Midterm - Unit 2 - Africa

Question 1

“Senses”

Answer 1

are the foundations of the African dance aesthetic

Question 2

Motion vs. posture

Answer 2

frican dance is motion rather than “position”

Question 3

diaspora

Answer 3

150 million people of African descent in the

Question 4

Africa

Answer 4

400 million people in Africa

Question 5

Oral tradition

Answer 5

“A word of mouth phenomenon that preserves history and entertains in African culture
• Its derivatives are the seven aesthetic senses
No permanent stamp for the artist, but rather for work and its culture.

Question 6

The seven senses of the African dance aesthetic

Answer 6

• Polyrhythm
• Polycentrism
• Curvilinear
• Dimensional
• Epic memory
• Repetition
• Holism

Question 7

Polyrhythm

Answer 7

• Movement and rhythm cant be separated
• Dancer makes severs moves in one beat at the same time while moving hands, head, and hips.
• Layering movement and rhythms

Question 8

Polycentrism

Answer 8

Awareness of multiple body parts in relation to multiple instruments and rhythms

• Superimposed images
• Slow and fast movements in the same time frame
• Movement in several direction

Question 9

Curvilinear

Answer 9

• Seen in form, shape, and structure

- Circular pattern

Question 10

Dimensionality

Answer 10

• Texture sense

- “Speaks to the supernatural in space, the presence beyond the visual presence.”

Question 11

Epic Memory

Answer 11

• Taps into the realms of universal emotions through memory

- Creative force is a spiritually initiated

Question 12

Holistic

Answer 12

Parts of acreation are not emphasized beyond the whole.]

Question 13

Repetition

Answer 13

Repetition intinsifies

Question 14

Nataraja

Answer 14

is an incarnation of Shiva, the god of creation and destruction

Question 15

Yoruba

Answer 15

Nigerian Dance as a form of worship

Question 16

Yoruba religion of Nigeria embraces two realms of existence

Answer 16

– The tangible world of the living;
– the invisible realm of spirits, ancestors, and
gods.
Gods and ancestors are intermediaries

Question 17

3 methods of worship for Yoruba

Answer 17

• Drumming
• Dancing
• Oríki – Songs of praise

Question 18

oriiki

Answer 18

songs of praise

Question 19

Yoruban deities are called

Answer 19

Orishas

Question 20

reciprocal relationship between

Answer 20

In the traditional Yoruba religion, there is a reciprocal relationship between people and the orishas; People need the orishas and the orishas need people to worship and propitiate them.

Question 21

Sango

Answer 21

Yoruban Thunder God
Rituals honoring Sango involve ecstatic dancing.
“Hot”: unpredictable, capricious;

Question 22

Osun (or Oshun)

Answer 22

the Yoruban River Goddess
“Cool”: basically predictable;
Movements of dances to honor Osun are harmonious, graceful, and flowing (like water)

Question 23

Egungun

Answer 23

1) All male dancers
2) Dance that honors family and ancestors through specific steps signaled by drummer
3) Elaborate masks and costumes

Question 24

Aladura

Answer 24

“the ones who pray”

Question 25

Aladura Churches

Answer 25

• Ecstatic worship that is a synthesis of:
  1) Traditional Yoruba religious practice
  2) Teachings of English protestant missionaries

Question 26

Asante of Ghana

Answer 26

• A confederacy of small states that gained power in Ghana during the early 18th century
• Remained in power until the British encroached in the late 19th century
• Ghana’s independence from Britain – 1957.
Ashanti were organized in Chiefdoms

Question 27

Ghanaan Chiefdoms

Answer 27

System of governing to fulfill a political role

Question 28

Asantehene

Answer 28

the Asante leader
intermediary between ancestors, natural forces, and people
“Master of music and drums”= master of the dance
Head of state, head priest and commander-in- chief, but never an absolute monarch.

Question 29

Big Adae

Answer 29

is a ceremonial gathering of dignitaries in the Kumase in Ghana.
• Dance pays tribute to the Asantehene
• Dance defines roles within political hierarchy and strengthen political structure

Question 30

Umbrellas in Big Adae

Answer 30

signify rank and dwo, or spiritual

coolness.

Question 31

Golden Stool in Big Adae

Answer 31

enshrines the spirit of the Asante people, and symbolizes Asante unity

Question 32

Fontofrom Drum

Answer 32

• Five feet tall, deep tone
• Chief of drums
• Carry on dialogue with dancer through rhythmic and tonal mimicry
• War dances, heroic dances