For the masquerade who danced out eternal

Olusola, Onobrakpeya, Babawale pay tribute to Beier
THE GUARDIAN, THURSDAY, 07 APRIL 2011 00:00 BY MICHAEL ORIE AND YEMI OLAKITAN ART - ARTS


DAYS after the death of the venerable arts and culture enthusiast, Ulli Beier, tributes and encomium have continued to pour in for the man who opened the Osogbo Art to the world.
According to Prof. Tunde Babawale, Director General of Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Beier was passionate about Nigeria arts and culture. While commiserating with the entire art and culture community over the passing on of the culture promoter, Babawale said, “was as a unique personality who made passionate and indelible contributions to the development and popularisation of Yoruba arts and culture.”
The DG said Beier provided an enduring platform for interaction between Yoruba indigenous ideas, beliefs and practices and the European cultural space, the legacy of which is the Iwalewa House at the University of Bayreuth, which continues to host scholars in different areas of African Studies.

Prof. Babawale also recalled how the deceased enriched the holdings of Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo, by handing over his historical collections, which now provide a photographic history of Yoruba traditional institution, architecture, artistes and other areas of Yoruba culture in the gallery of CBCIU.
Chief Segun Olusola said, “his death is a significant loss to us; he lived a full rewarding life in the 50s in Ibadan at that time when I started as a TV producer in 1959.
The culture patriarch said “he became a constant companion and counsellor. I spent nights with him in Osogbo, while working with Duro Ladipo and his group at that time and he encouraged my warm relationship with Timi Ede, the master drummer.”
Olusola added, “in Ibadan, we worked on a number of theatre and TV projects and with Mbari group of artists.
“ After he left Nigeria, we met at Port Moresby Papua New Guinea North of Austrialia, there we reached out to the first generation of theatre artiste in that country and my story telling sessions became an unforgettable late night affairs with the students of Papua New Guinea.
“Ulli and I also met at Frankfurt in Germany. On two occasions, when he returned to Nigeria we sat at my to recount our days in those place and the long history we have kept. We miss him and the industry too.”
In keeping to his legacy, Olusola observed “I hope Tunji will remain a Nigeria child, as a drummer, it will be difficult for us to forget Beier.”
On the issue of Beier staying back in Nigeria before he returned to his country, Olusola said, “nobody stood on his way of living permanently in Nigeria, there were rather pressures, the first wife lived and died in Nigeria, in Osogbo. He did not mind staying, just that the arrangement did not work out this has nothing to do with Nigeria not wanting him to stay, rather that will be an indictment on people like us for not accommodating him in Nigeria. I don’t think there are any stories of Nigeria refusing to accommodate him,” he said
For the artist Bruce Onobrakpeya, Beier was a very important figure in Nigerian arts.
According to him, Beier made a great impact in the development of Nigerian arts, particularly, the visual arts.
He said, “Nigeria and indeed Africa would miss him a great deal. ‘In fact the global arts community in the world would miss him”
Onobrakpeya said Beier made a lot of impacts on numerous Nigerian visual artists such as Jimoh Buraimoh, Twin 77 and himself.
He said, “he made such tremendous through his various workshops in Osogbo, Ibadan and Ife that he became larger than life in the arts scene, bringing in teachers, instructors and participants from outside Nigeria.
According to the paint master, ‘‘His workshops were an inspiration to all of us. He was a great mentor. These workshops are what made Beier immortal in Nigerian arts scene. In fact, I created my harmattan workshops as a direct inspiration from his work in the Oshogbo workshops. There were also many theater artistes who got inspired through his work. His relationship with the late Duro Ladipo also helped developed Nigerian theatre because he contributed his talents and insights. The glory that Osogbo art enjoyed today was due in part to Beier’s contribution and various workshops there. He was responsible to a large extent to the development of Osogbo arts. Beier was a very important figure in 20th century Nigerian arts and we would miss him greatly.”

