BLACK AMiilRICM PIETY- /DOZENS AM) TE3 TRADITION BY KOFI AG Two apparent irreconciliable attitudes seem to inform Black American perception of its historical and cultural links with Africa. The first is a move towards a close identification with Africa in terms of a common Black consciousness defined by a stress on similar historical, political and cultural experiences and aspirations of all Black peoples in the contemporary world. From Marcus; Garvey to DuBois, George Padmore, C«.L»RO James and Aime Cess ire, there has been a consistent projection of a common Black world with itis own values and creative expressions mainly on the political-artistixy level. Tfe.i.s is balanced by a second consideration namely, the' need to Tmove away1 from Africa in order to establish a new identity ;:( for Blacks in the American Diaspora on the basis of equality and integration with White American Culture. While this second view is less vocal and less visible in the form of a movement, it has ;-: nevertheless acquired roots in intellectual and cultural circles in Black America.. * First Presented at the 5th Annual International Conference on African Literature .and the English Language? 30th April - 5th May, 1985» University of Calabar, Nigeria;.' .-•"/: .: : ., ** Senior Research Fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. ^ A <»lear emb bdimentT of these'-conflicting attitudes towards Africa was the Civil Sights Movement of the sixties• The success of the movement gave rise to manifestations of a collective desire of Black Americans for closer ties of identification with Africa- The upsurge of Black consciousness gave rise to academic and research programmes and the establishment of African Studies centres with a focus on understanding Africa» Similarlyr. exchange programmes ..and study tours of short duration were encouraged on Stat.e Department level to foster a new perception of Africa<> Another positive end-result of the movement was perhaps Alex Haley's film version of his book, Roots, which 're-opened and vastly popularised the African ;! survivals*' arguments and issues'. The Civil. Rights Movement also, paradoxically, embodied a definite drive towards acceptance and integration of Blacks in the mainstream of American -life. It sought, to? emphasise the right of Black Americans to 'white respectability' and a denial of Africa as a focus of Black consciousness„ The concept of 'Afro-American1 was replaced by a 'Black-American' one by which the point was forcibly made that there is indeed a relationship of colour with Africa, but that,, this does not deny the., essential 'Americaness' of a ll Blacks in that country. The tendency of Black America to repudiate or embrace i ts links with Africa has. generally influenced the 'question of locating sources and signs' of the African past of Afro-Americans„ In 'the area of Afro-American folklore research and scholarship, J. """* trie denial of cultural -continuities with Africa has. been based on the "'theory •'of dectilturalisatlon of African institutions,- values, practices and behavioral patterns that were brought. to .tJaejNew World• This view contends thai; since African cultural institutions and practices' could'not be sustained in their-entirety in the New World, continuities'cannot'be meaningfully established* : In- their•• estima- tion, a' decisive' abandonment of Africa in the New World; did occur *'ambn^^^ack:''--Ajfe^O'ahs----'said this would seem to •.suggest, a progress towards 'separate cultural development and an integration with white American civilisation. ''T-ety-as'Szwed and Abrahams, have pointed out, 'too much contrary evidence exists.-..;for one to accept (such) argument without some real qualifications'. As they argues o. ov.7herever Afro-Americans could interact with each.other (whether or not in the presence of iihiro-Americans), shared expectations, attitudes, .- • aiid'-j 'fe.elin^s_.