In honor of the beginning of Black History month, Quinnipiac’s Café Q traded in the sounds of clanking dishes and hungry students for the Sounds of Afrika- literally.
Lead by Kojo Bey, the Afrikan drum and dance troupe Sounds of Afrika played an hour-long interactive set of traditional Afrikan songs, complete with tribal dances. And, for Bey, his job is not only deeply rooted in his being, but it is a family affair.
Based out of the Tri-State area, Sounds of Afrika is comprised of Bey, his sons Nile and Rajuma Bey, his wife, Oni Brown, and his uncle, Baba Abishai.
According to Bey, the group has been working since 1995, and “plays their music to honor their ancestors” and can trace its ancestry back to slaves coming from Central and West Africa, and Jamaica.
“What we do would be impossible without Babatunde Olatunji,” Bey says. “He was a leader and a true pioneer. His work reminds us everyday why what we do is so important to our people.”
Baba Abishai, Bey’s uncle, explains that their music is a collection of chants and songs sung by slaves being held prisoner on boats to America. And, according to Abishai, there is an emphasis put on the oceans and seas as well as the Afrikan holiday of Kwanzaa.
“As Kojo [Bey] explained during the performance, our songs are based on the seven principles of Kwanzaa,” Abishai says. “There are seven days of Kwanzaa and seven principles which we base our lives around.”
Throughout the performance, Bey explains the seven principles of Kwanzaa and the importance of the oceans and the seas.
“Yem and Ya are the oceans and the seas,” Bey explains to the audience of students, staff, and cafeteria workers. “Water, in our culture, is the most precious substance, and our ancestors would sing to Yem and Ya when they were being kidnapped for slavery. They would sing and hope that the boats would turn around and return them to their land and their homes.”
When explaining the importance of Kwanzaa’s seven principles, Bey takes special care to interact with the audience and make them understand.
“These principles make up our value system, ya’ll,” Bey says, his voice booming from the microphone. “The word for these principles is Nguzo Saba and it means seven principles in Swahili. These principles are umoja- unity, kujichagulia- self-determination, ujima- collective work and responsibility, ujama- cooperative economics, nia- purpose, kuumba- creativity, and Imani- faith. Practice these everyday, ya’ll.”
The stage where the group performed was set up in Quinnipiac’s Café Q, and had a small altar set up in the front echoing the emotions and traditions behind the lyrics, as did the traditional Afrikan clothing they wear during performances including headdresses and drums adorned with symbolic figures and animal skins.
“The flag you see is the flag of West Africa, the country where my ancestors were taken from and forced into slavery,” Bey says. “The altar is a libation ceremony so the shackles represent the slavery and capture of our ancestors, the plants represents the life, and the chalice is a religious offering.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, 9-year-old Rajuma Bey also expressed a deep connection to the Afrikan culture and to the importance of living a life based on the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
“My daddy always says, ‘know who you are and where you come from,’” he explains. “I like doing this with him because it shows me where I came from and it makes people understand me.”
“Yea, that is true,” Bey says smiling at his son, “But for me, wherever there is an Afrikan descendant looking for answers and support, that’s where my job is- to teach him about who he is and what being Afrikan truly means.”
