'I am neither a human nor a spirit '

’ In memory of Okonfo Rao Kawawa . May His Soul Rest In Peace I'm neither human nor spirit but built the world’s biggest drum -Okonfo Rao Kawawa Written by Wale Ojo - lanre Wednesday, 27 February 2013 00:00 Nigerian Tribune “Of course, I am not human. I am not a spirit either. I am a specially crafted piece of art work by God,” he said during the interview. Though, he admitted that his attitude and actions are influenced by “whoever, I don’t know. You know we listen to different music, dancing to the rhythm of our different drummers. So, I don’t work myself up on things like these.” In this interview with WALE OJO-LANRE, the man whose dancing group usually draws the biggest attention at the Osun Osogbo Grove during Osun Festival, the musician, sculptor and artist maintained that his happiest moment will be when he is dead! Excerpts: WHO is RAO KAWAWA? I am also interested in who is RAO Kawawa. Rao is Rashidi Ajani Omoniyi. Kawawa is a nickname and Okonfo is the name given to me by the Ashantes in Ghana as a priest. In Ghana, a priest is called Okonfo, so my name has to do with Ghana, Arabic and Yoruba languages and nickname. I was born in Ghana in 1949 by Yoruba parents from Osogbo, I attended school in Ghana. Later, we came back to Nigeria, stayed for two years and I went to Germany for further studies. I studied German. I am a polyglot and a unique artist; many things put together in a man. I built the world biggest drum in Germany and sold to a Japan customer, so I have been doing this artistically work spiritually because I never learnt them from any man. The inspiration brought the technique and I have been doing this to survive in Germany. So, I opened a centre called Africa House where I teach African drumming and dancing, I’ve been doing this now for 39 years. How many years did you spend in Germany? I stayed in German for only 15 years without interruption. This is my 26th year of staying in Nigeria. Why did you decide to come back? Why I decided to come back home? You know we like to stay in our hometown, it is the best you can do, stay home where you were born or your hometown you enjoy it more than somebody being a stranger in another country. I came for survival and further studies. I’d like to know more about classical traditional music and dances which I think my knowledge then was never enough. Did you at any point regret ever coming to Nigeria? You mean disappointment? No. To me, I think it is the best thing to have decided, to come back home, if I didn’t come back, nobody could have forced me. But it is not good going far away without coming back to ones root. What is the use of being born and getting lost? I struggled to come back after 15 years with my children and wives. When coming to Nigeria some 26 years ago, what was your projection like? I just thought of coming back home to settle down and have a centre where we can do more research about African music and dances, and about spirituality which has made me to be what I am today. I believe the spirit is higher more than all techniques and I was doing it in a way to get more involved into spirituality to get some achievements, get more money and give my children part of it. I came home to enjoy the Africanism, and to give my best to my people and not only to the white people. So long, I am alive to enjoy Africanism. African music and dances and technologies of Africa which are not dead; not only to sit in Germany working with the Germans and teaching the American dance and music. And I am so glad the the people appreciated my passion by conferring on me the title Baba Ewe which means father of the youths and later Baale Eleyele, representative of my family. To what extent have you been able to serve your community in Nigeria since you came back? I have been teaching people drumming, without taking money. I don’t live on the money I make in Nigeria. I rely on the revenue I garner from Germany. People see you as a weird and wild human being... Weird and wild? How can a wild man be reachable? A wild man cannot be reached because he is wild. I am not a wild man because I am cool and an intellectual too. Are you rich? I can’t call myself a rich man, but I am not poor. I know people who are rich, they control millions, I don’t have a million, but I spend my kobo kobo to make life relatively okay for me. Your appearance doesn’t look like somebody who had been to Germany, you look like a jungle man, why the jungle lifestyle? A jungle is always a jungle. You can’t change Osogbo to be Oso Ilu or Oso City, It is not possible, the meaning of Osogbo is Oso Igbo, (the wizard in the jungle). The same meaning I coined for my Centre - Jungle Communication Centre and it comes from Osogbo which means Igbo (forest or jungle) And how do you want a jungle man to look like? You want me to look like a man from Manhattan City? No way. So, why all these effigies, sculptures, the shrines and others, are you an herbalist? Yeah, we do an’ herbalistical’ work too. Spiritual work go with herbalism and healing. Wherever I am, I have to have my hands doing something around me. So the sculptures here tell the story of my life, you have to see something that makes you feel you are in another place. The sculptures are to me powers of gods and I try to express this when tourists visit here to go round to see what we are doing and I explain to people. Sculpture is not just a joke or an empty air.It says something. And expression is something we need in the artistic world. So I do sculpture, carving, metal work to express my feelings, not only for sales. Are you encouraging people to go into arts? Yes. This is why I take money from the whites to train them free. So, teaching them without collecting money is also part of my personal assistance to the people. When you know how to do it, you know it, I have sponsored more than 