motherlandeducation resourcepack - sampad arts & heritage · in the u.k. and internationally....

Motherland EducationResource Pack

www.sampad.org.uk

About sampad south asian arts

Based in Birmingham since 1990, sampad has helpedto establish South Asian arts within mainstreamculture in the U.K. We aim to broaden the perceptionof British-Asian arts with audiences of all backgroundsand also to provide opportunities for South Asianpeople to explore and recognise multiple heritages.This role is vital in contemporary Britain where issuesof identity dominate the social, cultural and politicallandscape.

We work in a range of ways using the diverse artformsoriginating from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and SriLanka. Our work ranges from the creation of originalnew work in music, theatre, dance and visual arts;promotion of established and emerging talent; andadvocacy, education and outreach activities. Ourreputation for quality and innovation in the field hasbeen built through enduring partnerships with leadingarts organisations and with youth, community andeducation sectors.

For the Motherland production and related activities,we are pleased to be working in partnership withTara Arts, The Royal Shakespeare Company,The Birmingham REP and inspirational artists basedin the U.K. and internationally.

Motherland Education Resource Pack 3

ContentsBackground Information ..........................................................................4How to use this Pack ................................................................................5

The Production

Cast and Company ...................................................................................7Synopsis ..................................................................................................8Director’s Vision .......................................................................................9Composer’s Vision ..................................................................................10Production Design...................................................................................11

Context

Themes to explore inspired by the Motherland production....................14Key dates ...............................................................................................15The Triangular Trade and Britain’s Role ..................................................16The Economics of the Slave Trade...........................................................17Christianity and the Slave Trade ........................................................... 18Characteristics of music and dance .......................................................19

Activities

Music Activities................................................................................20 - 21Dance Activities ..............................................................................22 - 23Drama Activities ....................................................................................24Write a review .......................................................................................25

Further resources – weblinks ..........................................................26 - 27

Feedback................................................................................................28

4 Motherland Education Resource Pack

Background InformationMotherland is a cross-cultural Asian and African dance theatre production thattakes a dramatic journey through history and across oceans, from India to Africato Trinidad and finally to Britain, depicting the movements and experiences of theAsian and African diaspora across the globe.

2007 is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and theexperiences of those involved in this terrible trade are well known. Perhaps lessknown are the experiences of thousands of indentured labourers from acrossAsia sent to South African and Caribbean sugar plantations long after the formalabolition of slavery in 1807. This forced relocation was then followed by furthermigrations from South Asia and the Caribbean to Britain. Motherland highlightsthis shared history and experience of colonialism and empire, aiming to give adeeper understanding of each other’s cultures, both separate and connected.By exploring themes of co-operation, unity, fragmentation and collective voices,the piece ultimately contains a message of hope for the future.

This specially devised production brings together leading artists in South Asianand African-Caribbean artforms to challenge expectations and experiment withtwo distinct and highly developed traditions. The result is a spectacularcelebration of the resilience, response and cross-fertilisation cultures in the faceof slavery, indentured labour and up-rootedness. It draws on traditional danceforms, associated rituals, costumes, drama and music of the South Asian andAfrican diaspora to dramatise the experience of slavery and migration throughauthentic testimonials and rich characterisation. The story of these epic journeysis told by following the fates of two people, giving a human scale to the broadhistorical themes.

Dance and movement include a range of styles and influences from traditional tomodern incorporating Indian, African and Caribbean patterns and influences.The piece explores intercultural influences and evolving styles that reflect thediversity in the old and new worlds. As the story moves to the present day, thestyle reflects the music and dance that is being created in cities such asBirmingham and London as a result of the mixing of cultures and influences inthe 21st century.

~ A story of being and belonging ~

Motherland Education Resource Pack 5

How to use this packThese resource materials are intended to support teachers/youthleaders/educators who may be taking a class to see the performance ofMotherland, and/or who have booked sampad’s artists to deliver activitieswith young people, either as a one off workshop, or as part of a longerresidency.

The Motherland production draws upon a number of art forms – includingpoetry, music, dance and drama. These are inspirational spring boards forparticipants to explore the themes of Motherland and to understand moreabout The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its legacy on the migrations ofpeoples from Africa and South Asia across the globe.

The pack can be used as a reference for tutors/youth leaders for follow upactivities to the workshops that have been delivered by our MotherlandArtistic Team. It is designed to be flexible so can be used in educationalsettings up to Key Stage 3 and 4.

