The Monster called Ethnicity
For centuries, African Americans have searched for their roots in Africa. They wonder where exactly on the great continent they come from. Few are as lucky as Alex Haley to trace their “roots” to the Mandinka tribe in Gambia. These days, there is exciting news of DNA testing which will lead to the revelation of one’s African ethnic group. Henry Louis Gates has a series on PBS that traces the lineage of African American celebrities. Supposedly, finding out where you come from and your heritage, brings a valuable sense of strength and belonging.
But I wonder about the value of ethnicity for Africans. While there is great pride in knowing that one is Igbo, Hausa, Akan, Mende, Luo, or Kikuyu, there is also great pain too. My book club has just finished reading Chimamanda Adiche’s interesting novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, which revolves around the ethnic violence of the Biafran war in the late 1960s. The ladies in my suburban book club said they could not relate to the ethnic divisions. (I reminded them that this was similar to racial divisions here in the US, with which they should be familiar.) As an African, I can completely relate to ethnic tensions. I am reflecting on how ethnicity has been the source of so many tragedies across the continent.
On February 28, 2008, Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki finally signed an agreement that brought hope to the peace process in Kenya after the contested elections last year. Over a thousand people have died since then. Kibaki would hold on to his position as president but Odinga would be made prime minister. Kofi Anan brokered this lovely peace deal between these leaders of the two major ethnic groups. But I wish Anan would talk about peace to all the people, young and old, who were somehow plunged into a morass of ethnic pride and hostility. Even though Odinga urged Kenyans to “destroy the monster that is called ethnicity,” the ethnic groups have continued to perpetrate acts of violence against each other.
So I find it ironic that while Africans grapple with the problems of ethnicity, African Americans continue to reach for the hope that is ethnicity.
I find this recent surge into the determination of an individuals ancestral roots by DNA techniques especially by people of the African diaspora to be a very refreshing enterprise. One of of the worst things that can happen to any human being is have the nagging question of his earthly orgins hanging over his consciouness all through his Life. In this regard it is a very laudable project that deserves to be encouraged as it will provide a lot of social, medical and intellectual information. This endevour is not new to mankind as other groups around the world have always striven to ensure that they keep and propagate by whatever means the essence of their ancestral origins. Knowing with some degree of certainty your roots is a very essential component of an any individuals make up.