On Friday afternoon, the Knight Library Browsing Room came alive with several Afro-Caribbean deities through the person of James Lorand Matory.
A professor of anthropology as well as African and African American studies at Harvard University, Matory spoke to a group of about 30 students and professors on a central theme of his research. Matory discussed the existence of multiple identities of one’s self in Afro-Caribbean religions and compares them with the individualism emphasized by the white middle class in nation-states such as the U.S.
“People feel pressured to be consistent with their national identity,” Matory said. He explained how in the United States, society identifies this singular identity through social security numbers and birth certificates, forcing people to be a “consistent, singular self.”
University junior and lecture attendee Lisa Anderson has never taken an African studies class except for African dance, although she has encountered some of Matory’s ideas in her Spanish classes.
“To be honest, when I heard the lecture topic of Afro-Caribbean religion, I immediately thought of the ending scene of ‘Pirates of The Caribbean 2’ when the main characters stop at the home of a mysterious Afro-Caribbean woman,” the journalism major said in an e-mail interview. “I know that’s so stereotypical, but I think the media has really driven it. Matory shed light on a religious tradition that is largely misunderstood.”
Matory’s chief interest is in the iconography of the Afro-Caribbean religions of Cuba, Brazil and West Africa. His fluency in four foreign languages – Spanish, Portuguese, Yoruba, French – helped to ease his field research abroad.
“Some students of culture study what people say they are and do, but I’m equally interested in icons – people’s wordless representations of who they are,” Matory said. “The power of mute objects to articulate collective assumptions and dilemmas is also very powerful.”
The professor mentioned how his own identity is constricted by this dominant ideology within the U.S., although he feels attached to various places. Although he has lived in Massachusetts for 17 years, when asked where he is from, he automatically replies Washington D.C. without thinking.
“The spirit of Washington possesses me,” he said. “I also feel guilty at how much of me is embedded in Brazil – I love that country.”
In contrast, the Afro-Caribbean religions, which include West African Yoruba, Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé, recognize that multiple beings are known to occupy one human body. These beings have different identities, ranging from that of kings, slaves, ancestors and foreigners. In order for practitioners of these religions to survive, they have had to learn to see both sides.
To illustrate the religions’ iconographic nature, Matory brought various religious objects collected from his travels to Cuba, Brazil, and West Africa. These included several brightly beaded bowls – important vessels for sacred objects – a statue of a muscular slave man and a bell, commonly used to induce trances and possession. Matory also dedicated his lecture to a small statue of the Afro-Caribbean god Eshu, the god of confusion, for any confusion that might result over the course of his lecture from explaining what was not meant to be explained.
Matory’s interest in Afro-Caribbean religions first began by watching his grandfather, a Pentecostal bishop, preach in church. Coming from an upper-middle class neighborhood of black doctors and lawyers, it was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
“I liked watching people get happy,” he said. “I liked the music, the way they moved, the way they talked and worshipped. Sometimes when my grandfather would talk it was like a spirit possessed him, words came out of mouth or his body would move in a way that was impossible for his age.”
Anderson, the University student, was equally intrigued by Matory’s description of the richness of music, dancing and artifacts that are part of many Afro-Caribbean practices.
“The traditions seem much more exciting than those we see in mainstream Protestant churches in the U.S.,” Anderson said.
Matory’s lecture was funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant for undergraduate foreign language learning designed to enhance African studies in the curriculum. International studies professor Stephen Wooten brought Matory to campus in what was also his first visit to Oregon.
“I’m hoping that students will think less of Africa as a place that is far away and more as one that is close. The energy of Africa is all around us,” Wooten said. “Matory’s work is really inspiring, theoretically and personally, and it really brings the creative energy of African diaspora present in so many parts of U.S.”
Wooten also mentioned much of the negative attention Africa receives through the press.
“All the African problems are only part of the story,” said Wooten. “The human tragedies are important, but we need to go beyond that because they are only one part of picture. There are lots of other things to consider, other wonderful parts of the culture.”
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