Turkish Santa Claus

Did you know that Santa Claus - aka St. Nicholas - was from the land now known as Turkey?

Recently here at People's Imports we have received two "Santa Claus" Kilims, flat woven rugs made in Turkey. This may seem odd, unless one considers the story of historical Saint Nicholas, along with the winter solstice god figures of pre-Christian Europe, one of the major inspirations for Santa Claus.

"[Nicholas] was from Myra, an ancient town in Lycia, where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today in present day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dag, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.
Demre is on the coast of the Teke peninsula, west of the bay of Antalya, with the Taurus Mountains behind...The mountains are forested and the coastal strip is made of good soil brought down by the mountain rivers."

"Saint Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor,
in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian
 with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes."
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

The two kilims measure 36" x 44"  and are $95 each.

Yoruba and Benin tribal arts (part 2)

As seen on the maps above, modern-day Nigeria has many related but distinct tribal groups. The Benin are listed here as "Edo" (which they are also known by) and are placed just east of the Yoruba, and Ife' is basically along the line between the two. Additionally, there are both Yoruba and Benin folks in the Republic of Benin to the west of Nigeria, and in Cameroon to the east. This doesn't include, of course, any of either tribe living outside Africa due to the slave trades, which is a much larger amount.
So, for the rest of this blog and for the store, the Yoruba
and Benin may be seen as two sibling cultures, related but distinct
and individual with long-time sharing and rivalry.
 

WHICH SCULPTURES ARE YORUBA and WHICH IS BENIN?
"Benin Bronze" is really a catchphrase applied by the British archaeologists to all of the old bronze cast artifacts found at Ife' - Yoruba and Benin.

First, Katita noticed there seem to be some differences between the way Yoruba and Benin peoples traditionally see animals. The Benin seem to prefer sculpting animals who are for their use (as in, food sources or livestock, like the bronze chickens). Katita found a picture of Benin sculpture of humans holding a leopard by the neck.


The totemic portrayals of animals tend to be on Yoruba art, such as
birds in flight on a crown - connecting the spirit world to humans.
Ooni and Oba
The leaders of Ife' are sometimes referred to as "Ooni" (current
and formal leaders are listed on www.theooni.org
Ooni: and sometimes as "Oba" (which is also what the Benin Empire
call their leaders). There is also an Orisha (ancestor spirit/diety) of peace and balance, Obatala.

Yoruba beaded and bird-adorned
ceremonial crown

another Ooni/Oba excavated from Ife', which
we believe to be Yoruba

Headwear
"The [Ife' Bronze] figure wears a tight fitting cap with a large projecting,
phallic-like crest. Such caps and ornaments occur frequently in
Ife portraiture. This crown probably symbolizes the figure's royal status"
http://www.antiques.com/classified/1070907/Antique-Ife-Style-Bronze-Head---PF-6237b
The Yoruba seem to prefer portraying their Ooni/Oba (leader) with the
impressive phallic crown (see above), as a visual symbol of their leadership,
which really does work because it ALWAYS seems to get more attention.
The Benin, by contrast, portray their Oba in online photos* with an armorlike two-pronged crown, above the ears, matching some of our "Benin Bronze." On the same sites, the Queen is more often shown with a central (though curved) crest, interestingly.

Benin Oba (king) and Queen bronze heads

On Yoruba Beaded Crowns:
"A commanding bird at the top protects the powerful medicines inserted in the crown's summit.
Other birds may be added on the crown's body.
 Birds are symbols of the mystical powers of women whose support is needed for the oba to rule effectively"
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m12/activity1.php
Each color represents a different orisha**:
White - Obatala; Red - Shango; Yellow - Oshun; Blue- Yemaya; Purple - Oya

For additional information, here is a Nigerian website group, each with it's own forum about Yoruba and Benin culture.
http://www.nairaland.com/282439/yoruba-people-voodoo-juju-culture
http://www.nairaland.com/721396/yoruba-benin-republic

*Here are examples of Benin art
http://www.randafricanart.com/Benin_Oba_commemorative_heads.html


Here are examples of Yoruba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people


Here is some history of Yoruba and Ife' in the Bronze Age (migration from
the Nile to Ife'), and also some language: 100 Yoruba words related to Ancient Egyptian.
Did you know of the connection?
A summary:
"“The Yoruba history begins with the migration of an east
 African population across the trans-African route leading from
Mid-Nile river area to the Mid-Niger. Archaeologists, according
to M. Omoleya, inform us that the Nigerian region was inhabited
 more than forty thousand years ago, or as far back as
65,000BC.
During this period, the Nok culture occupied the region.
 The Nok culture was visited by the “Yoruba people”, between 2000BC and 500BC. This group of people was led,
according to Yoruba historical accounts by king Oduduwa,
 who settled peacefully in the already established Ile-Ife, the sacred city of the indigenous Nok people.

This time period is known as the Bronze Age, a time of high
civilization of both of these groups."

Here is the Yorubapedia, which has this in much more detail **plus detailed information about the Orishas:
http://yorubapedia.wikispaces.com/

The official website of Ife'
http://theooni.org/

It only gets more interesting, the more we find out! Perhaps this will continue into a third blog about West African Arts. Enjoy!
www.peoplesimports.com/store

Yoruba and Benin Tribal Arts (part 1)

the "Oba" or "Ooni" bronze cast king of Ife'

We have a lot of African sculpture in People's Imports...how to identify it all?

some pieces that caught my eye
 and some other pieces that get a lot of attention due to
-their fame within African art,
-weigh a lot,
-the very phallic crowns they wear

another "Benin Bronze" example

these would be the  Bronze Heads in the corner... famous from the British Museum archaeological excavations in the 1930s. Called the "Benin Bronze" by the Brits when they excavated the site of Ife' in western Nigeria in the 1930's. Ife' however is known as the traditional Yoruba homeland in oral and modern history.

