Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

How does the body serve as a repository of knowledge and a place of cultural memory and cultural knowledge? How does the body as an instrument of research in the field inform our creation of music and dance? In this presentation, I use the Ghanaian Akan proverb, Etua wo nyͻnko ho a, etua dua mu, “When it’s inserted into someone’s skin, it’s in a tree” as a discursive framework to demonstrate how the use of the body, as an instrument of research, informed my understanding of the experiences of enslaved Africans, human beings who once languished in the dungeons of slave castles awaiting transport as cargo to the Americas. The physical, emotional, and spiritual trauma I experienced while staying in the dungeons for several hours, two days a week for five months, inspired the creation of Walking with My Ancestors, an award-winning multimodal performance piece. Through poetry, song, and movement I present fresh perspectives on the experiences of the nameless Black people who once languished in the dungeons of West Africa and suffered the agony of the middle passage.

Ama Oforiwaa Aduonum (Nana) is a researcher, scholar, teacher, and performer of African and Black Atlantic music styles and traditions. Aduonum’s methods blend creative expression, scholarship, and experimental performance. She is the creator of the multimodal ensemble piece, Walking with My Ancestors: Elmina Castle, and the creator and sole performer of Walking with My Ancestors: Cape Coast Castle, an award winning and nationally recognized multimodal performance piece. Both works are based on first-hand research at former dungeons for enslaved Africans in Ghana and Senegal. She is currently working on another performance art piece that explores the effects of voluntary and involuntary journeys, dislocation, on our Feet. Aduonum aims to 1) educate about the experience, energy, beauty, audacity, and resilience of African Ancestors, 2) promote understanding and appreciation of Black experience and contributions, 3) validate and celebrate Black Lives, and 4) promote dialogue to strengthen our hurting communities. Aduonum’s scholarly works have appeared in many journals, including Ethnomusicology, The Drama Review, and Women’s Studies. Her book, Walking with the Ghana Asafo: An Ethnographic Account of Kormantse Bentsir Asafo Music (June 2022), is in-Press at Rochester University Press. Aduonum is also the author of two children’s books, Beautiful Little Girl: I Like Me and I am Proud of My Ancestors: They Overcame. Aduonum is an Ohemaa Queen Mother in Ghana, and she loves to dance.

The Music and Movement Speaker Series is sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (Rothman Endowment) and co-sponsored by the School of Music Harmony Initiative.

More information here.

Virtual Option (Zoom): https://ufl.zoom.us/j/94106289801