African song / Fatu Gayflor • War and wealth - Philadelphia Folklore ...

A N INTERVIEW WITH F ATU G AYFLOR by Timothy D. Nevins
Tim: Fatu, if you don’t mind
me asking, how did you get the
title of “Princess”? Does this mean
that you come from a royal family
and that your father was a king?
Fatu: Actually no, even though my
father was a chief in a Vai village, I don’t
consider myself to be actual royalty. I
received the title of “Princess” when I
was crowned Princess of Liberian
Folklore Music in 1984, during the time
of President Samuel K. Doe. I was given
that title for being the first woman to
learn to sing folksongs in most of the
sixteen national languages.
Tim: That is really interesting.
So what was your first experience
in the recording studio, recording
that famous “golden voice” of
yours?
Fatu: Well, before 1980 no recording
studios existed in Monrovia except for
the tiny “ABC Studio” with its twotrack
recording device in the crowded
Waterside Market. This set-up was very
rudimentary and exploitative. Recording
artists were only given a very small
amount of money in a lump sum after
recording a song, and there was no
such thing as a recording contract. It
was pretty bad. The situation improved
a little bit a few years later when a
second recording studio, called “Studio
99,” was opened by a Lebanese man
named Faisal Helwani. Studio 99 was
located on 5th Street in the residential
Sinkor neighborhood.
Tim: I am curious, what was your
biggest hit song during this early
period?
Fatu: My biggest hit song, “Si Kele We,”
was recorded in 1984 with a total of
only 25 vinyl records being pressed!
These records were given as gifts to
visiting foreign dignitaries. The rest of
the recordings were only released on
cassette tape and promoted by the
state-run radio station, ELBC. Other
Cultural Troupe members, such as
Nimba Burr, did not record in the
studio until much later, in the 1990s.
Tim: Did any of those early vinyl
records survive the war? Do you
have any of them with you still?
Fatu:: Unfortunately, no, none survived
that I know of.
Tim: How would you compare
your music at the time to the
funky hit songs of the “doyen
diva” of Liberian music, Miatta
Fahnbulleh?
Fatu: Well, we both have a Vai ethnic
background, but her music was
“modern” and mostly sung in English,
while ours was “traditional.”
Tim: So tell me, what was it like
living as a young teenager in the
National Art Village at Kendeja
before Charles Taylor’s rebel
invasion and the civil war
destroyed the campus at the
beginning of 1990?
Fatu: I left the campus in 1985, so
fortunately I was not there when the
war reached the campus in 1990. My
memories are from before the war
came. One striking feature at Kendeja
were the various examples of
indigenous architecture. Traditional
houses were built at Kendeja, including
homes in the Vai, Kpelle, Bassa, and
Mandingo building styles, all of which
are different. Many were built with the
same materials, including thatch roofs,
but with vastly different designs. It was
important that the Mandingos were
included there because many Liberians
didn’t consider the Mandingos to be
“true citizens” of Liberia even after
living several generations in the country.
They were a group that was
misrepresented through history lessons
and generations of storytelling. People
forget that all of us are from
somewhere else. The way African
nations were carved up [by European
imperialists] had little to do with what
ethnic groups were living on what land,
and which groups had good relations
with each other.
Tim: Who was the director of the
Cultural Center when you arrived?
Fatu: Peter Ballah was the director of
the campus, and Mr. Zumana was the
stage director.
Tim: Fatu, how did you support
yourself financially while part of
the Cultural Troupe?
Fatu: At that time I received a monthly
salary from the government—the
Department of Information, Cultural
Affairs, and Tourism (ICAT)—as did
other members of the troupe. There
was also a school, a dormitory, and a
cafeteria on the campus.
Tim: I was surprised to learn that
while you were living in the
National Art Village at the
Kendeja Cultural Center, there
was also a Sande “Bush” School
set up nearby that initiated young
girls into the ways of their elders.
I normally associate Sande
“Bush” Schools with rural areas in
the Northwest of Liberia, not
with metropolitan areas
such as Monrovia.
Fatu: Yes, there was a Sande Village
called Kenema for the instruction of the
young women. It was within walking
distance of Kendeja. One of the
prominent instructors there was an
older woman named “Ma Gbessay”
(Gbessay Kiazolu). I personally was
never involved in the actual training
aspects. Remember, the Kendeja
Cultural Center was not located in
downtown Monrovia; we were in the
country area to the south of the city, on
the beachfront.
[Continued on p. 25 >]
2007-2008 Winter WIP 7