The Resource pack includes:

• Background aboutThe Motherland productionand its creative process

• Some key historical facts

• Information about the art forms explored in Motherland

• Suggested workshop and followup activities

• List of further resources

Key Learning Outcomes

• Introduction to new art forms – African and South Asian. How they relateto contemporary music – jazz, rap, reggae, Asian sounds in pop music

• Knowledge about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade – key facts about slavery,indentured labour

• Understanding about Britain’s role in migration and today’s multipleheritage Britain

The Production 7

Cast & Company

Actors

Singer: Pallavi ArunPoet: Daniel Donaldson

Dancers

Amayra FullerTushar KaliaGerrard MartinSantosh NairDipisha Patel

Musicians

Seby NtegeParaveen D RaoDan Wilkins

Production

Creative Director: Eugene SkeefWriter: Tunde OlatunjiDramaturg: Jatinder VermaProduction Design: Chris CuthbertComposer: Praveen D RaoCreative Producer: Piali RayChoreography: Mamata Shankar

Bawren TavazivaSantosh Nair

Producer: Sarah-Jane WatkinsonProject Manager: Sharan SandhuCostume Designer: Ruth BagnallStage Manager: Angela Northam

The Production

Pallavi Arun

Daniel Donaldson

Amayra Fuller

Tushar Kalia

Gerrard Martin

Santosh Nair

Dipisha Patel


Motherland – Synopsis

Motherland is a powerful storyof epic journeys through timeand across continents, this is acelebration of different cultures,individual strengths and universalemotions.

Energetic and uplifting, Motherland seestraditional art forms cross boundaries andcome together to create a new anddistinctive piece of dance theatre.An international cast unites on stage tocreate the sounds, rhythms and movementsof India, Africa, the Caribbean and the UK tocelebrate the power of the human spirit.

Motherland has used vibrant dance, livemusic and lyrical poetry to create acompelling story of love, conflict, revengeand resolution set in a world of slavery andforced migration.

The Production 9

Creative Director’s VisionEugene Skeef

There is a South African aphorism that says “umuntu ngumuntungabantu.” This translates as “a person is a person through otherpeople.” We need each other for our perpetuation and survival as ahuman race.

My personal vision as the Creative Director of Motherland is informedby this fundamental principle. I believe life should be livedmeaningfully and with passion, selflessness, love and caring.

The stupidity of the notion of racism is borne out by the fact that theonly race is the human race. The creation of Motherland is provingthis beyond any doubt. I was stunned beyond imagination to witnessdancers and musicians from distinctly diverse cultural and technicalbackgrounds learn each other’s movements and melodies with easeand fluidity. This remarkable sharing of otherwise culturally exclusivecreative vocabularies transcends the limitations of spoken language.

The all-pervasive force that brings us all together is the rhythm of life.I remember demonstrating this truth in one of the creative workshopsessions during the development of Motherland – I asked theparticipants to take each other’s pulses while sitting in an intimatecircle. True to the natural effect of entrainment, each person’s pulsegradually converged gently into a collective, reassuring rhythm, wetook this unified pulse and then transposed onto drums andmiscellaneous percussion.

I hope that audiences will also experience, through Motherland’spoetry, music, dance and drama, this artistic celebration of differenceand diversity and its humanising and unifying force.


Composer’s VisionPraveen D Rao

Motherland has been a great experience for me as it is a trueproduction on unity in diversity. The collective dream of the directorsto make Motherland a culturally seamless production became theroot inspiration to have each artist do everything, regardless of theirbackground.

The result of the beautiful exercises in the creative workshopsessions not only encouraged each individual to become more thanthe artist he/she is but also created the foundation for the music ofMotherland. The final product has the dancers singing anddrumming, the musicians acting and dancing and the actors dancingand singing.

This talent-laden resource is the main ingredient for the, wholesomeand energetic multi-cultural music score of Motherland. It also helpedme rise up to my own challenge of keeping the strong music scorelive on stage. The theme song of Motherland is a lullaby, based on aNorth Indian Classical Raga. The poetic Zulu words written by Eugenemade it universal. It was only when I was asked whether this was anage-old lullaby of Africa, that I realised its universal effect.

Another song has been adapted from the Soligas, a semi Nomadictribe from the forests of South India. The rhythmic and sonoroussyllables of the language have a remarkable similarity to its Africancounterparts. Interspersing the two languages brought out a fantasticconfluence of melody and energy in the song.

These successful experiments, further enhanced by the usage of theKora, the dynamic Djembe and many other African instruments havemade Motherland an audio-visual treat.