-. emerged drawing; up on the c ommonali- ties of past experience in Africa and in 'the Bbw . ,7 or ld,6...Wholesale carryovers of community-based culture need not be posited to argue that African cultural, continuities are, obvious and long»*lastingo . This paper t.akes\the position.,that there..,.is a basis for establishing an affinity,. betv/een.th© Black Ajnerican. dirty Dozens and the ••' tradition: ^.f/iVerbai insu3,t,,in,pne: ,geogr.aphic area in Africa,' Ghana» .:TJ&iijig-Shana as a sta^tin.g point, a.base-linei this paper intends tip.is.bow i.that both [traditions of verbal insult constitute - 4 'parallel processes1 and therefore reveal identical functions'''•in terms of what Simpson and Hammond have identified as 'the profounder philosophic principles and psychological attitudes which are fre- quently more persistent and tenacious because they exist beneath the level of consciousness1. As will also be seen, this paper relies almost exclusively on two authoritative articles on the Dozens for analysis» The first is by John Dollard, whose 1939 paper was on ;'The Dozens: Dialectic of Insult", The second is by Roger D« Abrahams whose paper on ;!Playing the Dozens" came out in 19&2- Both articles are reprinted together in Critical Studies on Black Life and Culture, issued in 1982 and edited by Alan Dun&es. This paper is greatly indebted to Dollard and Abrahams for information on the American Dozens used in this analysis., II . . .. In the poetic traditions of Africa, praise and insult mays in a senses constitute twin concepts. Their intimate concerns with morality .ana human achievement in society practically suggest a close identifications and a 'flow8 of themes ...from each other,, Awoonor has observed that-within many traditions of poetry in Africa, 'the transition between.praise and blame can be swift'. Where praise is the focus of attention, and. the valuable in human life is the point, of celebration, those who. are so lauded may also be advised or admonished. Similarly where violations of social integrity call for public attentipnrand rebiik.e5-direct.; insult .".may als o inc lud e adraonit i on , cr it icism, inv e ct iy e and '.wit*, dep ending on the severity of the, offence.,:, r Quite clearly, then, the borderline between praise 'and insult is extremely .fluid, filled as, it--were, with satire, criticism and admonition, *. Hence the poetry of.insult is not conceived primarily as an opposite concept to praise because;, the former derives some of i ts sense of meaning from considerationsoof • negativity embodied in praise poetryo In;spite of this affinity, the poetry of abuse and insult also exists-"-as1 a separate and distinct form. Earily.: accounts of Buropean visitors toi. i>iie trest coast of Africa observed the existence of insult, ridicule and lanrpoonin.^ as a serious pre-occupation in AfrU'caii society In Ghana - trie central focus of comparison, in this gaper - trier'd" has been a Ion:? history of research and documentation in verHatl insult dating from fie 18th century,, Prom the coast to t:;he'::;rii'n'- terland, Bosnian ( r C 4 ), GraicksLank (i£53),, ullic (1887) a^3P'xC Rattray (1^23) founo. it a v;iiely-distributed form in cei?einbhial';i contexts =. An re sn^]l see, mort Ghanaian festivals off'er;occasi6hs for direct verbal insult, In addition they may also incorporate distinct drams)-ic sketches and caricatures - remarK» look at them again '•. These .women. . • • • . ; Look,at the faces they wear5 . While their faces shone red their private parts remain dirty I who has not seen this? '-••-.. If you meet these women beholdJ. the odour on their bodies is Y^orse than the smell of the balck ant! The audience at such performances are there-to enjoy the subtleties 9f. wit. and B^reasa or sixwr appreciation for the imaginative use of 1 . 1* m_ -. 12 - language of the performers = 'Jhxle the lan.7aa.5e is down-to-earth, and the insult is direct, it is really the comparisons, allusions .and striking imagery which have the total effect of creating. laughter and 'covering up' intense feelings ICodzo this imbeciles evil animal •.. • • • • Who1 fucks other's wives fatteningly his buttocks run off, Ms teeth yellow- his penis has ?/ound a rope around • - :' ' his'waist pulling him around and away...... . ' . . . .. his. mouth as long as the pig blowing the t-win.w}:ii'"tle«. - '-• Something indeed has happened. ' 20 Through their s k i ll with ^ords-and their ability to evoke laughter and entertainment, the poets in the Ghanaian tradition of abuse and insult insist that their poetry is essentially for enjoyment. Although their poetry provides avenues for emotional release, villification and victimisation, their primary aim is to reconcile negative feelings and emotions through laughter and wit. • • ; '••• • in ; In an early article on "The' Dozeris; Dialectic of Insult" in 1939? John Dollard states that the America^. Dozens exists as a 'pattern of interactive insult which.