Photo Challenge: HERITAGE
“It is not the honor that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind.” Branch Rickey
Photo Challenge: HERITAGE
Heritage by Countee Cullen via AllPoetry.com
What is Africa to me:
Copper sun or scarlet sea,
Jungle star or jungle track,
Strong bronzed men, or regal black
Women from whose loins I sprang
When the birds of Eden sang?
One three centuries removed
From the scenes his fathers loved,
Spicy grove, cinnamon tree, Contd Below
What does Heritage look like to you? Our heritage is both our ancestral legacy and the lens through which we view and claim our world. It includes the spoken and the unspoken narratives of our lives, the visual, the musical, our literature, language and all our histories meshed into a universe we create inside … and outside.
Photo Challenge: HERITAGE
What is Africa to me?
So I lie, who all day long
Want no sound except the song
Sung by wild barbaric birds
Goading massive jungle herds,
Juggernauts of flesh that pass
Trampling tall defiant grass
Where young forest lovers lie,
Plighting troth beneath the sky.
So I lie, who always hear,
Though I cram against my ear
Both my thumbs, and keep them there,
Great drums throbbing through the air.
So I lie, whose fount of pride,
Dear distress, and joy allied,
Is my somber flesh and skin,
With the dark blood dammed within
Like great pulsing tides of wine
That, I fear, must burst the fine
Channels of the chafing net
Where they surge and foam and fret.Africa? A book one thumbs
Listlessly, till slumber comes.
Unremembered are her bats
Circling through the night, her cats
Crouching in the river reeds,
Stalking gentle flesh that feeds
By the river brink; no more
Does the bugle-throated roar
Cry that monarch claws have leapt
From the scabbards where they slept.
Silver snakes that once a year
Doff the lovely coats you wear,
Seek no covert in your fear
Lest a mortal eye should see
What’s your nakedness to me?
Here no leprous flowers rear
Fierce corollas in the air;
Here no bodies sleek and wet,
Dripping mingled rain and sweat,
Tread the savage measures of
Jungle boys and girls in love.
What is last year’s snow to me,
Last year’s anything? The tree
Budding yearly must forget
How its past arose or set—
Bough and blossom, flower, fruit,
Even what shy bird with mute
Wonder at her travail there,
Meekly labored in its hair.
One three centuries removed
From the scenes his fathers loved,
Spicy grove, cinnamon tree, Contd below
Countee Cullen was born and raised in New York and started writing poetry at the age of 14. He had a keen imagination and was adept at writing about his observances, as a young black man, of 20th century American life. He was a key member of the Harlem Renaissance and won awards for his powerful poetry. He attended NYU and Harvard University and published 4 books of poetry. His writings dealt with issues of race, heritage, loss, beauty, and the complexities of romance and life. His first book of poetry – Color “celebrated black beauty and deplored the effects of racism” and received a lot of praise and attention. Heritage is taken from the Color collection. In 1928, Countee Cullen received a Guggenheim Fellowship which allowed him to travel abroad and form new literary friendships. In addition to writing, he taught English, French, and creative writing at Frederick Douglass Junior High School in New York and later wrote for theater in collaborations with with Arna Bontemps. Countee died in 1946 but his works live on in libraries across the country. In 2013, he was inducted into the New York Writers Hall of Fame. Heritage is one of my favorite poems from his body of works and, even though it is a long and vivid piece, I have included it in this post in three parts. Read it and consider what you would include in your personal heritage story. What do we leave out? What do we include?
“America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity – the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.” Robert Kennedy
Photo Challenge: HERITAGE
What is Africa to me?
So I lie, who find no peace
Night or day, no slight release
From the unremittent beat
Made by cruel padded feet
Walking through my body’s street.
Up and down they go, and back,
Treading out a jungle track.
So I lie, who never quite
Safely sleep from rain at night—
I can never rest at all
When the rain begins to fall;
Like a soul gone mad with pain
I must match its weird refrain;
Ever must I twist and squirm,
Writhing like a baited worm,
While its primal measures drip
Through my body, crying, “Strip!
Doff this new exuberance.
Come and dance the Lover’s Dance!”In an old remembered way
Rain works on me night and day.
