A Search for an Identity

MAN has always been interested in his genealogy. The Bible itself provides a complete record of Jesus Christ’s ancestry going all the way back to the first man, Adam.The Jews, as a nation, meticulously preserved genealogical records, and it was one of their major tragedies that these records were destroyed when Jerusalem was laid waste by the Roman armies in the year 70 of our Common Era.

The Jews’ return to Palestine and the establishing of modern-day Israel was an expression of a need for an identity—in this case, a national identity. Whereas the Jews’ quest for an established identity may have had strong political overtones, families in other nations often become caught up in such a quest so as to establish claim to the inheritance of property, to royal lineage, to descent from a famous character of history or just to find out who they are.

People all over the world now are focusing attention on what has been described as the “Black man’s search for identity.” The recent Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) held in Nigeria was a noted expression of this quest.

The African Identity

FESTAC ’77 was held in Lagos, Nigeria, and ran from January 15 to February 12. It was the second gathering of its kind to be convened in Africa. The first was held in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966. FESTAC ’77 drew delegates from all the nations of Africa, black communities in the Americas, Europe and Australia, and black states outside Africa. Some 17,000 artists, dancers and intellectuals came from fifty-six countries. Interestingly, representatives from the Arab states of North Africa and from among the Aborigines and Maoris of Australasia were present—all subscribing to the “attempts of Black [and African] people to revive their culture in order to integrate themselves in a world of co-operation and conflict diplomacy.”

The rich variety of presentations at the festival included cultural and traditional dances, music and singing, dramas, films and literary presentations by black and African writers. There were exhibitions of art, literature and artifacts, as well as fashion shows and a colloquium, that is, a seminar, on the theme “Black Civilisation and Education.” The principal site of these presentations was the ultramodern National Theatre in Lagos. The colorful boat regatta drew large crowds to the waterways in Lagos to watch competitive canoe races and mock battles. And the Grand Durbar, displaying the spectacular traditional horsemanship of the tribes of northern Nigeria, took the festival to Kaduna, 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Lagos.

In summing up the aims of the festival, Dr. Emiko Atimomo said: “These aims suggest that Africa and the Black World must begin to reconstruct their societies so as to revive the lost heritage of their ancestors, because it is in so doing that co-operation can better be achieved between the Black peoples of the world and other societies of the universe.” The announced objective was to promote better international and interracial understanding, which eventually would facilitate, among black communities in foreign lands, a “return to origin.” The black communities in foreign lands are called the Diaspora.

The desire to “return to origin” was expressed throughout the festival in dramas, dances, songs and the colloquium by a rejection and condemnation of colonialism and an extolling of African culture and political emancipation. A typical example of this was seen in the musical play called “The Drum,” presented by the Somali troupe. This play traced the black man’s experience from his seemingly primitive tranquillity, through the slave trade and colonial subjugation, to his regaining of independence. This “revolt against European civilization” was considered necessary because the conviction has been expressed that “time and colonialism have cut Black Africa from its authentic culture of the past” and that the “traditional culture has been undermined by foreign religion, foreign technology, foreign culture and foreign rule.”

For this reason the scholars who took part in the colloquium appealed for “unity and the solidarity of black people in spite of their ideological differences and the diversity of their geographical and historical conditions.” They held the view that the common factor shared in the destiny of the world’s black peoples is their aspiration toward liberation, toward regaining their cultural identity and their legitimate place in the world. Therefore, recommendations were presented for cooperation in various fields, such as education, government, language and religion, with an African orientation. Black peoples in the Diaspora expressed the view that Africa is the foundation of their ethnic and cultural identity, and so it is around Africa that they intend to rebuild their unity.