...and the less warlike, beaded Yoruba animal decorations, hats
and statues which i immediately felt connected with.
"Why? ....

...and wait, so are the Bronzes Yoruba, Benin, or both? "
"...and so Benin
people are from Nigeria too? what is the relationship between
Benin and Yoruba?"

At this point Kat and i were working together on this project and both of us were feeling more connected with
these sculptures every week. A customer came in and bought beaded hats,
and we reorganized this part of the suzani room when more
merch came in....

Yoruba beaded belt with bird totem

Personally I was aware of the Orishas already, the ancestor spirits of the West African diaspora, brought to the Caribbean on the slave trade, from time spent in Georgia, along the Gulf of Mexico, and here in Arizona.
you may find candles and charms for these Orishas in
Botanicas /Spiritual Shops. Already I had connections to the
female Orishas and their empowerment.

I know of music that sings about Orishas, Santeria and Voodoo...songs about Yemaya and Oshun, Shango, Papa Legba (Ellegua), and Katita and
I could hear them singing in the art sitting in our store.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDiN53KoFo
"Yemaya" by the Cuban musical artist, Celia Cruz

Some vivid dreams and inventory later, they are still singing to us
and the Bronze phallic statues too....

(to be continued...)

A NIGHT with the ZAMBEZI DOLLS

the Makishi Dancers of People's Imports

this poor dancer was returned

the "cosmic dancer"

Here at Peoples Imports, there are a lot of unusual items for sale. Some of them possibly remind folks of
voodoo dolls;  these could be due to cultural associations, and prejudices.
The only time an item has been returned due to "bad juju" has been with one of these four small "Zambezi Dolls." This interaction still bothers me a little to this day, so a little "exploration" is necessary.


Here is the doll that was returned. At the top are the dolls as a group.

 One of them is smaller, and has a more intense, tooth-bearing look than the others.  Initially I thought that he was portraying "scary" but after a few hours around him, he is the most intense dancer of all. Of the four, i call him the "cosmic dancer" ...as in Marc Bolan of T-Rex. I start imagining the four dancing together around the store, as a musical group. They are anything but "bad juju" - in fact, they have the same essence that made early rock and roll unsettling to 1950s America  - raw emotion.

The tags associate the dolls with "Makishi Dancers, Luvale People."
[Luvale are a Bantu speaking tribe related to Chokwe to the west (Angola), who are famous for their masks, which we carry in our retail store.]

"The Lovale, Chokwe, Luchazi and Mbunda are famous for the Makishi dancers who perform a masquerade in intricate masks and costumes." The names of the characters
include Pwebo and Chizaluke.
^ "The Makarishi Masquerade",
http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/42afr_uk.htm

The Makishi dancers are associated with coming-of-age ceremonies. "The Makishi attach themselves to the world of spirits and demons and, while dancing, lose their personal identity, becoming the character they portray."
http://soulsafari.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/even-more-african-tribal-dances-shangaan-makishi-dancers-

Here is video footage of the Makishi/Zambezi dancers from Victoria Falls area. It's pretty awe-inspiring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyM3K61pzdILocations where Makishi dancing can be found include:
-Lusaka, Zambia - capital city, the 20th century city, at the southern end of the central plateau
-the middle/ lower Zambezi River valley, which divides Zambia and Zimbabwe, from Livingstone,  Zambia and Victoria Falls upstream to Kariba Lake downstream. 

Victoria Falls is at once a natural wonder and a colonial center where many old European developments and names remain.



What some might call "bad juju" most likely means "fear of primal emotions" and so, if you desire to have this
primal energy around, we have a few friends you might want to meet!

 

dancing around the store at night

DOLL DETAILS:
$30 each

8.5" tall "cosmic dancer", 3-4" wide
all others 11" tall, 3-5" wide
very light

material: Sweetgrass, Raffia, painted burlap, wire underframes
 
www.peoplesimports.com

Congo to Cuba

"Congo to Cuba"  - the Putumayo records* compilation - is no longer in stock by the label, but we used to sell it here, and it contains so many awesome memories from last year, including "Safiatou" by Mama Sissoko and "Yiri Yiri Boum" by Gnonnas Pedro. It makes us happy and want to dance with the Problem Solver (see first post) and drink Turkish tea (see previous post). If you come in our Tucson store these late summer days chances are you'll find us jamming out to these West African and Cuban rhythms while arranging some new wood and ceramic scupltures from Kenya, Guinea, and Mexico. Paz en El Barrio...Perdido!!

*Our store does have plenty of newer Putumayo records CD's in stock including "Latin Beat" and "African Beat" that will quench that musical thirst! Check out www.peoplesimports.com for more info about these and our other items.

cuffed

    So a costumer cuffed me! His name is kris. he bought a sumak. And now we are considering tea time. He told us a story of how when he bought rugs in Turkey: "This is just like buying rugs in turkey, except for they  serve you tea".

the big red Turkoman pile is back on the floor!

This week we put my favorite large rug back on the floor, in front of the stage! It's a soft red tribal pile rug from Turkmenistan, with the geometric black-line subtle pattern and soft wool, nice for sitting or dancing on. Turkmenistan is, by the way, that arid zone between Iran and Uzbekistan (homeland of the suzani tapestry) east of the Caspian sea, and just north of Mashhad, Iran's holy city, which geographically looks kind of like Tucson. 

Our store carries several smaller Turkoman tribal rugs also, though this big red one is a customer favorite. Come by and check it out in person! Or, you can get a glimpse of it here. It's 10' x 14' and retails for $10,000  - a desert palace furnishing like no other.