Quaint, outlandish heathen gods
Black men fashion out of rods,
Clay, and brittle bits of stone,
In a likeness like their own,
My conversion came high-priced;
I belong to Jesus Christ,
Preacher of Humility;
Heathen gods are naught to me.
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
So I make an idle boast;
Jesus of the twice-turned cheek,
Lamb of God, although I speak
With my mouth thus, in my heart
Do I play a double part.
Ever at Thy glowing altar
Must my heart grow sick and falter,
Wishing He I served were black,
Thinking then it would not lack
Precedent of pain to guide it,
Let who would or might deride it;
Surely then this flesh would know
Yours had borne a kindred woe.
Lord, I fashion dark gods, too,
Daring even to give You
Dark despairing features where,
Crowned with dark rebellious hair,
Patience wavers just so much as
Mortal grief compels, while touches
Quick and hot, of anger, riseTo smitten cheek and weary eyes.
Lord, forgive me if my need
Sometimes shapes a human creed.
All day long and all night through,
One thing only must I do:
Quench my pride and cool my blood,
Lest I perish in the flood,
Lest a hidden ember set
Timber that I thought was wet
Burning like the dryest flax,
Melting like the merest wax,
Lest the grave restore its dead.
Not yet has my heart or head
In the least way realized
They and I are civilized.
Over the years, I have collected masks and other pieces from my own African background and from places around the world. African art is dear to me on many levels, first and foremost because it is part of my heritage and the memories I have of their usage at festivals and important rituals means they hold great currency in my personal narrative. Sure, some of the masks lend a certain gravitas to events but they are not all solemn. That said, they offer a sliver of my extensive heritage. What about you?
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: HERITAGE – This week, share a photo of something that says “heritage” to you. It can be from your own family or culture — a library, a work of public art, a place of worship, an object passed down to you from previous generations. Or, like me, you can choose to focus on a tradition to which you don’t belong, but to which you’ve been exposed whether through travel, moving, or the people in your life. I look forward to seeing your take on this theme!
Positive Motivation Tip: Embrace your heritage!
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos from my personal collection
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
This is a good way to use all of the great quotes out there. I like how you alternated them with photos 🙂
I think it is very important for us to know our heritage and make sure that it is passed on to future generations. You have chosen photos that are great representations of the meaning of heritage.
I come from a big Italian family and my kids are Portuguese, so it’s a good mix around here. There’s lots of good food at least 🙂
My heritage is African and I was also told by my doctor that my bloodwork shows a Mediterranean trait.
Heritage can mean so many different things, right? Really a complex word with deep threads intertwining. But to me it’s more of the legacy that was left to me.
Those masks really speak volumes about different cultures. I’ve been around a lot of Native American masks as well as Hawaiian warrior helmets. They are both so telling.
What a beautiful poem! The older I get, the more I want to know about my own heritage and pass it to my son. It is so important to know where you came from and understand that it is a large piece of your life’s puzzle.
I absolutely love reading your posts as they are always thought provoking yet personal at the same time. I read the poem three times and “Quench my pride and cool my blood” I think will stay with me for quite a long time. What a powerful line! Your masks are absolutely beautiful!
I know very little about my heritage, I am very disconnected from my family, but that’s a long story. Countee Cullen made quite an impression in the literary world. I love that poem.
Beautifully done. I feel the same in regard to my Indian heritage. Being of the more rare Creek Indian nation in the South gives me a deep appreciation for my roots.
Your heritage photos are beautiful. I love those masks. It makes me want to find Cuban and Jewish relics..I know, I’m a weird mix.
Africa is the birthplace of civilisation and I really believe we should all visit. It’s art alone is a reason. So many people collect these in the UK and its not hard to see why.
For me heritage is something that was left behind by our forefathers and what we’re going to leave behind for our children and their children. It’s one of the ways for us to honor our family history.
I think it is important to embrace and learn from out heritage. My family is primarily Irish descent and my husband’s family is mainly Italian so we try to learn about and embrace those cultures
I really like the poem, it explains perfectly the importance of heritage. Now I want to dig deep and learn more about mine!
Those masks are incredible. We have different Chinese art pieces at home because my grandmother is Chinese and it’s part of her heritage. Jewelry passed on from one generation to the other, that’s also what we consider as part of our heritage.
