Amazing Siddartha From The United States Writes A Descriptive Poetry On The Nigerian Culture.
She shared this poem with me in my inbox, and I was lost for words,I couldn't believe a foreigner could possibly know more than a native...stunned, I also decided to share below:
Baule spirit spouses
are the belief among
an African people wherein
there is also
a husband or wife in heaven
for everyone-
So they create sculptures
and ritually care for them
once a week
by feeding them,
bathing and sleeping with them
to keep them near their sides.
Similarly, the Nigerians create
Ere Ibeji figures as twins birth
are very common there
and there is a high
fetal mortality rate
and these figures
stand for the dead twins or twin-
they are worn in a sash
around the mother
and ritually cared for
and dressed much
like the Baule spirit spouse figurines.
Carved from wood
and adorned with cowry shells
and scented oils
the Ere Ibeji are later
passed down the family line
either to a surviving twin
or an aunt or another child
once an adult
to honor the dead spirit
of their family
and keep their souls
appeased and comforted.
Honorable traditions
for the dead
mapped out in sculpted hands
African traditions
that I have learned in my studies
in graduate school
that inspire awe within me
as the amount
of homage and respect
for the dead doesn't end
at burial or the mark
upon the tombstone
but is carried on
for generations throughout
every week and day
so that they are not forgotten.
© 2008 Siddartha Beth Pierce
Ms. Pierce is a nationally and internationally published poet and artist as well as a Mother. Some of her works have appeared in The Indian Diary, After-Nyne, Issuu, The Artist in You, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, The Muses Review, Budzu’s Hammer, and Blue Fifth Review. Much of her work can be found at writerscafe.org. -
