Post One

Post Notes 1

The passage I am referring to discusses how the rulers of Suriname will set an example by punishing Oroonoko: "But calling these special rulers of the nation together, and requiring their counsel in this weighty affair, they all concluded that (damn them) it might be their own cases; and that Caesar ought to be made an example to all the Negroes to fright them from daring to threaten their betters, their lords and masters, and at this rate, no man was safe from how own slaves, and concluded nemine contradicente, that Caesar should be hanged." (Behn, 70) This passage led me to wonder about his journey to America, and how these rulers obtained their power and classified themselves as inherently superior or "better." While reading this text, I was reminded of the gaps in the history surrounding the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Furthermore, Aphra Behn’s perspective offered in the text present the importance of narrative while recounting history. In searching for a secondary source, my internet results produced a website concerning slave voyages. I realized the material I stumbled upon was a digital database that serves as an archive of slave ship voyages over the course of history. It stated on the website that this project is a resource of collaborative research from scholars across the world. This project is a culmination of data from the 1960s, that is constantly being re-evaluated and expanded upon in contemporary society. From 2015-2018, the website was recoded and modernized with new interfaces.

On the website, I wanted to see if I could locate a ship that was similar to the journey Behn discussed in her text. Once I narrowed the parameters according to the year, I found a ship that departed from the Bight of Biafra (which is on the West Coast of Africa) that arrived in Suriname. I concluded that this ship is most likely the one the author was depicting in the story of Oroonoko’s capture and translocation to the New World. The log accounted for information like the name of the vessel, the captain’s name, and the number of people that boarded in West Africa and arrived in Suriname. I liked the specificity because it accounts for the lives lost on the journey there and African Americans’ fragmented history in America. This archival information enhances my understanding of Oroonoko because it contextualizes the story in a very real way. Although it was Behn’s travel narrative, and it is lauded as the first anti-slavery text in circulation; this is based on real events and real people. This resource expands my understanding of the passage and supports my thesis statement. Despite this groundbreaking work in this field, there are many names, faces, and stories that are lost in the Atlantic ocean due to the enslavement of Africans. We should read these archives with a dual perspective, recognizing and reconciling with the history of America.

Post Notes 2

Kamalakanta Bhattacharya was a Bengali Shakta and popular yogi in the late eighteenth century. Although he grew up poor, his mother managed to send him to higher education. As he became proficient in the Sanskrit language, he developed an affinity for poetry and music. Later in life, he was mentored by a Tantric yogi named Kenaram Bhattacharya. Throughout his lifetime, he was a great devotee of Kali and wrote many impassioned and devotional love songs. The spirit of Kali is depicted as a destroyer of ignorance and hostile forces. So, Kamalakanta’s poetry embodies heroism and religiosity in the faith of Kali. Although Kali is a black and terrifying form, he doesn’t depict it as such. The spirit of Kali was viewed as a liberator of bondage and exceeding beyond limitations. The poems were recorded as songs in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna alongside Ramprasad. The songs were revered as direct visions from God that displayed fidelity to the Divine Mother. He lived from 1769 to 1821. This poet should be included in our anthology because it is an example of poetry in an international context. In the frame of history and literature, we tend to look towards the West and rarely focus on Eastern influences. Kamalakanta grapples with race and religion in a similar way that many American authors adopted. As we understand poetry to be a vehicle of self-expression and redefine the genre, it was a powerful tool of speech. However, religion and spirituality were at the center of life in the eighteenth century, so it makes sense that many of Kamalakanta’s poems revolve around Kali.