I am the story of the old and young… I am human… I am African… I am Art… I am History… That which you seek and find… The knowledge that builds tomorrow… That which your researches and archaeological excavations have found… Providing evidence of past lives
I come from a place
Where every bit of us is divine
Our skin, the names we go by, our values, the land we toe and toil
Every step and utterance held scared
Swaying Hips beautified with Ji-Gi-da
Every step a rhythm that flows with aura
Incisions, markings, the Uli that stuck way before the lip-stick
A Fine line deeply rooted in earth
How we all come from earth
Moulded from red
Beautifully sculpted, evenly toned
A mark of originality
I belong to this race
I am Africa
The purest form of Art
Earth’s beautiful masterpiece
I am the Blacksmith of Oka
The originator of Ikpu Uzu
I am the carver and the potter
The maker of gods and Ikenga
Of sculptures in Igbo Ukwu
Passed messages through Terra-cottas of Nok, spread over the heart of my own
I Instilled fear with the head of Ogwugwu
Lived amongst men through Sango
Fought wars and bent irons through Ogun
I am the king maker
Crowned kings among men
And welcomed back their souls with Eyo
I am Mmanwu
What my carriers call Isi Mmanwu.
I am the Spirit which you behold
I am Africa
I am woman, mother
I birth empires and protect kingdoms
I rage wars through the Agojies
Battle Apartheid through Miriam Makeba
I keep Earth green through Wangari Maathai
Lead through Angie Elizabeth
I am Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti, Mbande Nzinga
I am Amina
I am Africa, a woman
I am the Art that preserves Art
I am the Legend passed from generations
My life is imbedded in Folklores
The descendant of 75 warriors that refused to be bound by shackles of colonization, Slavery
I am Igbo Landing
Flowing from and through the sea where I breath my last
Found in the color of your skin
In the coarseness of your hair that can’t make ponytail
Beneath your tongue untampered with the coal of westernization
Accent intact, I am your mother tongue
You will find me in your head, your intelligence
Crafts and Mysteries.
Preserved in pages and chapters
Syllables and schemes
Stories told and untold
Flips of evolution
Preserved in the hearts of men and the scars they bear
In Galleries and Museums
I am the story of the old and young
I am human
I am African
I am Art
I am History
That which you seek and find
The knowledge that builds tomorrow
That which your researches and archaeological excavations have found
Providing evidence of past lives
I am the past, the present and the future.
I am the art that preserves art
I am your history.
©Melvis Ugo.
