Event to present African
traditions
By Megan Finnerty
Features
Editor
It's taken some time, but now Ciku Kiereini, a
senior in the School of Agriculture, just smiles and laughs when Americans
ask her if she has lions in her back yard.
Kiereini is from Kenya and said she and the other
100 or so African students on campus are often asked questions like
that one.
And so in an effort to answer the questions of
many Lafayette area residents and Purdue community members, the Purdue
African Students Association will host their annual African dinner,
fashion show and dance at 6:30 Saturday at the University Church. Tickets
are $8 for students and $20 for families.
"We get all sorts of questions," Kiereini said
with a wide smile. "Everyone seems to think we live in huts. 'Do you
have animals in your back yard?' We get that a lot," she said. "We really
don't blame people."
The food and fashions will be from countries all
over Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Mali, Tunisia, Senegal and Niger.
The fashions will be the traditional garb worn
daily in several African nations and items worn on special occasions,
such as weddings, funerals and parties. Kiereini will be wearing a traditional
dress she would wear to a wedding ceremony.
"We do it to educate the Greater Lafayette area
about Africa because so many people think Africa is just one big country,
but there are 51 countries and four regions, all with their own distinct
traditions and clothing," Kiereini said.
Neddy Koech, a fifth-year pharmacy student from
Kenya, is organizing the cooking committee and looking forward to eating
her favorite dish, Ingera, a flat bread with a spicy beef chew.
"It takes you back to Africa, it takes you back
home," she said with a lilting accent. "I really enjoy telling people
about home because everyone has a really different view of Africa and
when you talk to them, they understand. What most people see is what
is shown in the media — normally just the poor parts or the people
dying of AIDS; it's never the positive things."
The group hopes to change people's impressions
of their home continent with a slide show of photos of members' friends,
families and neighborhoods and an auction of traditional crafts, such
as animal carvings, clothing and cloths.
Based on past numbers of attendees, the group expects
200 people to come Saturday night to enjoy the food, fashions and decorations.
Group members will prepare more than 20 dishes,
including several with ingredients such as rice, couscous, beef, chicken
and greens.
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