‘As aguas que nos levam a outras aguas,
a outras terras,a outras gentes’

‘Water carries us to other waters,
to other lands, to other peoples’

Kinetika National touring project 2002
‘Yemanja’ is a carnival performance that was created and produced by Kinetika with hundreds of local participants in three regions. The piece combines elements from three carnival traditions (UK. Trinidad, Salvador, Brazil) and includes a performance that includes large visuals/ characters (puppets/costumes/float), live music, choreography, text and ritual.

In response to the current political climate, ‘Yemanja’ draws its inspiration from the Orixa faith and its gods and rituals to create a three part performance that is about giving, receiving and giving back using water as a metaphor.

INSPIRATION

Yemanja was inspired by a visit to Salvador, Bahia by Ali Pretty (Artistic Director) and Mat Fox (Music Director) in February. We witnessed the festival to Yemanja and Salvador Carnival.

From this visit we drew ideas and visual references, devised the music of the Afro Bloco and made connections with our visiting international artists, Giba Goncalves and Elisio Pitta.

The creative starting point for the Yemanja project was the festival of Yemanja in Salvador, Bahia.

This is a celebration of the Yoruba goddess of the sea, Yemanja. It takes place on a beach in Rio Vermelho, where the fishermen are based. Thousands of people from all backgrounds come to the beach bringing offerings of flowers, perfume, soap, candles, wishes and gifts for Yemanja.

As the beach fills with flowers fishermen load their little boats with the baskets and sail out to the ocean, there they place the flowers in the water. Each one represents an individual wish, if the flowers are carried out to sea Yemanja has accepted the offering and the wish has been granted.

It is a celebration of the sea and a festival to honour the goddess, in the hope that the coming year will bring good prospects to the community that lives on her shores.

CREATION

YEMANJA was created through collaborative sessions with the artistic team in each of the three venues, and through a series of workshops involving a wide range of the community in each place.

RYDE, ISLE OF WIGHT

The section was created in The Isle of Wight was focused around the central character of the performance, Yemanja, ‘the goddess of the seven seas, the woman who peoples the earth with infants as she peoples the sea with fish’ It is her for whom the offerings are brought. She is open, alive and fluid, her altar is water that is fresh, that is moving.

The theme for the section is receiving, about ‘letting active awareness make us less afraid of one another’. It will celebrate the abundance of life in all its forms. The section is white and blue.

The section was created in Ryde, Isle of Wight in August. Ali Pretty, Murphy Winters and Malika Booker devised the narrative and designed the costumes with a team of local artists.

The puppet, costumes and choreography were created during the summer at Ryde High School with over 150 participants. Malika facilitated young people to write short stories and poems celebrating the sea and what it brings.to the Island. These were incorporated into a soundscape incorporating sounds of Salvador, sea and song that were played as the musical backing for this section. There were choreographic workshops led by Elisio Pitta.

LONDON

NORWOOD GIRLS SCHOOL

The London section focused on Oxun

‘the goddess of sweet waters, the rivers which flow and give life to civilisation’ Oxun is the Yoruba goddess of love. ‘In generating love, Oxun generates herself. She is various, she is multiple.’
This section represents the offering.

The section was created in a residency in Norwood Girls secondary school from May to July. Participants worked alongside Ali Pretty, Malika Booker , Lucille Tuitt, Iola Weir and Morgan Baptise

to explore what they have to give, taking into account what has been received through their family background. We then made props of offerings that were choreographed by Solange Dias

into a dance of giving and receiving. The section was gold, amber and white

and headed by a 16ft puppet of Oxun created with Murphy Winters.

THE KINETIKA SUMMER SCHOOL
Southwark Summer University

'The Music for Yemanja is inspired by the trip to Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. Based on the Orixas, Yoruba Gods brought over by the Slaves to Brasil from Western Africa.
It is a rich, vibrant and alive belief system. These gods are the same ones worshipped by peoples in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the U.S. (Santeria), in Haiti (Voodoo) and in New Orleans (Mama Roux, the witch queen etc). In Brasil these orixas are celebrated in Candomble ceremonies. They have their special days, and people appeal to them for help in their daily lives.

Salvador is the home of the ‘Afro-Bloco’ - A large drumming ensemble that plays for carnival. All of the blocos dedicate themselves to one or more of the orixas. They arose as part of a black consciousness movement inspired, in part, by Gandhi, the South African struggle against apartheid, Martin Luther King and Bob Marley. They are usually a part of a bigger social organisation that dedicates itself to the betterment and care of people in a community. Running also child-care and education programmes, self-help schemes, youth-work, health care and so on. The Bloco is a way of attracting attention, and some money, into the community. The most famous of these groups are Ile Aiye, Olodum and Timbalada.

I had the opportunity to work and play with a relatively young bloco, ‘Cortejo Afro’, which for the last three years has worked out of a candomble centre in Piraja, a suburb of Salvador.

It is on this experience and culture that the music created at The Summer School was based'.

Mat Fox. Musical Director, Kinetika

The Afro Bloco, live music to accompany the section was created in The Summer School held at The Bargehouse, home of the Thames Festival, working with 70 young people
drawn from secondary schools in Lambeth and Southwark.

Mat Fox directed the music working in collaboration with Giba Goncalves, Claude Deppa, Andy Grappy, Sian Mcdonald and Lucia Viola.

CANTERBURY

STRANGE CARGO
CANTERBURY HIGH SCHOOL
CANTERBURY MUSICIANS

The third and final part of the performance was created in Canterbury and explores the concept of ‘axe’ ‘the true nature of things, the primordial atom, the breath of life; intelligence, movement, creativity, the impulse of being’. It is what makes things happen, what allows the gifts to be given and received and what is created as a consequence of these actions. It is the spirit of carnival.

This section was created in collaboration with Strange Cargo in September and October.

PERFORMANCE

Performances took place at all three regions with the Afro Bloco from London touring to the Isle of Wight, 100 performers from The Isle of Wight taking part in the Thames Festival, and 200 performers from London and The Isle of Wight joining a further 200 performers in Canterbury.

Ryde Carnival, Isle Of Wight 31 August

Thames Festival ,15 September

Canterbury Festival, 12 October

In Canterbury the procession culminated in a site-specific outdoor performance. In addition to choreographing the processional elements of all three regions for this event, it included a spoken word

and live music backing. Mat Fox arranged the music and worked with local brass players and choir to complement what had already been created.

The performance was set against a backdrop of the ancient mound and city wall. The performance was enhanced with lighting by John Varah and fire effects from Strange Cargo.

KINETIKA

Ali Pretty (Artistic Director/ Designer, London)
Mat Fox (Musical Director, London)
Chantal Bougnas (Project Manager, London)
Photini Papahatzi (Documentation, Project development)
Murphy Winters (Structural Designer, Trinidad)
Elisio Pitta (Choreographer, Salvador)
Solange Dias (choreographer, London, Bahia)
Malika Booker (Writer, London)
Giba Gonzalves (Drummer, Salvador/ Paris)
John Varah (Lighting Designer, Brighton)
Morgan Baptiste (Sculptor, Trinidad.)
Carlton Garcia (Artist, London, Trinidad)
Lucille Tuitt (Educational workshops)
Iola Weir (Oxun design and Make Up, Southampton)

In collaboration with Strange Cargo for Canterbury Festival

Photos: Marcella Haddad
Video: Photini Papahatzi

PHOTINI PAPAHATZI AND MARCELLA HADDAD organised an accompanying exhibition presenting photographs of the Yemanja festival in Salvador.

This was shown at Ryde Art Works in Isle of Wight and
Cremer St Gallery in London