Page 73 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 27 Final
P. 73
Art & Culture
crowd in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
he gave a rebuttal speech on African
art, heritage, and ethics. Africans in
Return Our attendance were confounded with
disbelief and shock that the French
leader was well-schooled in the 1970
AfriKan Arts United Nations Economic, Social, and
Cultural Organization Convention
(UNESCO) and the 1995 International
Wanyama Ogutu, Nairobi Kenya. Institute for the Unification of Private
Law Convention (UNIDROIT). Al
Jazeera’s reporter quoted President
Macron lamenting furiously, “O foolish
grandpa of witchcraft, primitiveness, evil, demons,
paganism, and anti-Christ. Before thunder-lightening Africans, who has bewitched you that
death struck my grandpa, he was a chief priest, a you refused to enact legislation and
man of double personality, and a good sculptor in the abide by mutual agreement treaties
villages. He sculpted African art such as masks, pots, in the joint International Council of
house utilities, and abstract figurines. He was also Museums (ICOM)?”. Political analysts
an adulterous person, accused by the late Rev David recognized that Macron’s powerful
Livingstone of touching women’s jujus whenever he speech went a long way toward inspiring
performed a ceremonial rite in the village. One time, Namibians to celebrate the return of the
colonial guards arrested my grandpa for severe body Bible and the whip of Hendrik Witbooi.
cuts on his 100th-born daughter’s dimple. One night A story is told of how German colonial
later, his cousin, working as a prison warden abetted rulers amputated the Nama leader and
his prison break upon surrendering all his wood roasted his head among the wild dogs.
carvings, which were then shipped to European The whip of Hendrik Witbooi remains a
museums. symbol of Nama, the Namibian freedom
fighter.
Al Jazeera News reported that the current French
leader was confronted by a hostile African crowd Many years ago, at United Nations (UN)
chanting and carrying placards that read in French, headquarters, the late Zairian President,
“ramène l’art!, voleur nous! voulons retrouver notre Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga Sese
histoire!” (Bring back our art!, thief!; we want back Seko Mobutu, broke out into hysterical
our heritage!.) Dramatic men in dark spectacles and laughter when the New York sheriff’s
scowling faces reached out to the crowd leaders officers whisked him out of the United
and grabbed their heads together like dumbbells. Al Nations Assembly. He had broken the
Jazeera’s reporter narrated how he saw crowd leaders podium into pieces and shouted for
falling apart like banana tucks while women wailed the return of the Tervuren collection
at the top of their sopranos’ voices. When French to Zaire (the Democratic Republic
leader Emmanuel Macron reached another settled of the Congo). The unprecedented
ISSUE 27 | MAY 2024 73
