Kanga Party

The Kanga Party was a success. More than 250 people packed into the Annex on Saturday, October 18 to celebrate the new African textile exhibit and Erie’s new African population. The Quality of Life Education Center organized a fashion show featuring youth from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and Liberia. Artists were on hand to demonstrate henna skin decorating, beadwork, and hair wrapping. The Acholi dancers performed traditional dances from Sudan, a group of Somali women also danced, and six Burundi women sang African gospel songs. A remarkable group of girls from Burundi amazed the crowd with choreographed versions of children’s songs they learned in refugee camps in Tanzania. The 12 girls, who ranged in age from five to 15, sang 12 songs in call and response fashion. Half of the songs were evangelical praise songs, the rest more secular in nature. The songs reflected African culture from a child’s perspective. One song was titled, “My new teacher has decorated her shoes with fresh flowers.” Another song announced “All kids are looking for a safe place to play.” Seruka, a traditional Burundi welcoming song, translates to, “Come here so we can see you.”

The Burundi girls also performed at the Museum for a group of 35 day care instructors as part of a three week course about African culture. Many of the instructors said that the girls’ performance was the high point of the course, which also included an in-depth exploration of the textile exhibit, a session with the delegation from Lamu, Kenya, and an opportunity to cook and eat ugali, the traditional corn meal which is a staple of the East African diet. The teachers commented that they had never before seen a group of girls of that age range work together without adult supervision. This level of cooperation, although unusual in our society, is typical of African culture. Older children are responsible for working with those younger, and younger children look up to them, learning leadership skills they put to use with their toddler siblings.

A grant from the Vieser Fund of the Erie Arts Endowment supported the African artists’ participation in the Kanga Party and the daycare training course.

Contact Museum Folk Art Coordinator, Kelly Armor for more information.