This is an impressive collection. Heritage for me comes from the feelings my parents have install in me rather than things, though I do have treasured things too. So probably a combination of the two
I agree… our heritage is definitely more than things… but we need things to capture in a photography challenge. 🙂
Wow this is really insightful. Heritage was a great prompt that really makes you stop and think.
Great photos! I actually don’t know much about my heritage , but I’d love to learn more.
Coincidentally, my son and I have just returned from a trip to the Namsangol Hanok Village here in Seoul. It’s one of the more popular tourist attractions here, showcasing traditional houses and how Koreans in the past used to live. 🙂
Great collection of images. Those masks are so interesting.
Very neat article on Countee Cullen! I had never heard of him so it was neat getting an inside peek into who he is!
These are some great works of art you have captured. I love ancient works of art!
Wow. Such a great heritage you have. Wish i have some collections too in our home.
Countee Cullen seems like such a special person. I loved those masks you have such a great collection. Those are thoughtful quotes by Rickey and Kennedy.
Knowing your heritage and where your roots are is so important to passing on your family history. Loved reading your poem!
I didn’t know this poet before. I really enjoyed reading it, although english not being my first language, it was a bit hard for me sometimes. the pictures are great. The quotes before each pictures are great too! will be using them 😉 xx corinne
I appreciate your effort. TY! 🙂
It’s so interesting, I think I pay more attention to my families heritage than the heritage of where we come from. I would love to explore that heritage more.
I’ve always liked the saying, “You can’t know where going if you don’t know where you came from.” Our heritage definitely plays a role in our lives, which is why it should be celebrated. I’m a huge fan of history and have always wanted to learn more about my family’s heritage.
Well said.
I really should take the time to look into my cultural background, thank you for sharing yours!
I am proud of my heritage too. Although I was not able to save or keep any object to remind me of it, but I did learn to cook dishes that are distinctively from the place where my parents, grandparents and great grandparents were born and raised. The dishes may have been tweaked a bit (because I could no longer find the same quality ingredients) but it still makes me feel like I was a girl again, eagerly awaiting for my grandmother’s rice cakes to be done.
Now, I’m curious to hear where your grandparents are from. Are they Eastern European?
I am proud of my heritage. I think it’s important to always know about where you came from.
I guess I view my heritage as something I inherited through past generations of my family. It’s something I can alter and pass on to my kids with my own touch added to it.
I love learning about history and the heritage of the places I visit. I also love capturing it in photos.
What a wonderful way to honor your heritage! I would love to see pictures of the masks you collect!
I think it’s important to know your heritage as it impacts who you are as a person and how you view the world, so it helps to get to know yourself better!
I love this post. Personally speaking, as a Millennial, heritage is something which does not spring to our mind. However, I would love to know more about my background, culture and heritage.
I’m extremely proud of my heritage. I come from great culture and rich history and I try to pass down some of the values to my kids as well.
what an interesting collection you have here! heritage is an interesting one – I’m Australian and my heritage is mixed with Irish, Scottish, English and German!
I love how artwork can be so different but yet so beautiful. Each person has their own taste when it comes to art work. These masks are beautiful .
This is really beautiful! I have Native American heritage. I love learning more about it. My grandmother was half Cherokee , which makes my red hair and green eyes interesting!
Heritage is such an important thing. My family is from the middle east and I love that I was raised with such a strong Arab influence!
I’m proud of my heritage and I hope to continue the legacy left by my grandparents to the next generation.
This is amazing. I didn’t realize how much heritage meant until I married into an interracial family.
beautiful read. Not only did I learn about the culture it makes me appreciate my lineage and where I come from <3
Wow, I am glad whenever someone keeps their culture & heritage so close to their heart! As I am from India, which again has a heritage going back to thousands of years, I have a keen interest in African art and culture. At the Museum of Art in NY, there’s a great collection of Art from the African region.
Love the masks and your deep-rooted love for your heritage.
I loved reading your poetry. To me, heritage is those qualities passed down from generation to generation. In my family that is perseverance and loyalty.
Such a moving post! There is something special about honoring our heritage and knowing where we came from. I don’t think you can truly know yourself or move forward unless you know what path you have come from.
Awesome post about heritage! Nice that you can share so much wisdom on the topic!
This is a great collection of masks. You always have fantastic photos. I am proud of my Latin heritage.