Rain of tributes for culture scholar, Ulli Beier
THE GUARDIAN WEDNESDAY, 06 APRIL 2011 00:00 BY KABIR ALABI GARBA ART - ARTS



TORRENTS of tributes have continued to pour in for the late culture icon, Prof. Ulli Beier. In the words of Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the demise of Beier is “a hole in the history of mankind that will take some hard time to fill.”
In a statement by Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osogbo, Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said the state government appreciated Beier’s “decision to utilize his ability to shape the course and engender the preservation of man’s progress through the theatre of life.”
The statement reads further: “For more than 40 years, his contact with Africa, the Nok Culture and Yoruba civilization became a hugely engaging revelation that shamed pessimists and further strengthened the capacity of the Black man to secure a place of his in the history of mankind.
“Along with Susanne Wenger, Beier, who was better known as a Black man in white skin, assisted the anthropological evolution, historical relevance, artistic creativity and emergence of first class artists of different genre in Africa.
“It was through his efforts that artistic titans like Duro Ladipo (Sango), Jimoh Buraimoh and others were unleashed on the world to showcase the potential of people that were not recognized as part of history. He encouraged the production of Oba Koso, a world-class drama that confirmed the sophistication of African people before the advent of colonialists.”
According to the governor, although the cultural titan, like all mortals, “has gone to the land of the spirits, his giant footprints remain indelible and matchless in the character of great minds that shaped the course of mankind.”
Similarly, former Nigeria’s ambassador to UNESCO, Prof. Michael Omolewa said,
“the transition to glory of Prof. Ulli Beier is a cause for celebration. Here is a man who had lived a fulfilled life. An intellectual, he spent his time and life outside the university walls, working in the Department of Extra-mural Studies and then moving out to African studies and finally living among the art practitioners.
“Although a European, he devoted his passion to appreciating African culture and art. He was not limited by space as he moved around all continents and regions of the world with his commitment and dedication to the protection of diversity.”
The renowned diplomat during whose tenure as Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO, the global culture body ratified Nigeria’s desire to host Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) in Osogbo said, “but we can also liken this quality transition to the burning down of a library and a cultural heritage site.”
Prof. Omolewa explained further, “For Ulli Beier carried with him immense treasure, profound knowledge and knowledge of the cultures and practices of the people. Yoruba culture was close to his heart and his work among the Osogbo people brought him honour and dignity, respect and recognition. Many people will recall how in 2008, his name was effectively linked to the justification for the establishment in Nigeria of the first Category 2 Institute in Culture for Africa by UNESCO. He was a gift from Germany to Africa.”
According to Prof. Dapo Adelugba, “it is very sad to hear of the passing on of the great scholar practitioner of culture and all round teacher and educationist.”
In the words of Adelugba, “Beier had 89 eventful years, which he spent selflessly and in the course of the humanities. He spent a good portion of his active life in Nigeria and he was innovative in his approach to cultural and artistic studies. I have no doubt that elaborate celebrations of his life and work both in Nigeria and in other countries of the world must by now be in progress. May his noble soul rest in perfect peace.”
The erudite scholar, however, urged “cultural experts in our ministries and culture departments and in our various universities and arts centres to hurry up with the grand plan for the celebrations.”
For Prof. Ahmed Yerima: “I never saw Beier as a German; I saw him as a Nigerian. He rediscovered a path for us, especially in the Yoruba culture, and some of the symbols of our culture. So, he delved deeply into our culture with the establishment of Mbari Mbayo in Osogbo where artists like Twin Seven Seven were discovered, his work at the Osogbo groove with his Austrian wife, Susanne Wenger, and then his intellectual work by assisting our intellectuals to be heard outside. All these show that he came for a mission.”
According to Dr. Osita Okagbue, who teaches African Theatre History, Postcolonial Theatre, Culture and Performance, Analytic Vocabularies, and Modernisms and Postmodernity at Goldsmiths, University of London, “Professor Beier did contribute immensely to African Studies and should rightly be remembered and celebrated by all, especially those who knew and worked closely with him.”
To culture activist and former Deputy Editor of The Guardian, Ben Tomoloju, Beier had been a pioneering protagonist of cultural dialogue across the world. “We are particularly appreciative of the works he has done in Nigeria, in terms of probing into the fundamental elements of indigenous culture. His interaction with some of our pioneer literary, performing and visual artists also provided a boost to the quality of contemporary Nigerian Art,” Tomoloju reminisced.
The late culture scholar, according to Tomoloju, “was not without some errors of judgement. For instance, in the legitimacy of African theatre, he ran into controversy with Nigerian researchers concerning the status of African theatre, but it was all a learning process that was duly resolved in favour of the global legitimacy of African theatre.”
The veteran journalist also regretted the inability to realize Beier’s wish to return to Nigeria and spend the rest of his life.
“It was kind of unfortunate that his wish in the 1990s to return to spend the rest of his life in Nigeria was frustrated by the officialdom. Otherwise, by now, Nigeria and Nigerian culture sector would have been hosting the entire world to the largest gathering of intellectuals in an unprecedented rite of passage to one of the leading citizens of the world,” remarked Tomoloju.
The Centre for Black and African Arts and |Civilization (CBAAC) has also commiserated with the entire art and culture society over the passing away of African culture enthusiast and promoter, Ulli Beier. Director-General of the Centre, Prof. Tunde Babawale, in a statement described Beier as a unique personality who made passionate and indelible contributions to the development and popularisation of Yoruba arts and culture. The DG said Ulli Beier provided an enduring platform for interaction between Yoruba indigenous ideas, beliefs and practices and the European cultural space, the legacy of which is the Iwalewa House at the University of Bayreuth, which continues to host scholars in different areas of African Studies.
Prof. Babawale also recalls how the deceased enriched the holdings of Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo, by handing over his historical collections which now provide a photographic history of Yoruba traditional institution, architecture, artistes and other areas of Yoruba culture in the gallery of CBCIU.




