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  • Spirit of the Amistad:Figurations of Women in Echo of Lions
  • Iyunolu Osagie (bio)

Artistic Context

Steven Spielberg's 1996 movie, Amistad, brought world attention to the Amistad revolt of 1839. It also brought controversy to Barbara Chase-Riboud's nonfiction novel, Echo of Lions, which was published in 1989 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Amistad incident. Unlike her award-winning bestselling novel Sally Hemings (1979), Echo of Lions received very mixed reviews and little public attention. The Spielberg controversy put the novel in the news once more. Chase-Riboud had sued Spielberg for allegedly lifting ideas from her novel. Arguments between the two parties were contentious, with Spielberg denying any infringement on her copyrighted material.1 If there is doubt as to what material might have been lifted and what material belongs in the public domain, there is no doubt that Spielberg did not touch any of Chase-Riboud's extensive use of women characters in his movie version of the Amistad. Adhering closely to the historical events in the Americas, Spielberg focuses attention on the male players in the revolt. Women hardly feature in the film, except as part of the backdrop in the Middle Passage story he includes. On the contrary, Chase-Riboud suffuses her narrative with significant female characters (fictional and historical) that do not surface in the historical account. More important, she uses the space of domesticity in the lives of these women to enact a narrative of resistance that portrays the Amistad story as an emblem of the lofty ideals of the human spirit. Other African American artists, such as Ed Hamilton and John Thorpe, will later explore some form of female characterization in their engagement of the Amistad story as well. Their promising experimentation helps us to appreciate Chase-Riboud's bold inclusion of women in the Amistad story.

Sculptor Ed Hamilton shows his engagement with the female presence in the Middle Passage crossing when he adds a beautiful Bundu mask to his triptych narrative, The Amistad Memorial (1992)—a huge bronze sculpture that has become part of the public square in New Haven, Connecticut. Bundu, also referred to as Sande, is a popular and powerful Mende women's secret society in Sierra Leone, and the mask, used for ceremonial dances, is a symbol of women's power. The first panel of Hamilton's monument is a scene of "cultural stability and beauty" (Osagie 93). Sengbe Pieh, later to become the leader of the Amistad revolt, is casually holding a stick on the way to his farm in his village. In the background are men, women, and children engaged in everyday activities as well. Though placed at the bottom of the panel, the Bundu mask is prominently featured. The mask is a beautiful female face with intricately braided hair. Sengbe's head is turned to the right, in the direction [End Page 832] of the mask, and the mask is positioned slightly to the left, facing Sengbe's direction. Although Hamilton features his three-sided conceptual monument as a narrative about Sengbe Pieh and his quest for freedom, his inclusion of the Bundu mask also highlights women's significance not just in the Sierra Leone homeland but also in the entire Middle Passage enterprise.

Equally, John Thorpe's 1996 off-Broadway play, Chap Am So: A Historical Drama, articulates for theater audiences the significant contribution of women in the Middle Passage experience. The play re-enacts the historical Amistad story in a complex reading of slavery and modernity. Chap Am So is faithful to the historical account, but it also offers a refreshing revision of the Amistad story through the stage character Spirit. As the literal embodiment of Sengbe's conscience—his spirit—Spirit is not a ghost. Rather her character unfolds as the double of the captive Sengbe. She is an overpowering force on stage as she reflects on his thoughts, exposes his decisions, and steers him to action. Disrupting both time and place, Spirit interweaves past and present into a single fabric of memory (Osagie 85). Spirit is the voice of Sengbe Pieh. She is also a ringleader in the revolt on board the Amistad. The play features...

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