The Production 11

Production DesignChris Cuthbert

During the logistics stageof tour planning, itbecame apparent to methat the show would beappearing in a widevariety of spaces, 13m x13m at most and 6m x 6mat least. This necessitateda simple design that couldbe scaled up and downdependant on space.

During the devising of the Motherland script and storyboardthere were two concepts that kept reoccurring, kites andthrees. Kites were seen both as a man made form of flightand therefore travel as well as the migrating bird.


The result of these 2 facts was a design concept based aroundtriangles, as they reflected the number 3, the shape of the kite andalso the sails used in slave ships for transportation whilst allowing asimple design that kept the overall proportions fixed at two extremesof size.

The colour scheme chosen really came from necessity. With limitedopportunity at each venue to construct complicated structures,I decided to rely heavily on facilities found in most venues, i.e. blackcurtains and white cyclorama. Additionally there was projection toconsider, and lighter colour fabrics take projection more clearly, soblack and white were settled on.

The Production 13

Combining these decisions resulted in the pictured designs, giving acanvas for projection and lighting to paint scenes.

Projection has beenapproached in aconceptual manner. It hastwo purposes, firstly toconvey a series of keyfacts about the story ofslavery, opposing directlythe poetical form of thescript. Its second purposewas to paint backdrops tokey moments and scenes.

As we are subjected to constant visual media, it was felt that the qualityof the presentation needed to match those expected by the audiencethus reinforcing the validity of the facts. We also approached the factsas needing to be “sold” to the audience. As the creation of a televisualadvertising campaign was unachievable in both cost and presentation,the decision was made to make a print campaign that appeared in thewhite area backing half of the stage.

The facts are backed with “pretty” images of produce brought tothis country as a result of slavery. Examples can be seen above.These images are then manipulated to also provide backdrop to thepiece as a whole, these appearing on the sail hung above the stageand the smaller one below.

The triangular concept has been followed through into as manyother elements as possible. The lighting provides bold colours thatdemonstrate the feel of the scene without detracting from its meaning.


Themes to explore inspired bytheMotherland productionToday’s Britain is made up of peoples from many different cultural andracial backgrounds. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and indenturedlabour was responsible for much of the mass movement of peoplesacross the globe.

(Quote from Motherland Script)

British –The Motherland,The empire that never setsFrom horizon to horizonFrom east to westSunrise to sunsetAll under the gazeOf the benevolent lion

Small –How small the world’s become,Vast AfricaTeeming India

Factories for . . .

East India Company! Royal African Company!

Arms –maketh the manand industry certainlymade India small –and Africa, too –while Britain walked tall –

Context 15

Key dates

1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act – though it became illegal forBritish ships to carry slaves from Africa, slavery itself was still legal.

1833 The Abolition of Slavery Act was finally passed, making slaveryillegal throughout the British Empire.

1834 Indentured Labour - with shortage of labour due to the end ofSlavery, the British looked to India for cheap labour to fill the gaps.Indians were lured, often on false pretences, from Indian villages andcoaxed to sign for four to seven years contracts in the Caribbean,under an ‘indentured’ or contract labour scheme.

They began to replace enslaved Africans on plantations across theBritish empire in Fiji, Natal, Burma, Ceylon, Malaya, British Guiana,Jamaica and Trinidad. Although the vast majority of indenturedworkers were employed in the Americas and Caribbean, indenturedworkers were sent to almost every corner of the globe, from the SouthAfrican developments in Natal and the Transvaal to other areas of Asiaand even in Europe itself.

Context


The Triangular Trade and Britain’s Role

Britain’s role in The Transatlantic Slave Trade was most prominent in thefirst part of the 18th Century, and consisted of three journeys:

The outward journey from Europe to Africa carrying manufacturedgoods. The middle route from Africa to the Americas or the Caribbeancarrying African captives and other 'commodities’.

The homeward voyage carrying sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton andother goods back to Europe.

Context 17

The Economics of the Slave Trade

No one can be rich,When all are free!


Fact:The economic legacy of this trade is very visible today. For instance,Bristol, Liverpool and Birmingham were key ports and trade centresduring The Slave Trade.

Their architecture and factories still bear the mark of the industries ofsugar, tea, coffee and arms trade, which were the major driving forcebehind the triangular trade. For centuries this trade provided substantialquantities of venture capital for the industrial revolution and thedevelopment of the western European economy.


Christianity and the Slave Trade

“Thank heaven one day for death,It is all the hope I now have left!”