%s used among some---American le-groes', It takes the form of a 'game1, 'play* or 'sally1 of words between two youths- who perform it only in the presence of others. Accordinglyp !a playful attitude surrounds the whole affair and it apparently, give.s great satisfaction to the p a r t i c i p a n t s '2 1' The subject matter of the Dozens concern infidelity, impotence and homosexual .tendencies,, and these are conveyed by means of 'innuendoes and indirect, references', w Although Dollard admits that similar forms have been known and transmitted in remote parts of the earth5 'no relationship is presumed between the American Negro.and any other similar form,,' This assertion probably encouraged Roger Do.Abrahams to believe that the Dozens is a peculiar Kegro institutions • ., •••• • ••»«<, As an institutionalised mechanism the dozens is most important to the Lower-class Hegro youth. ^ ; • in search of his. masculine identity. It repre- sents a transition point" in his life, that place at which he casts off a woman's world for a man's, and begins to develop the tools by which he is to . ....... implement, his .new..found positions as a member of a gang existence»23 ''.r :••-:•• : "•' It :"is'-%ign±£ioant that, inj spite of the obvious play element in the Rosens,:both Dollard and.-Abrahams :se.e the Drpzeps, in relation to turbulehd'e; 'misplaced-..aggression1..., .'ready, brawls and street fights', a 'gang existenoe:li»:i•!».-#:racially fragmented environment which also harbours dispossess^:;fllacks, it is perhaps consistent, as one finds in ma-ah of the-literature .on Blacks in America, to associate' the 'symbol .of -i;iol§nee, with an important activity of that - -14 .- discriminated.minority, in American'society. However, an unfortunate impression is created of the Dozens in the sense that outward violence, rather than a verbally entertaining violences is an essential feature of the American Dozens. Indeed, outward violence is also a feature of less poetic contexts of insult in some festivals in Ghana. In the Ap_ao festivals songs of acrimony and provocation are sung by drunken youngmen who, on that occasion, may initiate fights and brawls, sometimes ending up in wounds and injuries. Even in'the more artistic context of the halo, it may at times degenerate 'into fist and minor skirmishess= Nevertheless, these are either unimportant considerations or they are> deliberately encouraged as a dramatic expression of momentary cosmic disorder^ In the latter -case, violence can occur in any form because there is a general awareness of a situation of disorder, a 'created1 chaos, where human and non—human forces suspend their control on life and no one is expected to play God. Accordingly, normal social sanctions and retributions also cease to be enforced. Violence here is sustained by a collective awareness of self-destruction as a necessary prelude to regeneration and restoration of order. Hence violence becomes synonymous Tilth a psychological condition of expiation, emotional release and growth. Moreover, the «psychology of growth' trhich''characterises verbal insult in the Dozens, also finds parallel expression in some verbal art forms normally associated with adolescence in Africa. Riddles, .folktales and maiden songs for example, are significant signposts in tha.growth of the child in African society because of their emphasis on self-discovery and self-awareness in relation to the social environment. Through these forms, a child is enabled to acquire language competence and verbal maturity to handle and conceptualise complex relationships in his social .environment. He is adjudged . 'mature' when he demonstrates a certain kind of verbal competence . in cultural perspectives, This process of groirth is, in effect, similar to the one Abrahams associates with the Dozens as played by Black American Youths; .».