Storyteller brings West African culture to WMS students

‘Asha’s Baba’ performs three shows for students at
Windsor Middle School
by NATHAN WRIGHT, Staff Writer
“If you think this is strange, it’s because this is from a
different culture,” explained Asha’s Baba, as he faced the
sixth-grade class at Windsor Middle School.
Garbed in what he called a West-African tuxedo, Asha’s Baba
treated three grade levels at the middle school to “Jaliyaa,” a
performance that includes West-African history, culture, stories,
and music performed on an instrument called a Kora.
“It was fun to learn a new experience of culture,” said
sixth-grader Nicole Fernandez.
Asha’s Baba, whose name translates to Asha’s (his daughter) dad,
explained to the students how important it is to know the meaning
of your own name. “Name’s are very, very important,” he said.
“Every person’s name on this planet has a meaning. If you don’t
know the meaning of your name, you don’t know something about
yourself.”
The performer continued with songs, historical information and
stories. Asha’s Baba uses a Kora, a 21-string harp made out of a
large gourd that originates in west Africa.
As he walked through the large crowd of students, Asha’s Baba
would often stop and perform for an individual student. One of
those students was Sarah Wilson, who described the event as “fun
and cool,” but admitted that it was a little scary getting singled
out.
Grace Curtin, a seventh-grade teacher at WMS and the one who
introduced Asha’s Baba to the Associated Student Body (ASB), was
happy with the performance. “He made some excellent connections
between what we’ve studied in class and his live performance,” she
said. The seventh-grade curriculum at WMS includes a section on
African history and culture. Students write folk tales and make
African masks in the section.
“After the performance, we came back to class and did a
debrief,” Curtin said. “The kids came back saying, ‘I know what a
storyteller does!’ They recognized the culture. It was just a
perfect fit.”
Asha’s Baba conducted three 40-minute performances, acting out
different skits for the sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes.
According to Curtin, the eighth-grade skit included historical
content, while the sixth-grade skit was more playful. The
seventh-grade skit was a blend of the two. “Each performance was
vastly different,” she said.
After his performance was done, Asha’s Baba spent time chatting
with students who were interested in performance. “Several students
who are interested in music sat with him and discussed music all
through their break,” said Curtin. “At this age, that’s
uncommon.”
Asha’s Baba entertains all over the world, but focuses his
performances around Los Angeles, near his home.
Although he enjoys touring, he believes his most important job
is in the home, as a father. “The job I love more than anything
else in the world is being a dad,” he said. Along with being a
touring soloist, Asha’s Baba also produces larger performances in
and around Los Angelos, which involve over 30 dancers. He doesn’t
take the show on the road, however, because “it’s just too many
people to try to tour with.”
The performance, which Curtin said cost $1,200, was paid for by
the ASB.