Fact:The Christian Church was involved in the trade at many levels, and alsoplayed a role in its abolition.

Slaves were subjected to many forms of oppression to make them easierto control, and Christianity formed part of this. It was not uncommon forSlave owners to justify their actions by asserting that Africans were“heathens” and “sinners”, their dark skin associated with evil. Slaveswere told that their only hope of redemption was to become a goodChristian Slave and wait for liberation in Heaven.

However, in many instances, the introduction to Christianity had theadverse effect of strengthening the spirits of many Africans. This can beheard in the African music of ‘Spirituals’ which integrate elements ofChristianity with African culture and beliefs. African anti-slaverycampaigners and resisters were also able to demonstrate the hypocrisyof Christians who participated in the Slave Trade whilst their scripturesspeak of a merciful God and the brotherhood of men.

There were also a number of leading Church figures who campaigned forthe Abolition of the Slave Trade – William Wilberforce is perhaps themost well known.

Context 19

Characteristics of music and dance thatemerged as a result of the Slave Trade

Poet: What use is song?We are slaves.Singer: What use is song?

Poet: This land, this work, are graves!

Singer: Song tells us that we once were free.It is our only memory.Song tells me that I can be free.

• Music that emerged as a direct result of the Slave Trade tended to bevocally based and did not rely on other instruments. This is becauseslaves did not have personal belongings and had to leave behindinstruments in their homeland.

• Songs were used as a way of communicating coded messages to planrevolts and therefore music was not only a form of spiritual resiliencebut helped some slaves to escape through its practical application ascodes that the Slave masters could not understand.

• Call and response – to keep morale up in the fields, communalactivity, often in rhythm with the physical work that was beingcarried out.

• ‘Spirituals’ were often songs that were covertly subversive. Slaveswere not allowed to practise their own religion and many were forcedto become Christian, so many Christian songs emerged as a‘legitimate’ form of expression.

• Educational – songs were used as a means by elders to pass onknowledge to younger generations and keep their roots alive.


Music ActivityRhymes can bedescribed as lifein Asian andAfrican cultureand simpleactivities peopledo withineveryday cancreate a rhythm.This activityhighlights howyou can do this.

Ask the students to sit in a circle and select some students to be callersand the others to be chorus response. Then working as team ask thestudents to sing the song below.

Caller Abelungu ngo dam

Chorus ngo dam

(response)

Caller Basibiza ngo jim

Chorus ngo jimRepeat this twice

Caller Qubula zasha

Chorus ZashaRepeat this four times

Caller Sikumoba

Chorus SikumobaRepeat this four times

Once the students have learnt the song ask them to think about activitiespeople would do in Africa or India like carrying water from the well backhome. Using items within the classroom ask the students to carry out theaction whilst singing the song (e.g. passing chairs and stacking them).

To help students get a better understanding of activities in Africa or Indiaask them to create their own sounds. For example, people cutting cane.Ask them to think about the sound that makes, and then create an actionto go with the sound.

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Workshop Activities 21

Music ActivityThis is a tribal song from Southern India, where people sit around the fireand sing together. The speciality of this song is that each of the tribesmensings to the whole tribe the happenings of the day between the choruses.

The words are set to a six beat cycle. Any simple melody can be used tosing the words.

A common example is given here.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 -Clap clap and click click and

Go ro go ro ko - go ro ka na - -Do re mi mi do - mi mi re re - -

Go ro go ro ko - go ro ka na - -do mi re re do - re re do do - -

One student can lead the full phrase and all the others repeat. The leadsinger can then change the syllables to words while the chorus alwayssing the original phrase.

Once the students get familiar with the words and melody, they can beencouraged to make up their own words in any language to match thesyllables in the song, for example:

Go ro go ro ko - go ro ka na - -I have ea ten my - break fast to day - -

Go ro go ro ko - go ro ka na - -I have ea ten my - break fast to day - -

The different words written by the students can then be put together witheach of them singing their words in between choruses.

Workshop Activities


Dance ActivityIn this activity, ask the students to think about how to use movement toexplore and communicate ideas and issues. Get them to exploredifferent feelings and thoughts people may have in various situations.Break the group up into small teams and ask them to create a situation,for example a market place where people are buying and selling goodslike fruits, crafts etc. When the students are creating the marketenvironment ask them to think about the following:

What are people doing at the market?

What are people’s emotions are they happy or sad?

Is the market a lively place?

Are people enjoying the activities at the market?

