Black Mens Studies. Serie McDougal III
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Black male lives in socio-historical context is the first step in understanding the many dimensions of the present social lives of Black males, particularly their formation of consciousness (Booker, 2000; Wilson, 1991). The Akan symbol, Sankofa, represents the principal of constantly interrogating the past to draw on cultural traditions and historical to improve life in the present and future (Karenga, 2010a). In like fashion, interrogating the history of Black men can aid efforts toward their social advance and liberation. Furthermore, studying the history of Black males is also an indispensable component in the liberation of the Black community. After all, the challenges confronting Black males are inseparable from those facing the entire Black community (Booker, 2000). Still, they are distinguishable and unique, and recognizing the uniqueness is necessary for the formulation of Black liberation strategies. Throughout the chronology of people of African descent in America, major historic events have influenced and been influenced by Black men and their constructions of manhood and masculinity.
Men of African descent arrived in the Americas thousands of years ago, the American colonies hundreds of years ago, and continue to arrive today with their own conceptualizations of who they are. This section will provide an overview of pre-colonial African conceptualizations of manhood and masculinity and the African cultural institutions that shaped them. It is commonplace for intellectuals to ground their analyses in history by starting with a recognition of the enduring influence of Greek and Roman civilization on modern ideas. It is equally common to begin analyses of Black men by paying homage to the enduring influence of slavery as the major shaping force, having a lasting influence on modern Black men’s lives. This practice has become a norm in some academic cultures and resulted in a systematic rejection of or silence regarding any ongoing influence of Africanity on Black men’s lives. This removal of African cultures and civilizations from explanations of Black male realities ←xxv | xxvi→makes it difficult to understand them without reaching misleading and sometimes anti-Black-male racist conclusions. From a research ethics perspective, the evasion of African influences on Black male realities is a reduction of their historical genealogy and therefore, a critical barrier to the production of valid inquiry. By recognizing institutionalized cultural racism in the research process, we can see what might otherwise be perceived as scientific oversight as an expected part of the legacy of scientific colonialism. This book, however, is grounded in the principle that starting with a systematic reconnection to African cultural identities is a necessary part of affirming Black men’s humanity as full actors in the world (Carr, 2007). This allows scholars to contextualize Black male identities and to recognize both their endurance and change over time.
For male youth, the essence of rites of passage was introducing them to appropriate male conduct, roles, and solidarity—guiding them in the process of advancement toward healthy manhood, from birth to ancestorhood and rebirth. During these elaborate rituals and rites, young men were taught the cultures of their ethnic group, the village’s history, and the critical roles of God and their ancestors (White & Cones, 1999). They were also taught more specific and practical knowledge such as how to be good fathers and husbands, and survival skills such as hunting, farming, and self-defense (White & Cones, 1999).
Naming
Occurring shortly after the birth of children, naming ceremonies were among the earliest of several rituals many African societies created to guide the transition of a person through the cycle of life. Among the Yoruba, the Edo, the Ewe, and the Akan, a child was typically named seven to nine days after birth because this is the period of time necessary for the child to transition from the spirit world to that of the living. Other ethnic groups, like the Akamba, would name their children 3 days after birth (Mazama, 2009c), and the Igbo, 8–12 days after (Falola, 2000).
Chosen for many different reasons, names can be more than a label, reflecting meaning, power, and/or source. For example, Zulu names can be chosen for reasons including: temporal factors (when the child was born); the structure of the family (sex of the child, and the number and spacing of the family’s children); the perceived role of God or the ancestors in the birth; the state of mind of the parents (their feelings about the child); the circumstances of the birth (condition of the family at the time of the birth); personality characteristics; and references to the family-line (references to the ancestors or the lineage the child belongs to) (Koopman, 1999). Naming can represent an essential part of one’s spiritual anatomy (Adogame, 2009b). Names can be a reflection of the child’s identity, but they are sometimes believed to have an influence on a child’s destiny. Among the Yoruba, a child born outside of Yorubaland is often called Tokunbo, meaning coming from across the seas (Adogame, 2009b). But, the Yoruba also believe that names affect behavior, guiding a child’s tendencies and preferences (Adogame, 2009b). Akan infants experience a ritual called din to in which a child is introduced to the community and given name. The first name, the kra den, is the child’s soul name, reflecting the day of the week the child was born on and the divinity governing that day. The Akan believe a person is influenced by the qualities and characteristics of the divinities or abosom that govern their day of birth. Akan children also receive an agyadin, the name chosen by the child’s father or parents (Adogame, 2009b). The names that children receive often link them to their ancestry. For example, some African names are like short stories or praise poems such as the Yoruba oriki, the Zulu izithakazelo, or the Xhosa iziduko. These family praise names, announced at naming rituals, link children to their ancestors. In addition to given personal names, family praise names consist of a string of the names of selected ancestors and their accomplishments or things they were known for. Naming rituals allow families to shape children’s identities long before they become consciously aware of it (Black, 1997).
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In these naming rituals and initiation rituals, infant males are celebrated, named, and/or introduced to their communities, the supreme being, the ancestors, and deities. Although the infant is not fully conscious of the ceremony, it is believed that his spirit is (Black, 1997). Among the Ga, a child is officially named eight days after being born at a public ceremony called kpodsiemo (Quartey-Papafio, 1914). Before this day, the child is considered to be a non-person, without a complete identity. The community and family members attend the ceremony, bringing with them gifts for the child and family (Abarry, 1997). In this ceremony, libations (usually an alcohol-containing beverage) are poured to the ground to invite the presence of the family’s ancestors who are believed to be responsible for human fertility. An entire ritual drama is acted out. Abarry (1997, p. 372) explains one point during the ritual involving a symbolic demonstration of the ethical behavior expected from a Ga:
The infant is admonished to maintain the cherished values of Ga culture as the gathering chants back the response formula Yao:
You see, you haven’t seen
You hear, you haven’t heard
Don’t lie, don’t steal
Father is father Mother is mother.
After this episode, the infant is touched gently by the godperson, first with the left foot as he or she simultaneously utters the words Mitswa bo nane (I strike you with my foot). This act is repeated with the right foot but with different words Ko mi nane (Take my foot). Taken together, these expressions and the godparent’s physical action are meant to impress the child with the former’s character. Hence he or she is admonished to “take my foot,” follow in the footsteps of, and become like, the godperson. The latter may pick up the child again, and make remarks about the positive and some weak aspects of his or her own character. The child is, however, advised to choose only the good and improve on the weaknesses in the godperson’s personality. After this physical and symbolic introduction of the Ga universe-sky, air, earth, and water and ancestral virtues to the infant, the latter is returned to a private room where he or she is dressed in white and kept for the remaining period of the ceremony.
At the end of the ritual, the family and community in attendance take a drink of gbee woo daa, the name sealing drink (Abarry, 1997). After the child’s name is announced, the community says the name—a symbolic form of accepting responsibility for that child’s well-being in the presence of one another and their ancestors.
Manhood Rites
In some ethnic groups, boys experience rites of passage as early as ages four through