12 people abroad. People see you as a cultist, that you were initiated in Ghana... I am not a cultist. I am a traditional believer and practitioner. I got initiated in Ghana. We got to train to be possessed. We call it AKOM in Ghana, and you are trained to get possessed, going into trance, is not cultism. Is this in line with your belief? My belief? I mean your religious belief? I don’t have any religion. Exported religions are tricks being used to colonise our identity and turn us to European robots. Mohammedanism or Christianity, I don’t believe in any. I don’t think about them. I think about my ancestors and I feel bad the way things are. I do think of going to the mosque and jumping over those people bending down. They say ‘I am weird,’ no, I am not. It is just that things going on in my head are not just normal to me, so I have to express my feelings . I have been doing this and they think I am crazy. I am not crazy, I am saying this is not good for me, why should I be there and be saying Allah and all sorts? I don’t want to get lost in paradise , that is why I stay here in Jungle Communication Centre where I can worship idols, dance to the music of the Yoruba and other tribes in West Africa. You have just mentioned paradise, where is it? For me, anywhere I feel good is a paradise. This word is used in the Bible, and Aljahnah in the Quoran, but my personal feeling will tell me whether the place is good or not. I am not joining them to go into their own Alhjanah. I want to go to Al Togo. I have been in Ghana already. You cannot tell me this is the way to go to heaven, why should I go to heaven? I am here to live on this land to enjoy it and not to go to heaven, leave me here. My first album disc titled “Dancing in the fire” so Inu ina yee gan la majo e ba ara yin da sohun. They want to put our souls down so that we can become fearful and frightened. I don’t want to do that. I am just crazy, doing my things in my own way. My father told me “Hey Rashidi, you are crazy and you need to go to a psychiatric” And I said” no, I am not crazy “you are crazy”. Why should you knock your head on the ground calling Allah, and other things you don’t know? Come and join me here to dance to real African dance, worship African gods, and enjoy your life. Are your children following your path? Yeah, all of them. How many do you have? Ai ka omo fun olomo (you don’t take census of how many children you have). You know that is the tradition in Yorubaland. I have eight children and to me eight is a number of spiritualism. I have three here in Nigeria and the rest in Germany. To me, I want my children to follow my footsteps, to do more research about our ancestors not only in the computer way and in the white man’s way, so as not to lose the real tradition and values. About 26 years ago when you started Jungle Communication Centre here in Osogbo, was it flourishing then? I can say that people were coming here to find out what was going on here. Some came to learn, while some were here to waste their time. I had almost 40 youngmen staying here before, and later, they started running away. They don’t have the patience of learning and concentrating on what they come here to do, they just want the wealth, this is the trouble with the young ones.They don’t have any trust in our society any longer. They are after wealth, riches and money, this is the spiritual power they are looking for. What do you think is responsible for all the ills and problems in the society? In our society, we have all become Americans. I called it American Yoruba. We are all after wealth and we use capitalism and most of our people don’t even have feelings for the others. They want to cheat, shoot and kill others. This their feeling is not genuine for Africans. Before, Africa was the only place where people can exchange views without killing, without shooting, but today, Africa has become a place only for money, money, money, so robbery and killing and shooting have become part of us like America. You mean adhering to the traditional ways can heal the society of these vices? It can help us if we all believe more in our ancestors, there will be no more killing, no more robbery; everybody would want to do their best, but when you have become African-American, you are more cruel, greedy and vicious. How often do you communicate with the spirit world? Everyday. I don’t have any other job. It is the only way for my survival. I have to call the spirits for money and good luck. I can’t just sit down and say things will happen just like that. How does it bring money? It brings connection, it sends people down. For example, if I tell the spirits that look , “I am broke,” the spirits will propel people to come and give me money either from my students overseas or people coming to buy land. Who owns this land and how many acres? My family. We own it from Asubiaro to Abere and here. 600 acres was acquired by the government, and I am keeping the rest. What was the disposition of your parents towards your belief? Haa, it’was tough. They said that it was a disgrace to them being pious Moslems only for me to join the ancestral movement and began to dance or drum as a beggar. Then, how do you interact as brothers and sisters? We have always been at loggerheads. We are always fighting . And whenever they needed money, they always come and my reply is “if you don’t believe me, don’t come near me.” How do you feel dancing on the street? I feel high. It’s only once in a year and I feel good, and that is during Osun Osogbo. WHO is RAO KAWAWA? I am also interested in who is RAO Kawawa. Rao is Rashidi Ajani Omoniyi. Kawawa is a nickname and Okonfo is the name given to me by the Ashantes in Ghana as a priest. In Ghana, a priest is called Okonfo, so my name has to do with Ghana, Arabic and Yoruba languages and nickname. I was born in Ghana in 1949 by Yoruba parents from