Then ask the students to incorporate some of the ideas they have formedinto their market scene.

Here are some examples:

In the picture opposite (a) you can see there is a festival and people areplaying instruments and dancing in mask. It is a fun atmosphere andthere are lots of bright colours flowing around the market area.

In the picture opposite (b) there is a disturbance by a drunken man whois causing a scene in the market. See how he is making a nuisance andpeople are looking at him and he has stop some of the activities.

As a final activity change the mood of the market. As one group isperforming their market routine ask another student to come in to sellhis/her goods, but tell him/her that their trade will be a new trade at themarket and this has never been sold before until today. His/her tradewill be the trade of slaves and as he/she yells, “today we are sellingslaves” get the other students to create a reaction.

What will be the people at the market reaction and how will it change themood of the market area when the trade of slaves starts?


(a)

(b)


Drama ActivityThis activity is about journeys. Ask students to sit quietly with their eyesclosed or stare at a blank space, whichever the students feelcomfortable with. You can either create a journey or choose one of thejourneys below, it will be helpful to prepare the script beforehand.This activity focuses the attention and allows learners to consolidateinformation they already have about the theme of the journey, as wellas exercise the imagination.

At the end of the exercise allow students to compare notes of theirexperiences.

Some journey examples:

The journey of a bird on a plantation

The journey of a slave been shipped overseas

The journey of a slave being sold at auction

The journey of a slave master, at work on a plantation


Writing a review of theMotherland performanceAfter watching the production, ask the students to write a review of what theyhave seen. In a review there are three key elements to think about:

Report to the reader about the performance

Examine the aspect of the performance

Comment upon its effectiveness.

Encourage the students to try and give as much information as possible andmake it interesting using these tips:

• Start off with when and whereyou saw the performance

• Be objective and try to commenton areas of the performance youenjoy as well as any parts of theperformance you did not enjoy.Also say why you did or did notenjoy any parts of theperformance.

• Discuss the characters, who wasyour favorite character and why.What were the actor’sperformances like and did theymake you believe the characterswere real?

• Comment on the costumes, werethere any costumes which didn’twork and why?

• Discuss the set design, was thiseffective and did it create theright scenery

• Was the right atmosphere createdthrough the music and lighting ?

• Discuss the importance of themusic and dance, was there anytime you thought the music anddance didn’t work and why?

• What problems do you think theDirector, Designer or Actors mighthave faced in creating the storyon stage? Was there anythingyou thought could have beenchanged to improve theperformance or do you thinkeverything was done well?

• When writing your review breakyour piece of work into sectionsand deal with each topicindividually for example,categorise your work intoproduction, acting, musicdance etc.

• Discuss your ideas with otherpeople before you start writingyour review.

• But most importantly rememberhow you felt and how you rectedto certain parts of theperformance as you watched it.


Further resources – weblinksAbout the History of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Tradehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/abolition/

http://www.understandingslavery.com/learningresources– includes lesson plans and ideas for teachers

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/freedom– National Maritime Museum’s dedicated website – images and activitiesinclude creating an online exhibition

About Indentured Labourhttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/india/forced.htm

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/migrations/home5.html

About African music and the Slave Tradehttp://www.soundjunction.org/fromslaverytocarnival.aspa?NodeID=1– includes clips of music and software to create own compositions

http://www.soundjunction.org/howtheslavetradeaffectedmusicanintroduction.aspa?NodeID=121

http://www.soundjunction.org/improvisationintheafricansoundworld.aspa?NodeID=328– about African dance, music, rhythm and improvisation are closely related

Further resources 27

Further resources – weblinks

http://www.empiremuseum.co.uk/The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum have produced anEducation Resource pack called Breaking the Chains. This includeslessons plans, and recordings of African Spirituals and other types ofsongs that emerged from the Slave Trade. There are also recordings byactors reading testimonials by Slaves telling their experiences

www.sampad.org.uk – Gift of Tradition – publication about differentSouth Asian dance styles. Contact [email protected]

Classical Dances of India – CD ROM with printable images availablefrom Sonia Sabri Company T: 0121 442 6742 E: [email protected]

http://www.soundjunction.org/india,africa,fusion.aspaIntroduction to Indian and African musical structures, and cross overexperiments

Popular Indian South African Music: Division in DiversityMelveen Jackson Popular Music, Vol. 10, No. 2 (May, 1991), pp. 175-188This article consists of 14 page(s).

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motherlandeducation resourcepack - sampad arts & heritage · in the u.k. and internationally....

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