How Yoruba culture deepens Ulli Beier’s knowledge of humanity
THE GUARDIAN TUESDAY, 05 APRIL 2011 00:00 BY TAJUDEEN SOWOLE


During his last visit to Nigeria in 2005, Prof Ulli Beier who passed on two days ago in Sydney, Australia, at 91, explained to TAJUDEEN SOWOLE how the Yoruba culture strengthened his knowledge about humanity
IT was the second day of the photography exhibition by Beier titled The Face of the Gods: Yoruba Kings, Priests and Children, held at the Arts Gallery, Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The exhibition was organized by the institute in honour of Oba Moses Oyinlola (the Olokuku of Okuku 1892 – 1960) as part of a book launch. The book titled Every Inch A King: A Biography Chronicling the Legacy of Service of Oba Moses Oyewole Oyinlola, Olokuku of Okuku, (1934-1960) was co-written by Lasisi Olagunju, Bamidele Salam, Kayode Oladeji and Wole Ogundele.
Beier, during a chat at the staff quarters of the university explained how the royal class’ harmonization of Christianity and Islam with the traditional religion fascinated him. He cited the example of Oba Timi Laoye of Ede. “He was a Christian, educated through the American Baptist church. He would go to church on Sundays, to the mosque on the major Muslim festivals and still celebrate during the traditional Yoruba festivals.”
He also noted that this humility radiated in the children who “in the presence of elders were never unruly like European children.” Despite this seemingly submissiveness, the children, he noted, were given considerable rights. “A mother could not scold her child freely without facing protest from other women in the neighborhood.”
And on his larger cultural mission, he stated that through the royal fathers such as Timi of Ede, Oba Adetoyese Laoye; Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Samuel Adeleye Adenle; Oogoga of Ikere, Oba Adegoriola; Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Moses Oyinlola, he was able to learn more.
Beier reminisced: “I was fortunate that I met Timi Laoye, one of my early students in the extramural classes. Through Laoye, I met other Obas like Adenle, Adegoriola and Oyinlola (father of the Governor) of Osun State.” Beier was so passionate about the Yoruba culture such that he gave himself different native names. One of such, perhaps, well known among the people is ‘Obotunde Ijimere.’
He also recounted how he met Oba Oyinlola in 1954, an encounter that would later “help me to study the history of Okuku and record the oriki of the kings and the people.”
His academic sojourn, he said had led him to the larger world of Yoruba cultural studies outside the school. “I had come to the college (University College Ibadan) to teach English, but I also had the freedom to introduce courses in African Literature, which I believed would be more interesting to my students than Chaucer, Milton and Wordsworth.”
On Yoruba art, Beier, in the brochure of the exhibition noted that the wood carvers whose works were largely of the doors and columns for the palaces as well as shrine doors, sacred images and masks for the egungun (masquerades) “did not consider themselves as people of a special standing in the society as their Western counterparts have done.”
And on a larger scale, Beier’s contribution to the informal sector of art education started with workshops for artisans in parts of Ife and Osogbo. He said of the people’s art: “In Yoruba art, as in all great art, form and content are completely identical. The artist, like the priest, operates on a certain level of consciousness, where he is in close contact with trees, animals, spirits.”
