Liberians dance to rise from ruins, speaker says
By Monica Bryant
Diversity Institute
07.31.02
The Liberian consul to the United States said Saturday that dancing is more than just an art form in her homeland — it’s a way of life.
"We're born to music and dance," said Rachel Gbenyon Diggs, claiming she’s literally been dancing since the day she was born. "Every Liberian mother, African mother I know takes the baby and the first thing you know it's dancing and moving. It's really a part of our living. It's a part of us."
Diggs was one of several speakers featured in discussions about diversity as part of the seventh annual Celebration of Cultures at Scarritt Bennett Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University.
The international festival showcased the growing cultural diversity of Middle Tennessee.
“I’m very grateful to share a bit of my country and my culture with my kinfolk in Tennessee,” said Diggs.
Born and raised in Liberia, she now is a resident of Nashville. She said Liberia is in a state of rebuilding, having just come out of a 22-year civil crisis. The country cannot afford to set up cultural centers for dancing, so it holds small training seminars, Diggs said.
“Culture is the key,” she said. “It adds easiness to carrying on the burden of development. It also instills in our youth the traditional ways and the hope for the future.”
During her speech, Diggs showed clips from the video “The Spiritual Nature of African Dance: The Traditional Dances of Liberia,” which deals with the history and culture of dance in Liberia. Diggs said she uses the video to demonstrate the various types of dances, explain their meanings and helps people understand the African culture better.
"We've kept much of our African culture and tradition particularly in dance," she said. "Our dances are physical, deeply spiritual and, like people all over Africa, we dance on every occasion."
Diggs said Liberians dance for births, deaths and marriages. She said they have traditional ceremony dances they do, but the dances vary according to the tribes that perform them.
“Dancing relieves some of the tension,” she said. “We dance a lot in joy.”