Igniting the Spirit in the Dark: Music, Dance and The World of the Night

• In Event: Music, Performance, and Memorialization of Ritual

Description for Program

In African-derived religion, the amorphous experience of the cycles of the Day and Night, Land and Water, ritualistically impacts the mind, body, and spirit—especially when alchemized with music and dance. Religious studies scholars like Roberto Strongman and artist scholars like Moor Mother have already troubled the limitations of the body/mind division and normative time for apprehending the multiplicity of the Black psyche. In this paper, I build on this research to consider neurodivergence in black communities, especially the sensitivity to the shifting atmospheres of Day and Night, which scholars sometimes miss when describing the ways Black people see, experience, and create worlds. I suggest that the African Diaspora holds the seeds for perceiving hidden worlds and transforming the situations of black people—beyond what is made possible by Eurocentric cosmologies. First, I consider the Yoruba origin story of Night that follows the river divinity Yemaya and her daughter Aje to show the metaphysical difference between Night and Day, the creatures that occupy the former, and the divinities that guide their servants through phases of life. Throughout, I rely on Aisha Beliso-De Jesús’s notion of “copresences” and Imani Kai Johnson’s research on African-derived dance, kinesthetic highs, and traversing planes of existence to express how commonplace objects and physical elements are imbued with energy and ignite the psyche. I present a folk story that elucidates temporal-spatial experiences and expands on them by examining how spiritual engagements in music and dance deepen personal connections with the world that may diverge from the status quo. Specifically, I argue that Night creates intimacy with divinities that—in tandem with community, dance, and music—can pierce realities, illuminating subversive expressions of black spirituality and radical thought.

Author

• Jordan Davidson, University of California, San Diego