Beier’s study of the people also suggests a mystic perspective to the people’s culture. “Yoruba are particularly sensitive to inner vibrations of the world; they are still in tune with nature. They can still see meaningful relationships between certain natural forces, historical personalities, the force associated with certain animals, the magic quality of minerals or even colours.”
Although Beier and his partner, British-born Georgina, also included the Eastern part of the country in their experimentation, the Ife-Osogbo axis ended up as the couple’s major focus for which they are known till date.
From the several workshops spanning a period of five years, skills of artists such as Oyelami, Jimoh Buraimoh, Twin Seven Seven Jacob Ogundele, Rufus Ogundele were elevated beyond the artisan level. And it was not just about visual art, but culture in general: some of the performing artists who were brought to broader public glare through workshops were Yemi Elebuibon, late Oyin Adejobi, Tidjani Mayakiri, Ademola Onobonokuta and Lere Paimo.
However, the workshops for the visual artists, he noted, was made much easier when his partner Georgina joined him. Beier insisted that the workshop initiative was never “meant to teach the artists,” but to motivate them.
In 1949, Susanne Wenger, a lady who would later become Beier’s partner, met the linguist in Paris. Beier and Wenger came to Nigeria, settled in Ibadan and later moved to Ede where she also started inspiring artisans and helped enriched their art skills through the Yoruba traditional religion. Wenger an Austrian-born artist who adopted Nigeria as home and became a high priestess in Osogbo died in the ancient town on January 12, 2009. She was aged 93.
More interesting, four decades after Beier and his partner Georgina left Osogbo, the seed of cultural renaissance planted has grown into another dimension: UNESCO Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) in Osogbo, which was commissioned on Wednesday, January 7, 2009. houses works of the Beiers. Some of the couple’s works returned by Beier during the commissioning of the centre are books, posters and photographers. In a message sent to the occasion through his son, Olatunji Beier, he stressed that Osogbo remains the spiritual home of the works compiled by him and his wife during their stay in Nigeria. .
The important role of the Beiers in documenting Yoruba art and culture was brought to fore earlier as controversy arose over where these works should be kept.
In 2008, UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador, Soyinka, had campaigned strongly against what he termed clandestine plan to deposit these works at UNESCO-designated Institute of African Culture and International Understanding located within Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State. Also, the Beiers, according to sources, rejected offers from some universities in the U.S. to house the works.
However, at $680, 000, the couple (Ulli and Georgina) accepted to have their collections return to Nigeria on the condition that the centre be run as a non-governmental entity.
Thus, the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding approved by the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 180th Session in France in October 2008 became the custodian of the Ulli Beier’s archival materials. This is in line with the couple’s wish that their archival materials — over 10, 000 items of books, articles, photographs, negatives and albums, films, videos, audio cassettes, record and CDs, printed momento about concerts and exhibitions — be transferred to Osogbo where most of them were originally collected in 1950s during their (couple) sojourn in Nigeria.
Beier is well known for translating works of African origin such as poetry, drama, particularly of Yoruba language into English.