The lights dimmed and the booming African music abruptly stopped. Two men came on stage, saying the words of “libation,” a traditional Nigerian prayer. The audience was blessed and Africa Night began.
The African Student Association hosted Africa Night Saturday evening in the Bruce
Mamta Kandel | Argonaut
From left; Dola Popoola, Tosin Bongudu and Damilola Olape showcase their talents on stage Saturday during Africa Night.
Pitman Center International Ballroom. The night is a cultural event that has been going on for many years at the University of Idaho, said Ebenezer Jones-Mensah, who was Saturday”s MC and has been participating in the show for a number of years.
And for 11-year-old Ayodola Popoola, her favorite part of the night was the fashion show.
“I like the catwalk, to see what people wear,” Popoola said. “The dancing is entertaining when they”re doing the beginning and stuff, but it”s fun to see how people dress up at the end.”
Pullman resident Selam Yadee, who sat in the front with her two sisters Genet and Bibi, said she had been to Africa Night twice at UI, and performed in Africa Night at Washington State University multiple times.
Yadee and her sisters came to the U.S. from Ethiopia in 2006, and Yadee graduated from WSU in 2014. She said although she has been here for years, the vast majority of her life is still based around African culture.
Yadee said she loves African food, especially if it has a lot of spice. As she sat next to Genet and a row of African flags, they began to speak in Amharic while they waited for performances to begin and for her sister Bibi to dance.
Although the majority of attendees came from the Moscow-Pullman area, the event attracted people throughout the region, including Oregon and Southeast Idaho. Jones-Mensah said one family came from Pocatello to see the show.
UI student Valer Mapendo, who grew up in Kenya and was involved in putting the event together, said he enjoyed the food aspect of the night. The audience was able to enjoy a variety of African delicacies from different countries including foods such as Ampesi, a traditional Ghanaian dish and Injera, a flat-bread that originated in Ethiopia and Moroccan Tajind.
Moscow resident Bukola Orisadipe, who came to Moscow from Nigeria with her family about four years ago, said the event was more organized than it had been in previous years. She also said she liked the dancing a lot this year.
“This year we have moved away from just doing performances, like the skit that we did was more educational, so we have more education,” Jones-Mensah said.
The skit, a new addition to the event, portrayed a typical Ghanaian naming ceremony.
Chike Ogbuehi, the vice president of the African Student Association, said the goal of the night was to educate people about African culture and combat the negative perceptions of Africa people may have.
“In my experience at the University of Idaho, I”ve never met a president who”s so much interested in diversity,” Jones-Mensah said about President Chuck Staben during the shout-outs.
The first display of the night was a flag show that represented every country from Africa. The audience also learned a few facts about each country, including the capital and what it is best known for.
In addition to the flag show, questions were asked at various points during the event to test the audience on their knowledge of the different nations.
“We are really trying to promote the idea that our Africa is not a country “¦ Africa is a continent, and we have countries in Africa,” Jones-Mensah said.
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NinaRobin7