What is Columbusing?
We all know the story of Christopher Columbus. His legendary voyage is praised throughout the western world and he even has his own holiday. Columbus is celebrated for "discovering" The Americas on October 12th, 1492. The paradox of Columbus’ discovery is that the America’s had already been discovered and inhabited by the Indigenous population thousands of years prior to Columbus’ arrival (Wilford). In the tradition of the man himself, Columbusing refers to discovering something that already exists, and as explained by College Humor, this discovery is specifically for white people. Columbusing is cultural appropriation at its best and further shows the complexity of race and how the narrative of American culture is dominated by whiteness even if it derives from communities of color.
YOGA
The Indian tradition of Yoga is a physical, spiritual and mental practice that
aims to transform body and mind. The word yoga is derived from the literal
meaning of "yoking together" a span of horses or oxen, but
came to be applied to the "yoking" of mind and body (White). Yoga has
been practiced for thousands of years in India and became popular in the US in
1980s. According to the Asia Times, “By 2008, the US Patent and Trademark
Office had issued 150 yoga-related copyrights and 2,315 yoga trademarks.” While practicing yoga is not a form of
appropriation, actively claiming ownership of an ancient non-western practice
is. Yoga is just one of many examples of cultural piracy.
The Harlem Shake
The
Harlem Shake was a dance created by Harlem resident, “Al B”. Although the dance
was created in the 1980s, it was popularized in the early 2000s by artists like
Missy Elliott and Lil Bow Wow (Crates). The dance eventually faded but the name
regained popularity in 2013 with the “Harlem Shake” song. The video for the
song went viral and was an international sensation with people from Kenya, East
Lansing, to The Netherlands doing the “Harlem Shake”. The song is a kind of techno;
dub step song and Harlem residents criticize its use of the name “Harlem Shake”
without having anything to do with the dance (Laird). The videos below depict
the 2013 trend of “Harlem Shake” and the real Harlem Shake.
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Twerking
The Oxford English dictionary defines twerking as: a type of dancing in which an individual, usually a female, dances to music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low squatting stance. Although Miley Cyrus has been credited for inventing twerking, the dance has its roots in traditional West African dances like Mapouka . While white America was praising Miley for her “awesome booty shaking”, Black America was scratching their heads wondering how can a dance with African roots and rapped about 13 years prior to Miley’s inventing, in the Ying Yang Twins song, “ Whistle While you Twurk” (2000) be new? For years Black women have been seen as beguiling and overly sexual for twerking and Miley is being called innovative. In a recent Playboy article, which featured white girls twerking stated, “Who knew twerking could become somewhat of an art form? Russian choreographer Shoshina Katerina and her team of 6 bootylicious dancers show how twerking can actually become a choreographed dance.” Twerking has been choreographed and practiced for years, but it is only respected as an art form when white women do it.
Holi
Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival also known as the festival of love or the festival of colors. The celebration of “holi” has symbolism, “The word "Holi" originates from "Holika", the evil sister of demon king Hiranyakashipu. King Hiranyakashipu had earned a boon that made him virtually indestructible. The special powers blinded him, he grew arrogant, thought he was God, and demanded that everyone worshiped only him”(Hinduism Today, Hawaii (2011). Hiranyakashipu was eventually killed and the bon-fire during Holi symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. The earliest mention of “Holi” in western culture is the 1687 entry in the Oxford Dictionary. In some regions of India, Holi is a 16 day festival. In the United States, The Color Run, Run or Dye, The Graffiti Run and other color throw 5k runs appropriate Holi, and while these runs are usually for a good cause like homelessness, most Americans are unaware of the color throw’s origins. .
Sources
"Dance Has Africans Shaking Behinds, and Heads", Norimitsu Orishi, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/28/world/dance-has-africans-shaking-behinds-and-heads.html
Holi: Splashed with colors of friendship Hinduism Today, Hawaii (2011)
Everyone’s Going Mental for This White Girl Twerking Video. December 4, 2014 http://www.playboy.com/videos/everyones-going-mental-new-twerking-video
"Twerk: Definition of Twerk in Oxford Dictionary - American English (US)". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
Jake Crates (2013-02-14). "EXCLUSIVE: G. Dep Comments On “Harlem Shake” Craze; “It Ain’t Defining Harlem”". AllHipHop.com. http://allhiphop.com/2013/02/14/exclusive-g-dep-comments-on-harlem-shake-craze-it-ain-defining-harlem/
Laird, Sam. "The Real Harlem Shake: 6 Videos You Shouldn't Meme Without". Mashable. http://mashable.com/2013/02/20/the-real-harlem-shake/
White, David Gordon (2011), Yoga, Brief History of an Idea (Chapter 1 of "Yoga in practice"), Princeton University Press
Header Photo: http://democracychronicles.com/columbus-other-voyage/
Holi: Splashed with colors of friendship Hinduism Today, Hawaii (2011)
Everyone’s Going Mental for This White Girl Twerking Video. December 4, 2014 http://www.playboy.com/videos/everyones-going-mental-new-twerking-video
"Twerk: Definition of Twerk in Oxford Dictionary - American English (US)". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
Jake Crates (2013-02-14). "EXCLUSIVE: G. Dep Comments On “Harlem Shake” Craze; “It Ain’t Defining Harlem”". AllHipHop.com. http://allhiphop.com/2013/02/14/exclusive-g-dep-comments-on-harlem-shake-craze-it-ain-defining-harlem/
Laird, Sam. "The Real Harlem Shake: 6 Videos You Shouldn't Meme Without". Mashable. http://mashable.com/2013/02/20/the-real-harlem-shake/
White, David Gordon (2011), Yoga, Brief History of an Idea (Chapter 1 of "Yoga in practice"), Princeton University Press
Header Photo: http://democracychronicles.com/columbus-other-voyage/