Sarah Obama, Barack's Kenyan Grandmother, Heads To Washington With Gifts

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090112/ts_alt_afp/kenyauspoliticsobamainaugurationfamilypeople_newsmlmmd


Obama grandma's White House warming gifts


Mon Jan 12, 10:55 am ET



NAIROBI (AFP) – A three-legged stool and a traditional Luo oxtail fly whisk are some of the household items that could bring a new feel to the Oval Office, courtesy of Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother.

Sarah Obama, who at 86 still lives in a modest house in the family's ancestral village of Kogelo, has been packing presents ahead of her grandson's January 20 inauguration as the 44th president of the United States.

Quoted in the Standard newspaper Monday, she said she had hoped to bring him a traditional spear and shield from her Luo tribe when she flies to Washington on Friday with some other family members.

"But I have been told that due to security reasons I will not be allowed to board a plane with it," she explained.

Sarah Obama, the president-elect's step grandmother, has become a national celebrity since the Illinois senator -- the Hawaiian-born son of a Kenyan father and white American mother -- launched his bid for the White House.

"The day I was waiting for has finally come... I cannot hide my joy," she said. "I am going to be Kenya's ambassador during the occasion and I will live up to the expectations."

Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula will head a government delegation for a pre-inauguration bash organised by African diplomatic missions in the US.

"It is a big feast that will be attended by delegations from many African nations," Wetangula told reporters.

"And because Kenya is the African nation where Obama draws his roots, I have been invited to be the guest speaker at the event," he added.

The celebrations are to be held on January 19.

[EraOfResponsibility]

1. You beat me to it lol n/t

[Lasher]

2. Cool!

What excellent keepsakes to have on prominent display at the White House. Think I'll check into getting something like that spear and shield from my Cherokee roots. That would rule.

[ensho]

3. White House decor has been in stasis and needs to be brought alive

all the rooms look like a UK king from ages ago lived there

[Phx_Dem]

4. That spear might come in handy for Obama.

Vitter, Kyle, Grassley and Spector could all use a spear up their a** right about now.

[Blaze Diem]

5. LOL...Spear & Shield..Very Symbolic for the mighty-ness needed to undo Bush, Reagan,& Bush.

What an amazing time for Grama Sarah.
Beautiful.

[Cha]

6. Yeah, too bad Sarah Obama

can't have it mailed ahead.

[Blaze Diem]

7. Heck she could ask Bernie Madoff how to smuggle valubles..

or any of the Bush/Cheney cronies for that matter.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. A spear will do nicely!

[roguevalley]

9. bravo. my uncle lived in Kenya back in the day. loved it and the

people. didn't like the mau maus though. worked for the u.n. to help people graze cattle better.

[LaydeeBug]

10. I didn't know she was his step grandmother.

until just now

[starroute]

11. Are these things symbolic of chieftains?

Most of what I'm finding has to do with West Africa, not East Africa. However, in those places both stools and fly whisks have powerful regal and spiritual associations.


http://www.hamillgallery.com/EXHIBITIONS/AfricanStools.html

{In Ghana} Stools indicate status, power and succession of chiefs and kings. Carved from single blocks, Asante (or Ashanti) stools traditionally have crescent-shaped seats, flat bases and complex support structures, which exist in many designs with symbolic meaning. Most had specific names and designated users. Asante stools are spiritual as well as practical. They were understood to be the seat of the owner's soul and when not in use were leaned against a wall so that other souls passing by would not settle on it. . . .

Most Bamileke art (and the work of other kingdoms of the Cameroon Grasslands) relates to kings and important chiefs, who defined their power by the display of prestige objects during important ceremonies. Stools were among the most important of these objects.


http://www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/gallery/african/stool.html

While carved stools and small chairs function as portable seats and serve as signs of prestige in everyday life, only royalty and other high-status community members have the privilege of utilizing stools during ritual ceremonies. ... In West Africa, the word "stool" is defined as synonymous with the phrase: "office of the chief". Further, a chief's personal stool is believed to be the repository of his soul.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_Chieftaincy

{In Ghana} When riding in a palanquin, chiefs hold a fly-whisk in one hand and a ceremonial sword in the other. The fly-whisk is made of animal hair. . . . Instead of a throne, Akan Chiefs are sitting on a stool.


https://www.africadirect.com/productsdesc.php?ID=10035

Among the Yaka of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other groups of the Congo Basin, such items were part of the chief's regalia. Known as Nsesa among the Yaka, this fly whisk was hold by chiefs during their official appearance the all time he would be on stage ou during the dance nsesa of the same name than the object itself. The Nsesa is the ceremonial dance associated with the kingship. It is the dance the chief would dance during his installation in the throne. The chief would majestically and constantly wave his fly whisk ) equipments found in his/her shrine along with other power objects. The fly which is said to have magical power that protect the chief and chasse away bad spirits around the chief. This magical object was also carried by some diviners when dancing during one of his/her consultation and performances. It is not clear why the diviner holds this kind of objects. It is probable that such objects were used to chase away malevolent forces. This object contains powerful spirits. These spirits could be the same then that of the divination.

[Clio the Leo]

12. Either they used a translator.....

... or she's learned a lot of English in the last 20 years. Those who've read "Dreams of My Father" will remember that she and Barack could hardly communicate when he first went to meet her.

Adorable lady.