Africa Night will present a multitude of cultures found within Africa in the form of food, music, and dance on Friday, March 13.
Africa Night has been a long-standing tradition at Gustavus. Pan-Afrikan Student Organization (PASO) put on the event every year and hopes to provide a chance for students to learn more about lesser known cultures within the continent of Africa.
Professor of French, LALACS and Director of African Studies Program Paschal Kyoore is the faculty advisor for PASO. He emphasized the importance for Gustavus students to attend the event.
“This event gives people a fun and exciting way to learn about global societies and enjoy entertainment provided by students of Gustavus.”—Herchran Singh
“Most people grow up not knowing much about Africa. There’s always something to learn. Students coming to this country from Africa can be marginalized in our community. It’s still a part of the world that is not well-represented in our country, as well as not represented at Gustavus,” Kyoore said.
Sophomore Biology Major Herchran Singh is a member of PASO and will participate in several of the dances during Africa Night.
“We see it working to gain globalized knowledge. It’s an incentive for Gustavus students to develop a stronger interest in the world.”—Paschal Kyoore
“Africa night is important for Gustavus because it provides the students and community with an opportunity to be educated on the fashion, traditional food, and various other aspects of the Pan-Afrikan Diaspora cultures,” Singh said.
To experience a variety of different African cultures, there will be a variety of traditional foods offered at the event.
“Traditional African food from several different countries, such as Liberia and Ethiopia, will be served. People can have a taste of the food from that half of the world. Students will explain to the crowd what the ingredients are and how each dish fits in culturally within that society,” Kyoore said.
A fashion show will take place, displaying traditional clothing from different countries.
“The continent is fairly represented in the fashion show,” Kyoore said.
First-year Francine Umumararungu is a member of PASO and will be a part of the fashion show as well as one of the dances for Africa Night.
“This is my first-year so I’m excited to participate in the event. I am wearing traditional clothes from Rwanda for the fashion show,” Umumararungu said.
Traditional dances from various countries in Africa will take place, giving students a taste of the many expressions of culture through movement.
“In the past we’ve had groups from Somalia, Sudan, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. The dance is always one of the highlights,” Kyoore said.
Some students from these countries and some who are not, will be dancing in the performances.
“The dances are different from the American dances so students will have experiences of the African dances that we have. We will present many countries so students will have a chance to see different countries and their culture represented,” Umumararungu said.
Another aspect of Africa Night is the skits that expose the audience to African culture and immigrant challenges. Kyoore describes an example of a skit that may be represented during Africa Night.
“Students prepare skits where they act out the relationship that they see between parents and children in an African society, particularly immigrants in the U.S. This shows some generational differences of how they see the world,” Kyoore said.
Besides a single night of exposure to cultures of countries in Africa, there are hopes that it will inspire an ongoing interest in.
“If somebody goes to the event and sees and experiences what happens, they may become interested in what they see there. They may be more interested in taking a course to learn more. We see it working to gain globalized knowledge. It’s an incentive for Gustavus students to develop a stronger interest in the world,” Kyoore said.
A minor in Africa studies is offered at Gustavus. Members of PASO and faculty hope that introducing students to these lesser known cultures will spur interest in taking a class or looking into the minor.
“This event gives people a fun and exciting way to learn about global societies and enjoy entertainment provided by students of Gustavus as well as professional performers,” Singh said.
For more information on Africa Night, PASO, or the Africa studies minor, contact Paschal Kyoore or Jeanette Langhorne.
-Laura Isdahl