KINESTHETIC AESTHETICS AND HAPTIC FEEDBACK IN VODU PERFORMANCES: AN INTER-SENSORY PERSPECTIVE

Virtual 2021 ACASA Triennial Conference

Spiritual performances in Africa are as varied as they are complex - ranging from the functional to the aesthetic, visual to the kinesthetic, physical to the metaphysical, employing sensory and meta-sensory faculties. In Vodu performances (e.g. Koku, Brekete) the mode of spiritual communication is established through sounds and body gestures. Vodu esoteric language and spiritual communication do not only overlap with the arts and the kinesthetic senses but also with the metaphysical realms. These unique sensorial modes of expression provide integrated aural, kinesthetic, and visual experience that stimulates particular modes of response and interaction. This grants Vodu performers powerful symbolic expressions of synesthesia and psychic powers as it is perceived in a culture which in turn renders perceptible a symbolism of the unity of the senses. The multiplicity and complexity of performative and kinesthetic patterns impose a heavy burden on researchers, particularly in terms of the psychic energy that animates Vodu performances with its own unique aesthetics. Thus, new grounds in theory and methodology need to be broken in order to bridge the gap between performer, the performance and the researcher to unravel the mystery behind the unity of the senses in Vodu performances. This presentation will focus on these specific details in Vodu performances.

Keywords: Performance, Synesthesia, Kinetic, Senses, Intuition, Art, Integrated, Visual.