->.. As sexual awareness grows, the vilification of the mother is changed to sexual matters, the contests become more heated and the insults more . noteworthy. Many of them take the form of rhymes or puns, signalling the beginning of the bloom of . verbal dexterity which comes to fruition later in the long narrative poem called the ;'toast!f and indicating the necessity of applying strict formal structures to highly volatile matters „£> The process of acquiring 'verbal-dexterity1 then is an expression of boys in transition to'manhood. More important, it is indicative of a kind of creative verbal maturity when 'volatile matters' are contained by "strict formal structures'. "Signifying51 or the ; technique of indirect "argument or persuasion becomes important because as Abrahams points out, it is ''more, subtly utilised in the 'Dozens' giving rise to a, dominant poetic interest that effectively helps to realize the 'play' or 'entertainment' element in the Dozens. Interestingly, as we have earlier noted? in the Ghanaian tradition of verbal insult, the formal structures.• of.song, chant and r e c i t al have direct relationship with the techniques..of indirect references allusion and imagery,, Structures and devices provide an immediate framework and unity of approach for the poetic expression of insult. Together', they constitute a 'clever' a r t i s t ic means of expressing emotions in -tfords* In this sense,, the American Dozens may be said to manifest a similar concern with i ts Ghanaian counterpart in the need f o control and discipline intense feeling and emotion through purely literary'means. Related to t h i s, as earlier, noted, is a concern with laughter and entertainment in,;.the 'Dozens,, The following excerpts from the American Dozens are -a case in points . ; • (a) (b) (c) (d) "'I fucked your'mot her. in. a .-horse and wagon She said, •'scuse me f. .mistier, my pussy's d r a g g i n g '5. •"• .:.'•''•'•'• •' '" ' ,-,,' • • '•• '':: I fucked your mother between two cans up pumped a. "baby and'•'hollered, "superman". I fucked your mother"-1 dn city Hall '.Tilliam Perm, said,. rj^n'-t: take' it all:». . . -• I fucked your .mother on a ten-ton truck she said, "God damn, baby you"-'-" " 3;;"" s u re c an f u c k " » , « » «. 07 f ...-•...•.. . *•• , , '•"''' •'• Embodie;d,,in the texts are insult-expressions whose total orientation and drive is towards., ridicule, exaggeration and humour. Although insults are highly personalised in the Dozens this is balanced by a dominant intention to cause laughter and to entertain through humour, and deliberate exaggeration. In the Ghanaian tradition, where a similar mode of personalisation is often the case, sometimes leading to the actual mention of the names of living persons, it is the poet's imaginative twists with language, what Awoonor has described as. 'the verbal gesjus of the poets, their inventiveness, ' • ' • • '• ' 28 and their fantastic imaginative powers' to evoke ridicule and laughter which counts. Participants at insult-sessions do not go there to witness fights, quarrels and misunderstandings. They go there t o, delight in the poet' s wit and sarcasm as well as in his imaginative appeasement of human feeling and emotion. It cannot be said therefore that verbal insult functions as a psychological release for only those who directly indulge in the, performance and subsequently may fight among themes elves* It is important for the performers to realise the need.to establish a framework of laughter and entertainment so that the audience can make a meaningful psychological identification with the performance. Only in this_ way can the performance become a functional tool for the audience. 3f well. Both traditions of insult in, effect provide, the ...means for. such an audience identification through the poetfs imaginative use - 18 - of language to evoke laajhtsr and humour.. In addition to a ll these it can also be, seen from the texts that there, is a strong presence of anti-feminine feeling in the Dozens. Attitudes .and poses ranging from hostility, censure and humiliation of females seem to. characterise* the creative utterances of the predominantly male participants in the Dozens, This has led Abrahams to contend that verbal dwelling among Black American youths provides an escape from the stronghold of matriarchal values = It enables participants to assert their v i r i l i ty and masculinity at a time when female., dominance has to be repudiated or cast off- For