Reading through the creative poetry interspersed with the beautiful handcrafts was both interesting and educational. Africa is a continent I have not yet visited but I can’t wait to go and experience it.
African art really is something special. I have a wooden fertility goddess carved in Africa that was gifted to me years ago. Love it!
I somehow agree with the quote. And comparing it to real life. It is not our name that they remembered but the actions that we did in our life.
I have a blended heritage; I am half African American. I embrace my heritage by learning more about my ancestry and my culture. I also like to teach my children about our culture. It has taught them that knowing your heritage is very important and has great meaning.
Heritage for me is what I personally owned, exemplified, and accomplished in all aspect of development, and handed them to my posterity. So as my parent’s, the values I learned from them, their culture, their mores, and everything has served a great value for me of what I am today.
That poem by Countee Cullen gave me goosebumps Elizabeth. I live in South Africa and have been fortunate enough to travel to most countries in Africa the way he describes our beautiful continent is so incredibly real. Thanks for sharing his work, I’m really keen to read more of his poetry
I’m very interested to visit Africa someday, the photo collage looks very interesting! I love seeing different kinds of mask. learning the history of one country is really interesting
Thank you for the Heritage prompt, and sharing some of your beautiful African Art. We also own a few pieces. My husband has been collecting them over the years, and they are displayed around our home.
Such a wonderful collection of masks! I’m all about heritage and especially ancestry at the moment. I love building our family tree and researching the history of our family – we have a strong branch going back to Israel which is ever so interesting to read about. x
He is is so talented to have been writing poetry from such a young age and his words speak volumes to me. Learning about my heritage was like a puzzle waiting to be uncovered because I knew so little about it before x
You always have the most interesting and eye-opening conversations! Heritage is partly what we instill and pass on to our kids.
I think it’s fascinating to learn about different cultures throughout the world. And you’re right, the U.S. is so diverse. We’ve taken a little bit of everywhere to make our home what it is today.
When I think of “heritage” I think about where I’m from and my family history. We’re from the Philippines and it’s so fun to learn about my heritage since I left when I was so young (3 yrs old) and didn’t come back for 20+ years.
What a great theme and I must say I am very impressed by your masks collection!
Heritage is so important. I am native American and so much of mine was lost.
You have an awesome collection there. Reading this post made me think about my own heritage. Maybe I should look into this one one of these days.
Those masks are so lovely. I grew up in the Philippines with my Mama and some Filipina like her are very religious. They have a lot of Fiesta/Feast like Maskara Festival which also shows Mask like this one.
I love the history and culture that comes with these masks. It has intrigued me since I was a child.
I sat here reading this trying to picture what exactly DOES my heritage look like and how would I communicate that in pictures. It’s a hard question because my heritage just IS to me. It’s not something I try to make tangible. I never really thought about how difficult it would be to show heritage for some. Interesting
I love the photos you picked for this collage. I love learning about not only my heritage, but everyone’s heritage. Also learning about the history of different places. It is so fascinating.
My family’s heritage is my birthright. I may not have the physical possessions associated with it, but I am the descendant of courageous immigrants who braved the seas to live in a land where they believed would be a good place to raise a family.
Love the pictures. Makes me want to know more about my heritage and definitely make sure my children know about it as they grow up.
I think you captured ‘Heritage’ beautifully in your photo challenge. We love visiting museums to take photos of all the history of the world.
Beautiful heritage I love it, esp. because I share the same rich and amazingly deep heritage 🙂
I love your collection! I actually don’t have much from my heritage in my home, but I do have things from family members that remind me of them. I always thought that I didn’t have much of my own heritage because I didn’t learn much about it from my family members, but after reading your post I think I may look more into it for myself. Thank you!
This is fantastic and I really love culture and heritage too!
I enjoy knowing my heritage and being able to pass it down. Your collection of masks is amazing!
It’s funny I always think about the legacy I will leave behind for my children but that is just as important as the heritage from which they come. Countee Cullen is clearly talented and I’d be very interested in reading more of his poetry.
I love hearing others’ heritage and just being able to know how other people lives have transcended up until now is super fascinating.
African art is so beautiful and truly expressive. You can see the feeling put into each piece. It looks like you have a great collection.
My views on heritage is learning about where my grandparents and great grandparents were born. It is something I have always wanted to look in to but never did. I can only look on my moms side of the family.
