Christopher
Waterman
Yoruba:
Empire Builders of West
Africa
November 19, 1998
Christopher
Waterman made the second presentation in SAR's 'Remarkable Civilizations'
Membership Lecture Series. Professor and Chair of the Department of World Arts and Cultures at the
University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Waterman quickly engaged the audience with his
palpable enthusiasm for his topic, "Yoruba: Empire Builders of West Africa". Dr.
Waterman's fields of academic specialization range from performance studies and
ethnomusicology to transnational culture and anthropology. Using images and music to
complement his narrative, Dr. Waterman's presentation led the audience on a vivid and
multi-dimensional journey through contemporary Yoruba.
A highly diverse culture, Yorubans are distinguished by a clear division of labor, complex
political systems, kin-based (patrilineal) groups, religious societies with hundreds of
deities including both Christian and Muslim, and perhaps most emphatically a vital
entrepreneurialism. From the marketwomen, well-known for their economic autonomy, to the
many voluntary associations such as funeral homes and credit groups, Dr. Waterman observed
that the Yoruban entrepreneurial activity "boggles the mind." One might wonder,
he said, "if everyone's selling, who's buying?!"
The "fluid hierarchy" of the sacred kings and chieftains places emphasis on the
importance of one's destiny, bestowed on one's head and believed to be unchangeable,
versus one's fate, which can be influenced by personal effort and human intervention-by
one's own hand. The "head/hand" imagery permeates Yoruban society with what Dr.
Waterman compared to a Horatio Alger-like theme.
Some highlights of Dr. Waterman's lively lecture include:
-The recurring notion of "accumulation" as a mark of importance, achievement,
and power. Accumulation is signified on the ritual clothing of obas, or kings, in
clustered images of people, cars, horses, and birds-particularly on headdresses or crowns.
-The centrality of "diviners" to Yoruban society. Diviners are consulted for
such decisions as child-naming and choosing business locations. Diviners are professionals
who train for many years to read the 256 permutations of 16 palm kernels, tossed on an
elaborately-carved divining board, often depicting the competing forces in the universe.
-The competing and asymmetrical patterns found on the costumes of the
egunguns, depiction
of ancestral figures that appear across kinship group ceremonies. The patterns are
activated by dance, and are meant to be seen in motion when new patterns emerge.
-The ability of Yorubans to borrow aspects from outside cultures, to enhance and expand
their own creative expression. Because of this tendency to "accumulate," Dr.
Waterman observed that it is "hard to distinguish high art from pop art in
Yoruba." To illustrate, he shared a current music video with a remarkable blend of
traditional and contemporary elements.
Sponsored by the Flora Crichton Lecture Fund
Hospitality for the lecturer by La Casa Sena
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