| Z. Netosh Jones | Temple University |
Zainabu Sipiowe Netosh Annette Jones is a doctoral candidate at Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), under the guidance of scholars Molefi Kete Asante, Ama Mazama and James Davis. Her background as an educator in the elementary public school system of Washington, DC opened the path for further inquiry about African people, not just in the Americas, but globally. Intrigued by the teachings of her grandmother Mrs. Bertha V. Moore (Ibaye), as well as her own experiences within her community, Ms. Jones was encouraged by her daughter Turaya to complete her goals, as what now seems to be her life work on the African American Omo Ayan. Her dissertation work is one of the many steps leading her to new understanding and research areas that must be dealt with by Africana people. She makes this presentation in appreciation of her Ancestors (both Choctaw and African), as well as to her family and others who have made positive influences within her spiritual and educational growth. Modupe! |
The African American Omo Àyàn: A Yorùbá Male Drumming Society |
The customs and ideologies that will emerge in this Afrocentric study will strengthen existing evidence that enslaved and free Africans were not marginalized in practicing their original customs during the enslavement period. During seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Nago people of Nigeria (Yorùbá) brought the spiritual practice of Ifá to Cuba. Houses or cabildos were formed continuing the practice of Ifá and a drumming male society called Omo Àyàn. It would not be until the twentieth century that African American males, seeking African awareness through socio-political, cultural and musical experiences that the ancient drums known as bátà would demonstrate the importance of classical African institutions, outside of the continent. Although, drumming has been noted by researchers as an example of African music, this study will attempt to identify and to explain how a number of African American bátà drummers were selected by the orisa to apply this drumming to their daily lives, their spiritual practices, their community and to transfer this knowledge to those males who will follow in this tradition, as sanctioned by the drumming deity, Àyàn. |