{"id":7731,"date":"2024-01-31T14:06:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T20:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=7731"},"modified":"2024-02-06T20:43:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T02:43:53","slug":"bark-out-chief-adjuah-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/bark-out-chief-adjuah-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Past, Present, and Future: A Conversation with Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, Chieftain of the Xodokan Nation of Maroons and Grand\u00a0Griot\u00a0of New Orleans (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many attribute the phrase \u201cHistory is a series of lies that people have agreed upon\u201d to Napoleon Bonaparte, allegedly stated after his defeat at Waterloo in June 1815. Perhaps fittingly, there is some controversy on the origins of the quote<\/a>. However, the substance behind the sentiment is undeniable. As Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, formerly known as Christian Scott, reveals in our conversation on his album Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning <\/em>(Ropeadope\/Stretch Music, 2023), such misconceptions also permeate the narrative of the legacy of Black music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few would debate the importance of New Orleans\u2019 Congo Square as the roots of modern Black music, from the oldest Blues forms straight through to EDM and hip hop. But far too often, the reality of what occurred in that special place is obfuscated from the record. The prevailing narrative is that Congo Square\u2019s Sunday gatherings consisted solely of enslaved people. Undoubtedly, enslaved people did attend such gatherings. But this one-sided perspective ignores a critical element of the development of that sacred space – not all participants were enslaved. Many Congo Square attendees, leaders even, were Maroons – descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. Often, Maroon communities also expanded beyond solely people of African descent to incorporate others ostracized in a majority white society, including indigenous people and even white people society considered “not white enough.\u201d While often left out of the discussion of modern music’s origins, Maroons played a central role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, why is the truth about Maroon contributions not better known? A looming answer lies in historical racism belittling the brilliance of what was happening at Congo Square. From the 1840s to 1880s, white \u201cintellectuals\u201d like George Washington Cable and Louis Gottschalk brought the space to public acknowledgment with a distorted presentation. The Square was often depicted as some exotic site of sexual abandon, completely ignoring what was truly taking place there. Such white theorists could then, in turn, use such depictions to prop up the fallacious argument that somehow Black people were \u201cbackward\u201d or inferior to them and, by implication, should not be free to live their lives as they see fit. Presentation of Maroon people – brave, prosperous, and free, despite the oppressive predominant society – obviously undermined this perspective. As a result, the contributions of Maroons in America are still largely overlooked. And, in the rare cases where acknowledged, terms like \u201cMardi Gras Indian,\u201d instead of the more apt Afro Indigenous people or Black Indians, arguably minimize their significance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Adjuah knows the true history well, partly because he was born into it. His grandfather, Donald Harison, Sr., who heavily studied the history of Afro Indigenous people, founded the Guardians of the Flame tribe. He would regularly spread his knowledge of tribal nation culture across the world. Big Chief Harrison\u2019s wife – Herreast Harrison – and his daughter – Cherice Harrison-Nelson – continue his legacy with the Guardian Institute, a museum and educational organization dedicated to supporting New Orleans\u2019 indigenous cultural arts. Big Chief Harrison\u2019s son, NEA Jazz Master Donald Harrison, Jr. is, fittingly, Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group. Donald Jr., is also an acclaimed saxophonist and esteemed mentor and educator, including to Chief Adjuah. Chief Adjuah\u2019s connection to Afro Indigenous culture has been evident throughout his career. The album art for Christian aTunde Adjuah<\/em> (Concord, 2012) finds him donning tribal garb. Elements of tribal culture also imbue Stretch Music<\/em> (Ropeadope\/Stretch Music, 2015), The Centennial Trilogy<\/em> (Ropeadope\/Stretch Music, 2016), and  Ancestral Recall<\/em> (Ropeadope\/Stretch Music, 2019). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning<\/em> takes those influences further. The album finds Chief Adjuah putting aside his horn to sing and play a custom-made kamele n\u2019goni gravi-hybrid, the Adjuah Bow. The instrument change provides a more ancient-sounding element to the work than has been evident in his other recordings. At the same time, however, Bark Out<\/em> is not mired in the past. Careful listening reveals electronic soundscapes not unlike on Stretch Music<\/em>. Even more interesting, the rhythms used on both recordings are clearly from the same source. The result is an album that stretches music not solely beyond genre but conceptualizations of time as well. Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning <\/em>is a time-transcending masterwork of folk music, in its truest and most beautiful sense; as an art form of, by, and for, the people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: What is the biggest misconception about Afro Indigenous music? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CA: Well, I think the biggest misconception many people have is that the music is just some extension of Carnival expressions or Carnival revelry. They often think that the association is almost exclusively with Carnival time and fail to acknowledge the fact that most of the tribal banners and nations that you see, even at this point in the twenty-first century, are deeply connected to that area and the history of that space. Some of those nations can trace their origins back to the seventeenth century. Their forefathers were sovereign men. Those in each nation know their histories. They also know their nation\u2019s legends and myths, as well. Oftentimes, the way [Afro Indigenous culture] is handled and talked about, with all the nomenclature around it, makes it hard for people to fully appreciate it for what it is. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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