Osogbo, I attended school in Ghana. Later, we came back to Nigeria, stayed for two years and I went to Germany for further studies. I studied German. I am a polyglot and a unique artist; many things put together in a man. I built the world biggest drum in Germany and sold to a Japan customer, so I have been doing this artistically work spiritually because I never learnt them from any man. The inspiration brought the technique and I have been doing this to survive in Germany. So, I opened a centre called Africa House where I teach African drumming and dancing, I’ve been doing this now for 39 years. How many years did you spend in Germany? I stayed in German for only 15 years without interruption. This is my 26th year of staying in Nigeria. Why did you decide to come back? Why I decided to come back home? You know we like to stay in our hometown, it is the best you can do, stay home where you were born or your hometown you enjoy it more than somebody being a stranger in another country. I came for survival and further studies. I’d like to know more about classical traditional music and dances which I think my knowledge then was never enough. Did you at any point regret ever coming to Nigeria? You mean disappointment? No. To me, I think it is the best thing to have decided, to come back home, if I didn’t come back, nobody could have forced me. But it is not good going far away without coming back to ones root. What is the use of being born and getting lost? I struggled to come back after 15 years with my children and wives. When coming to Nigeria some 26 years ago, what was your projection like? I just thought of coming back home to settle down and have a centre where we can do more research about African music and dances, and about spirituality which has made me to be what I am today. I believe the spirit is higher more than all techniques and I was doing it in a way to get more involved into spirituality to get some achievements, get more money and give my children part of it. I came home to enjoy the Africanism, and to give my best to my people and not only to the white people. So long, I am alive to enjoy Africanism. African music and dances and technologies of Africa which are not dead; not only to sit in Germany working with the Germans and teaching the American dance and music. And I am so glad the the people appreciated my passion by conferring on me the title Baba Ewe which means father of the youths and later Baale Eleyele, representative of my family. To what extent have you been able to serve your community in Nigeria since you came back? I have been teaching people drumming, without taking money. I don’t live on the money I make in Nigeria. I rely on the revenue I garner from Germany. People see you as a weird and wild human being... Weird and wild? How can a wild man be reachable? A wild man cannot be reached because he is wild. I am not a wild man because I am cool and an intellectual too. Are you rich? I can’t call myself a rich man, but I am not poor. I know people who are rich, they control millions, I don’t have a million, but I spend my kobo kobo to make life relatively okay for me. Your appearance doesn’t look like somebody who had been to Germany, you look like a jungle man, why the jungle lifestyle? A jungle is always a jungle. You can’t change Osogbo to be Oso Ilu or Oso City, It is not possible, the meaning of Osogbo is Oso Igbo, (the wizard in the jungle). The same meaning I coined for my Centre - Jungle Communication Centre and it comes from Osogbo which means Igbo (forest or jungle) And how do you want a jungle man to look like? You want me to look like a man from Manhattan City? No way. So, why all these effigies, sculptures, the shrines and others, are you an herbalist? Yeah, we do an’ herbalistical’ work too. Spiritual work go with herbalism and healing. Wherever I am, I have to have my hands doing something around me. So the sculptures here tell the story of my life, you have to see something that makes you feel you are in another place. The sculptures are to me powers of gods and I try to express this when tourists visit here to go round to see what we are doing and I explain to people. Sculpture is not just a joke or an empty air.It says something. And expression is something we need in the artistic world. So I do sculpture, carving, metal work to express my feelings, not only for sales. Are you encouraging people to go into arts? Yes. This is why I take money from the whites to train them free. So, teaching them without collecting money is also part of my personal assistance to the people. When you know how to do it, you know it, I have sponsored more than 12 people abroad. People see you as a cultist, that you were initiated in Ghana... I am not a cultist. I am a traditional believer and practitioner. I got initiated in Ghana. We got to train to be possessed. We call it AKOM in Ghana, and you are trained to get possessed, going into trance, is not cultism. Is this in line with your belief? My belief? I mean your religious belief? I don’t have any religion. Exported religions are tricks being used to colonise our identity and turn us to European robots. Mohammedanism or Christianity, I don’t believe in any. I don’t think about them. I think about my ancestors and I feel bad the way things are. I do think of going to the mosque and jumping over those people bending down. They say ‘I am weird,’ no, I am not. It is just that things going on in my head are not just normal to me, so I have to express my feelings . I have been doing this and they think I am crazy. I am not crazy, I am saying this is not good for me, why should I be there and be saying Allah and all sorts? I don’t want to get lost in paradise , that is why I stay here in Jungle Communication Centre where I can worship idols, dance to the music of the Yoruba and other tribes in West Africa. You have just