Acknowledged Obstacles

While recommendations were made that Swahili be adopted as Africa’s lingua franca, that there be a revival of African traditional religion and culture, and that an ideology of African Socialism be adopted, some saw the need for caution. In his analysis of FESTAC, Dr. Opeyemi Ola said that “certain aspects of the traditional culture do not deserve to be retained or revived . . . because they are either negative or outdated.” He advocated an African technology in order for “Black Africa to move rapidly into the modern present and ultra-modern future.” Therefore, Dr. Ola recommended the establishing of a Pan-African University of Science and Technology.

Dr. Ola further cautioned that “whatever FESTAC may record today in the scoreboard of triumphs, politics may offset and neutralize it tomorrow.” This is perhaps why he later wrote that some of the leaders in “their mini-nations have been more cruel and more unfaithful to the black men under their rule than the white colonial masters!” Such leaders are seen as standing between Black Africa and transformation.

Nevertheless, the nations and communities at FESTAC felt that they had established a basis for confirming African culture as a world culture for achieving progress toward a civilization that would equal that of the already developed nations.

Unsolved Problems

Yet, modern civilization as a whole has not removed the areas of social, cultural and political stress that exist among mankind. Rather, it has enlarged and accentuated them. Indeed, civilization’s technology has been directed largely in a negative way, in the production and distribution of sophisticated weapons of aggression and defense. Moreover, the breakdown of human relations has become critical, with an increase of crime, immorality and drug addiction, and a weakening of the family structure. In fact, some aspects of the increasing crime in developing countries are viewed as a legacy of modern civilization.

Nigerian journalists now are speaking of their country as a “nation threatened from within.” They lament the increasing of violent crimes among citizens to whom “the sanctity of property and of person is a meaningless concept.” In spite of the large sums of money spent in modernizing the cities and building highways, the citizens live in fear of being victims of violent crime. Even the public execution of armed robbers has not been a completely effective deterrent to such violence.

Looking back to the social situation that existed in Nigeria prior to the colonial era and the introduction of modern civilization, writers refer to the time when “daily living was more leisurely . . . Parents, children and indeed the extended family . . . were well aware of their civic and family responsibilities. There were fewer police and fewer prisoners.”

The alarming change toward a moral breakdown has been viewed as largely an economic problem. Growing corruption and dishonesty among those who make a showy display of wealth arouse envy and greed among others, who begin feeling that they, too, must be dishonest to acquire wealth and the many possessions that modern civilization offers. The materialistic outlook further expresses itself in the ‘new morality’ and the resulting promiscuity that threatens the family structure in most countries and has made venereal disease a major epidemic. In Nigeria some have termed gonorrhea a “gentleman’s disease” because to them it appears that promiscuity is more evident among the wealthy or the scholars, who are most influenced by the social ways and materialistic philosophy of modern civilization. Not surprisingly, gonorrhea and syphilis are on the increase in this country.

A “Return to Origin” the Answer?

Of course, the world in general faces formidable social, political, racial, health and other problems. So, what should nations and individuals do? Is it desirable to dispense with modern scientific aids and laborsaving devices and ‘return to their origins’ of several centuries ago, when these things were lacking, life had greater hardships, and health hazards may have been more common?

Would it not be better to ‘return to the origin’ that Jehovah God gave the human race? God gave man a perfect start and the prospect of eternal life in an earthly paradise. Most important of all, the first man, Adam, was a “son of God.” (Luke 3:38; Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7-15) Choosing to sin, however, Adam lost his position as a son of God, and he bequeathed sin and death to his offspring. (Rom. 5:12) Only by availing oneself of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ can a person again entertain the prospect of everlasting life in a restored paradise on this earth. (John 3:16; 17:3; Luke 23:43) What a “return to origin” that will be!

Soon, under the rule of God’s heavenly kingdom, a new civilization will be achieved on this earth. Man then will have full opportunity to use his intellectual capacities in various fields of endeavor. But this will be more than a new civilization. It will be a true “return to origin,” because obedient mankind will become real children of God. “For,” wrote the Christian apostle Paul, “the creation was subjected to futility . . . on the basis of hope that the creation itself also will be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.”