Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi
Un(EARth)ing w-E-story
Performance Video
2021

Un(EARth)ing w-E-story nye dekɔnu gbugbɔ ɖo anyi aloo gbugbɔ xo deme, ami sisi na ŋtigbalɛ, dzotɔtɔ ɖawo abe dzeside na ŋtilã ƒe sidzedze yeye, gbɔgbɔvɔ̃ wo ɖeɖeɖa, luʋu la dzadzraɖo, dzi la ƒe hayahaya katsiatsiayeye kple mia ƒe ememe kple susu be mia gbugbɔ dzi. Ɖewomahẽ mia ƒe didi vivie kple tamebubu be mia kpɔ dzidzeme le agbeme to mɔ sia mɔ nu aloo susu dadaɖe etsɔmenyoie aloo ŋsẽ dzi he mí ɖe aga tso miaƒe luʋu wo gbɔ, ateŋu anɔ eme be mí bu mia ƒe dzodzro kple dzigbɔɖi he na mia ŋtɔ ƒe ememe tutuɖo yi na be mie he ɖe aga tso mia ƒe dzɔtsoƒewo gbɔ. Wɔna kua nume kuɖe aleyi ameɖekaɖekawo ateŋu aɖo yawoŋtɔ ƒe dekɔnu atsɔ trɔ dekɔnu yi nɔ wo si tsã aloo atrɔwo ƒe dzixɔse aloo awɔ nɔnɔme bubu na wo ɖokuiwo.

Wo le mi akpasẽsẽe, dzrami, dɔmiagnɔ akpasẽsẽe he womi.  Mia teŋu ke nu agblɔ nyateƒea hã, a ha yi hlɔ̃ do la wo wɔ ge o, elabena wo te mia ƒe luʋu wo ɖe atike vɔ̃ɖi wo me, eye mia ƒe nu wo ku ɖe amlimaŋusẽ vɔ̃ɖi wo ta

Dekɔnu ya wo ɖeamɔ na mi be mia ɖe mia ƒe gbɔgbɔmenɔnɔ fia, seselelãme be mi lii kple amehaɖewo, kple be mia gbugbɔ tsiaka kple ƒome aloo dzɔtsoƒe. Le tanyagã na wɔna ya ƒe ŋsẽdoame nua, eɖoŋku mia ƒe dzidzi ,mia ƒe tɔtrɔ,mia ƒe mɔzɔzɔ kple ku dzi na mí, afi kae mietso, ye afi kae mie yina tso afisia? Nu ka wo fia be na nye dumevi, ƒome, dukɔ, esã aloo hlɔ̃ kple bubuawo? Aleke mia teŋu a gbugbɔ ŋku ɖo mia ƒe ɖekawɔwɔ kple mia tɔgbui tɔgbui wo dzi aloo nu yi wo gblɛ ɖi na mi abe dzixɔsela akɔkɔawo yi nye ame yi wo mie nye,ame yi wo mia nye kple ame yi wo mia va zu? Edzrɔm be mia teŋu aʋ̃, aselelãme kple aɖɔ mia ŋtɔ ƒe nɔnɔme yi mateŋu nɔ hehe aɖeke te kuɖe kluvinyenye kple nɔƒewoɖoliɖoli, mia ƒe dadadzidzi nɔnɔme nyakpɔ la kple mia ƒe nyateƒe se akpɔ.

Wɔna ayidzi le kpɔtɔtɔ ƒeme gake ʋua anɔ ʋuʋu. A ɖo ŋku agbe ƒe ŋsẽdoame yi li, ne nye be mi le mia ŋtɔƒe aƒewo me na mi, nudzɔdzɔ yi me le eteƒe tutu, aloo eyi mateŋu nɔ anyi woa xɔ ɣeyiyi didi o kple akpoxɔnu na habɔbɔ yi dziɖuɖu me doalɔ o. Gbã, woa kpɔ wɔna teƒe abe ɖe wo ta ŋtilã kple dekɔnu de gli tome. Abe miniti bla eve vaseɖe bla etɔa,̃ dekɔnu ayi dzi, anɔ ami sim na ŋtilã la, eyi me ke woa ga nɔ ɖa la fiam aha nɔ efiam aloo anɔ dzo dem eme

———

“Un(EARth)ing ‘w-E-story” is a reclamation of rituals, oiling of the body and burning the hair as a symbol of rediscovering ‘ourselves’, ‘warding off evil’, cleansing the soul, healing the heart and reconnecting with our inner-self in order to regenerate. Perhaps our agency and obsession to succeed at all cost or focusing on a “future-of-wealth-making” or power might have disconnected us from our own souls, we may have lost the passion and patience for nurturing our own inner spirit and have been disconnected from our roots. The performance investigates how individuals could create their own rituals to navigate their cultural identity, or to reclaim their own narratives. We have been captured, sold, raped and murdered! We can not even speak our own truth and name the perpetrators because our spirits have been soaked in ‘wild medicines’ and silenced by harmful ‘magics’.

These rituals allow us to unearth our spirituality, sense of belonging and to reconnect with our ancestry. Inspired by the title of the general project, we are reminded of our birth, transitions, migration and death; where do we come from and where do we go from here? What does it mean to be native, citizen, family, community, a clan and so on? How do we reimagine our ancestral relationship as a spiritual embodiment of who we were, who we are and who we shall become? I wish we could all at least smell, feel and taste our own “untamed” identity prior to colonialism and displacement, the beauty of our rawness and our own truth.

The performance takes place in a closet built into a fence wall but leaving the doors open. It evokes the metaphors of living in our own closets, bubbles and cocoons as marginalized groups. The performance is experienced ‘frontally’ as though the body and rituals are being flattened or embossed into the wall. For about 20 to 30 minutes the rituals continue repeatedly oiling the body, while cutting and burning the hair.