mentioned paradise, where is it? For me, anywhere I feel good is a paradise. This word is used in the Bible, and Aljahnah in the Quoran, but my personal feeling will tell me whether the place is good or not. I am not joining them to go into their own Alhjanah. I want to go to Al Togo. I have been in Ghana already. You cannot tell me this is the way to go to heaven, why should I go to heaven? I am here to live on this land to enjoy it and not to go to heaven, leave me here. My first album disc titled “Dancing in the fire” so Inu ina yee gan la majo e ba ara yin da sohun. They want to put our souls down so that we can become fearful and frightened. I don’t want to do that. I am just crazy, doing my things in my own way. My father told me “Hey Rashidi, you are crazy and you need to go to a psychiatric” And I said” no, I am not crazy “you are crazy”. Why should you knock your head on the ground calling Allah, and other things you don’t know? Come and join me here to dance to real African dance, worship African gods, and enjoy your life. Are your children following your path? Yeah, all of them. How many do you have? Ai ka omo fun olomo (you don’t take census of how many children you have). You know that is the tradition in Yorubaland. I have eight children and to me eight is a number of spiritualism. I have three here in Nigeria and the rest in Germany. To me, I want my children to follow my footsteps, to do more research about our ancestors not only in the computer way and in the white man’s way, so as not to lose the real tradition and values. About 26 years ago when you started Jungle Communication Centre here in Osogbo, was it flourishing then? I can say that people were coming here to find out what was going on here. Some came to learn, while some were here to waste their time. I had almost 40 youngmen staying here before, and later, they started running away. They don’t have the patience of learning and concentrating on what they come here to do, they just want the wealth, this is the trouble with the young ones.They don’t have any trust in our society any longer. They are after wealth, riches and money, this is the spiritual power they are looking for. What do you think is responsible for all the ills and problems in the society? In our society, we have all become Americans. I called it American Yoruba. We are all after wealth and we use capitalism and most of our people don’t even have feelings for the others. They want to cheat, shoot and kill others. This their feeling is not genuine for Africans. Before, Africa was the only place where people can exchange views without killing, without shooting, but today, Africa has become a place only for money, money, money, so robbery and killing and shooting have become part of us like America. You mean adhering to the traditional ways can heal the society of these vices? It can help us if we all believe more in our ancestors, there will be no more killing, no more robbery; everybody would want to do their best, but when you have become African-American, you are more cruel, greedy and vicious. How often do you communicate with the spirit world? Everyday. I don’t have any other job. It is the only way for my survival. I have to call the spirits for money and good luck. I can’t just sit down and say things will happen just like that. How does it bring money? It brings connection, it sends people down. For example, if I tell the spirits that look , “I am broke,” the spirits will propel people to come and give me money either from my students overseas or people coming to buy land. Who owns this land and how many acres? My family. We own it from Asubiaro to Abere and here. 600 acres was acquired by the government, and I am keeping the rest. What was the disposition of your parents towards your belief? Haa, it’was tough. They said that it was a disgrace to them being pious Moslems only for me to join the ancestral movement and began to dance or drum as a beggar. Then, how do you interact as brothers and sisters? We have always been at loggerheads. We are always fighting . And whenever they needed money, they always come and my reply is “if you don’t believe me, don’t come near me.” How do you feel dancing on the street? I feel high. It’s only once in a year and I feel good, and that is during Osun Osogbo. Do you plant or smoke marijuana? Beautiful, I don’t plant, but when you have it, bring it for me, I will smoke. I don’t hide my feelings. If you die any moment from now, is there anybody who you have prepared to take your role? That is the case of god and not mine I’ve been able to live and do my own if i die, I don’t want to know what happen,.if i die everybody should fuck off and let me go. How do you want your funeral to be packaged ? Your children may decided to take you to the church or bury you in Islamic way. Take me to Church or Mosque ? They will never try that . Ha ha ha they know if they do that , I will just wake up and start slapping them. They will not dare it . I will prefer to go home with wild talking drum , dances , songs ,chanting. I will be happy that I am dead. I want to be buried in the traditional way in Osogbo here . They should dance around me for a whole seven days before they now put me in a hole . I want a place where they can see me in the hole where I too can see them drinking and smoking marijuana and say Baba buruku yi ti lo a dupe, ( Thank God , this bad man has gone ) Tell us about your wives My wives, the only one I have now is Olori Abeni. I had so many wives before her. Sir, what makes you happy? That is a big question, let me think deeply, Seeing my family, my wife and children and my car , Not others like weed, fuck and drink? No. Those ones do not make me happy. They make me to think and think . When I see my children, family and everybody functioning effectively, I become happy The happiest moment? When I die ( Laughter