You and I, we all and our families and friends: we are so close to each other despite having the feeling of being far away. When looking at the universe and then at the planet, we see how close and interconnected our beings are. Even if we don’t see each other, we can know and feel each other’s presence, and how it constantly impacts and is impacted by ours. We exist together.
This human togetherness is an aspect of our existence, constantly present, an eternal element. It exists very organically between us, in our relationships which include every one of us and also other living beings like animals and plants (and also those from the past and in the future, even if we may have forgotten most of these connections). The quality of this togetherness can be cultivated and nurtured, and different techniques can be used to make it stronger and more “aware” of itself and how it can serve the community the best, rendering social relations more solid in their grounding. It can also be broken, and there are ways to destroy this connectedness, to cut contacts, and indeed an abusive culture of violence drives us towards a more and more individualized society. Amid this devastating logic of action, we need focus and examples of what kind of quality of relationships we should strive for in our close relationships, despite the harsh attacks on our communities.
Studying togetherness in an environment where the society structures supporting individuals are weak or non-existent provides much insight into the elements of mutual care and communitarian power. Because of colonial and neo-colonial manipulation and corruption, the Beninese state hugely lacks resources to provide support for its citizens in their projects and life situations. In these circumstances, the awareness and help received from people around is essential for moving forward, and ensuring functioning relationship logics becomes even more important. That is why observing the manifestations of togetherness in Benin inspired me as a topic from the beginning.
The content of my study: putting Arendt and Foucault into practice
As part of my Master’s thesis project, I left for Benin to observe and learn about the local way of being together there, which differs from everything I had previously known about human culture (mostly in Western and Northern Europe). I spent two months working in a youth culture center in Comè in Southern Benin and reflected deeply in an ethnographic initiative about the aspects of the local culture that resonated the most within me and which I found the most valuable to communicate at the university and to close to me in Europe. Three techniques of togetherness began to stand out for me, which became the core of my ethnographic analysis, and they were: respect, sharing, and straightforwardness. I had a specific learning experience regarding each of these topics, following events and their analysis in my daily and personal life. After this process, I understand the importance of respect and how to show it better than before, sharing has become more natural for me in everything I do (while I also know my boundaries better), and focusing on straightforwardness has made me more selective but affirming in what I express. Learning to more efficiently execute these values is an ever-ongoing process.
The most important writings supporting my thinking as the theoretical basis of my thesis before,
during, and after the fieldwork process, were:
– All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
– The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire
– Vita Activa by Hannah Arendt, and
– The lecture series “Society Must be Defended” by Michel Foucault in 1975–76 at Collège de France.
Each of them is a great read, and I would recommend them in that order.
The question now: how to get more Afro culture into our lives?
Now, I realize I wrote a thesis of more than 70 pages, but instead of reading it, I want to encourage you to get more in touch with real Afro culture and get experiential knowledge about respect, sharing, straightforwardness, and all the innumerable other cultural and environmental aspects present in Benin and elsewhere in Africa. To do this, begin planning how and when you can travel to Africa, seek where can Afro culture in the north be found, and think about how we can get more of it here. Benin is a peaceful country and Comè and coastal Grand-Popo are very interesting places to work and hang out. There is so much to do, highly skilled and overtly friendly people, and a rich culture seeking to strive despite the challenging environmental conditions, so anyone traveling there learns a whole deal about culture and environment during their trip.
Meanwhile, it would also be very beneficial to get more people from Benin and Africa to Finland: there is so much strength and willingness to work and do good in Africa, that it spreads its force also to the north. It is already feeding us (very concretely e.g. thanks to the care sector work done every year), and meanwhile, Afro-music is empowering youths all around the world. By sharing we are winning, and we must make visible and enable more of the great experiences that take place when people can travel between Europe and Africa to work and learn about the world.
Cultural collaborations and dance motoring processes of change
Dance has been a driving motor in this research process. Open, free dance classes at the cultural center in Comè were an opportunity to meet people of all ages, discuss and get to know each other, and learn new things together. It was also when the entire public danced together, at the end of the Beninese band New Legend’s performances in Helsinki last summer, that culminated in the togetherness possible to reach when people work together to enable cultural encounters and social change. I wish everybody to be able to go have fun at an Afro dance floor, be it in the south or the north. Hopefully, we get New Legend to Finland again next summer. If you seek a way to travel to Africa, I recommend getting in touch with the association New Legend Art Mi’tchite, New Legend’s social and cultural association located in Grand-Popo. They are ready to fully accompany you so that you can have the most meaningful trip to Africa as possible. Build up a project to be able to apply for a travel grant, and go work with them: anyone can find a way to conduct a meaningful, enriching project there, related to and enhancing their knowledge and skills. Their contact information can be found below.
I want to thank the youths at Carrefour Jeunesse Cultural Center, cultural association New Legend Art Mi’tchite and Caféteriat la Légende in Grand-Popo, and family and friends for the participation in the initiative and all the encouragement and help I received. I wish for more solidarity with people in Benin and Africa in general, and more solidarity with all people fighting colonial, exploiting forces around the world. And I hope to soon share a moment with you dancing, be it in Benin, Finland, or elsewhere!
ps. If you are interested in reading the thesis, contact me at otava@disroot.org and I will send you a pdf!
Contact of New Légend Art Mi’tchite: nelea.mitchite@gmail.com!