My Calabar experience started when I boarded the plane to Lagos. I was headed to the motherland; the birthplace of humanity. My own imagination and expectations for this trip were not sufficient preparation for the concentrations of culture, life and beauty that was presented.
I met people from all walks of the earth who had even more varying realities. These people represented the wealth of culture that our world has to offer which Carnival Calabar has managed to tap into time and time again in increasing doses. This year I had the pleasure of being a part of this culturally dynamic explosion, which rivalled any view I previously had of the world.
I am endlessly grateful and forever humbled for this gift and opportunity. Through the medium of dance, I witnessed as people connected and shared a part of their culture, heritage and life that would never have been as effectively relayed through spoken words or any mode of speech. There is something raw and genuine about dance, in that it reaches beyond any languages and façade to directly touch the soul.
It’s the same reason why people listen to songs despite not understanding the language. I think the Carnival has been successful in uncovering what lies at the core of the condition of being human: Unity.
As humans we need to be united regardless of race, ethnicity and other mediums for disparity. Through this experience I was also keen on absorbing African culture and life. So much so that no one can convince me that I am not African. I saw myself in the people there and I felt at home in a place that I had never physically been before.
The warm welcoming atmosphere which surrounded us this entire trip spoke of a culture so diverse and genuine, which I deemed as purely African. I cannot phrase it any better than that. For the first time in my life I was able to revel and celebrate the simple fact of being human, which is often overlooked in the magnitude of the world strife’s.
I daresay, if we would take time to do so enough, to celebrate our humanity and acknowledge that we are all the same, majority of the world’s conflicts could be resolved in a heartbeat. After all, we have proven time and time again that our only enemy is ourselves.
Written by Zarrintaj Johnson
1st Year Bachelor Degree Student in History
University of Belize
January 17th, 2020