I’m always intrigued with heritage. I love learning about those before us and even more so when it’s family.
Counter Cullen’s poetry is beautiful. The masks that you’ve collected is also quite interesting. My heritage is quite mixed and some of it is difficult to trace.
The poems are beautiful and the masks remind of the ones in the museum back home in Osun State. Heritage to me means lots of beads and wrapper as well as stunning hair styles.
The poems you have found are incredible! I love going to art and history museums teaching my children about history and what happened in the past, how people lived. There is so much to share about our civilization other than what we hear in the news daily, and we should be proud of what we have achieved as humans.
I can’t ever forget the experience of getting to visit this in Xi’an, China when I was there four years ago. Such a wonderful part of the Chinese heritage and history!
We have alot to learn from our heritage. We must make use of our past generations’ experiences to become better!
What a heart felt and passionate poem on the beauty and life and love of Africa. Heritage is so important and to have a strong sense of it in our communities.
Love the masks and I think you have a beautiful collection there. Knowing your heritage is really important so you know who you are and where you are coming from.
I like learning the history of the places that I am visiting. These are an impressive collection of art.
Here in South Africa, we have Heritage Day somewhere in September and it really is amazing to see people showing off their heritage. Interesting to read and know about Countee Cullen.
I recently went on a museum tour at San Francisco’s De Young Museum and we learned about the significance of many African masks. It was really interesting to learn about how integrated they are in the culture.
All of these masks remind me of my mother. My mother’s house is filled with beautiful masks on the wall. However, on a different note, I am a big believer in learning about heritage and cultures of other countries. <3
Oh wow, I actually went to the Yale art gallery yesterday and saw different cultural art pieces. Reading the story is so interesting 🙂
Love it! Looks great
What a wonderful challenge! My brother recently went through ancestry.com to draw our lineage, and it was eye opening – plus a ton of fun!
I love celebrating my latin heritage. Those are some beautiful mask you have collected. My sisters collect a lot of Puerto Rican artwork in which I plan to collect more as well.
I’ve seen some fantastic paintings from Puerto Rico too. 🙂
Thank you for sharing what heritage means to you. I’m from Trinidad so my family have deep cultural roots with an intense love for family, music, and sunshine. I love that you collect African art and sculptures… must be nice being surrounded by visual pieces of art that inspire you and help you to remember your heritage and the beautiful aspects of it.
Yes, I enjoy it… Thank you! 🙂
The poem is beautiful. What a great read.
Interesting topic! As a Brazilian, my heritage is a mix of several races, countries & cultures. And I’m proud of that! Everyone should be! That’s what makes each one of us unique.
that is quite a mask collection! I love learning more about my heritage and other cultures.
These are very beautiful masks.I love any thing that shows a person’s culture and /or heritage. Thanks for sharing.
Our heritage is our own identity. We should really learn to appreciate, treasure it and pass it on for future generations.
These masks are beautiful. I would love to learn more about our heritage as my daughters are growing. My husband is Italian and I know there’s a deep history to explore with my girls.
Oh this is incredible. My Dad collects African antiques. I love how the colors are used. Learning about your heritage is so important and fun!
This was very interesting piece to read! I am proud of my heritage, although I’m not from any interesting places haha!
Heritage is an integral part of our identity. As an Indian, we have a very diverse ancient culture and tradition. We all should proud of her cultural heritage!
Without knowing our heritage, it feels like you are not complete. Our heritage is our foundation to where we want to be.
You posted heritage and so I expected something like my grandmother has on her big old chest. But I was surprised to see a different collection. Your pieces are mythical and fun, it’s as if they were from the Disney animation – El Dorado. Well, having to collect heritage pieces is a privilege and helps us to take care of the art and history of our ancestries.
Thank you. I agree…
Heritage is such an important part of any country. I love to see when countries take steps to not forget it
Being full blooded Italian I have collected certain things from my heritage, but most of all learning stories about family members in the past. That has been the most rewarding.
Awesome collection! I think it’s best that we know more of our heritage, I guess I don’t fully know about my heritage yet and I am fond to know more 😉
Beautiful artwork and great challenge. Very deep and insightful post. Thank you.
I used to get nightmares and creeps when I was young looking at the masks thnks to media and their portrayal of cursed spirits etc. But as I grow older, I understand how they were used to protect villagers~