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| $17.00 (including S&H) 64 pages References ISBN: 0-9644516-0-3 © 1994 House of Knowledge Publishing Co. |
We as an African people in America have been separated from our beautiful and meaningful African culture for too long. The history of the African American journey in America is a story of disconnectedness and a need for re-connectedness. Our spiritual ceremonies and rituals (weddings, christenings, rites of passages, funerals), have been submerged by those of the European American culture. Not only have African American been totally acculturated, but they have absorbed these rituals without really understanding what they mean and how it relates to them as a people. Therefore, they have no lasting importance or meaning in our lives past the event itself. So many times, I've attended weddings of our people (from all socioeconomic groups) and observed a ceremony on which I am sure an exuberant amount of money has been spent. I watched as the wedding party awkwardly attempted to imitate a demeanor, a dress style, a ritual which is basically foreign to the African Weltanschauung (world view). The weddings are usually short and quickly forgotten by all who have attended, except the bride and groom. The audience is passive and feels no connection to the ceremony. The bridal party is put on display and captured in pictures which reflect a group of people all dressed alike in clothes they will never wear again. The families have no meaningful roles (other than the requisite father who hands the bride to her perspective husband). Within 45 minutes to an hour; thousands of dollars have been spent and the European-American $32 billion wedding industry has just received another sizeable contribution. In contrast, when I attend the wedding of friends who are Jewish, Greek, or of other ethnic or religious ancestral heritage, their ceremonies are replete with their cultural history, regardless of how many generations ago their ancestors came to America. This book is a blessing. It helps us understand our history. It gives us the information we need to infuse into our wedding ceremonies those things which are indigenous to us as a people. It allows us to reflect on our culture. The option to have a full traditional African wedding or an Afrocentric one is made easy because Reverend Willie Wilson had done the necessary research. He has presented it in a way where all who are concerned and interested can finally go to one source for correct information and spiritual guidance. I have only one criticism of this project: It is long overdue, and we have needed it desperately. Mrs. Cora Masters Barry |
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