’t only save money, but it
also develops the arts and artists of the country. It is definitely
indisputable that, for us to attain the desired level of cultural awareness, we
must first and foremost make our development planners or policy makers and all
duty bearers in this endeavour to understand the role of culture in determining
our national character.
Culture
as we all know is not static, and is both evolutionary and revolutionary. As
such, given the advent of modern technology, film-making if developed and
wisely utilised can undoubtedly help in nurturing and promoting cultural
identity for the African, the Gambian not an exception.
Tijaan Kamara is a multi-talented artist,
creator, administrator and disseminator of arts and culture; a former art
teacher, lecturer of Artistic Traditions at the UTG and former Board Chairman,
National Centre for Arts and Culture.