a seemingly different reason, there is also a strong element of negative utterances .about females in the Ghanaian tradition of insult. While both male and female moral detractors in Ghanaian society may be lampooned, in satirical songs, the predominance of anti-feminine feeling in Ghanaian verbal insult, can be explained in terms of a certain perception of womanhood in relation to collective morality, just as in the American tradition of the Dozens, the assertion of masculinity can b.e explained, in relation to a certain perception of Black American, womanhoodo It seems that in both traditions, women are regarded as, a symbolic barrier to the aspirations of the group concerned.. In the case of African society, women, are considered barriers to moral .righteousness, irtiile in Black American society, this has to do ^ith the aspirations of youth, groups towards 'manliness!, - 19 - Thus j as moral - or. psychological barriers to positive aspirations in male-oriented, societies, women inevitably become the target of "serious1, and 'playful' insult in both traditions. I? One, of courses is not saying there are no differences between the American Dozens and the Ghanaian tradition of verbal insult. Differences exist in the degree of instrationalisation in relation to the local culture. While the American Dozens, for example, limits itself largely to-a.projection of a psychological situation of malaise in adolescent behaviour, the Ghana tradition of irisu~lt-projects"several areas of humansrelevance whose orientation is mainly cultural. In the Ghanaian contexts verbal.'.insalrt; is deeply rooted in the culture as a creative tool for defining the moral ' •priorities'and sense of direction of the culture. Yet, in the : P^W'Tj^HMaW^KpateHlily:. different objectives,, both traditions reveal an inner resilience for.-common: 'philosophic^inci|il.6s and psychological attitudes* ,• as we have, .tried to demonstrate. Thus in their relationship to the development of group consciousnesss both traditions reveal a firm awareness of ritual, .psychological, linguistic and litera^iBro^iss^jgos-ejarallel motivations axe - 20 «* so strikingly similar that one is tempted .to/-conclude a. .common origin.- • I has -one •consideration"•• seems ;to stand out 3 •ther'e'-•iff •• a recognition that distance, environment and acculturation alone cannot erase the deep-springs of humanism that inform art and i ts expression in htiman*socie'fey»,irlisr:onarIoaM at both traditions of -verbal insult, it can be said that Blaok consciousness in a r t, a reflection of a 'common Black humanity, has been able to sustain both traditions over times irrespective of distance and changes in environment. W Q, 3? ES i» Eu'ss'e'i^L. Adamss the. context of American Racial Conservatism5' in Presence :!An Analysis of the 'Roots' phenomenon in ••'•!' Africaine So. 116, 4th Quarterly, i9S'G| p« 129. '" 2. Adams, 'Boots' p\' 129. ' ' '' • ' • 3° The whole argument of acculturation has been b r i l l i a n t ly : t' reviewed by John Szwed and Eoger. V, Abrahams in their a r t i c l e, :IAfter the myth: Studying Afro-American cultural patters in'"'' the plantation literature" published in Research in African Literatures Volv 7"No. 2 (Univ. of Texas- Press, Austin, 1976) . pp. .21.1-232. Bernth Lindfors, ed. 4« 5« .Szwed and Abrhams, H.A*L, p, 212» Szwed. and Abrahams, p. 228„. 6. Rioted from.Sawed^and Abrahams, p. 215. , Bm York, - 21 - 8. There is a thorough review of the literature on this in William D» Piersen's articles "Putting Domi-Ole Massa; African Satire in.the Mew World:? .in Research in , Afr.iqaa literatures Vol. J Ho. 2j 1976. pp.; 166-180. T™^ • ' 9° See Agovi, J.'K.S.» Festlcaj: Srsna A^^'^':^g_^ggJL§zl^^..2£ South-West Ghana, Unpublished,'Ph.D. Thesis, Institute of". African Studies/ unxvo of Ghana, Legon 1979« 10. This_ is extensively discussed in an article by Kofi Agovi entitled, "oafari-tradition arid.'social change in oonteinporary Africa" in The - Ancestors "Beads: 0ral.nArt !in-ConteE^orarY Africa (A special >~~" issue of PACIirIG QpASS MIX MOAHAj Sewzealand? Oatrig^er Publishers5 1985. Philip loss, _ed« • •. = •' 11. J . E. Kvrabana Sketias' "The Linguistic aspect of sijyle- in African laAguages5 and Co., The Hagae, 1971j Thomas A. Sebaok, ed» • •• ;:- n in Current Trends in I