The ability to connect with the roots of one’s culture and embrace the richness of one’s cultural heritage is one of the most fulfilling and emotionally enthralling experiences. However, due to the centuries of slavery, having been torn away from their country and forced to live in an entirely foreign environment, African American people have been experiencing a completely unique challenge of reconnecting with the history and cultural baggage from which they have been thoroughly divorced for a couple of hundreds of years. The poem titled “Heritage” and written by Countie Cullen ventures into the realm that has become both personal and collective trauma of African American people, examining the role of Africa and its culture in the lives of the descendants of African slaves.
The theme of being lost is one of the most powerful and complex issues that Cullen explores in his poem. Involving a deeply emotional experience and establishing the need to process centuries of cultural distance, the poem shows the clear lack of direction in the search for cultural identity. As a result, Africa remains a symbol that is both distant and representative of the longing for the profound cultural connection: “One three centuries removed/From the scenes his fathers loved,/Spice grove, cinnamon tree,/What is Africa to me?” (Cullen, 1992, lines 60-63). The resounding question at the end of the stanza above I repeated throughout the poem, marking its key emotional beats, and signifying the urge for the emotional catharsis that the reconnection with the historical and cultural roots of the African America community will bring. However, as the question continues throughout the poem, it becomes clear that the author does not intend to answer it, leaving the journey of self-discovery to the reader. The lack of clear answer reinforces the feeling of irreplaceable loss, restating the main theme and emphasizing the sociocultural significance of the issue.
The distance between the cultural roots of African Americans and their current cultural perceptions and ideas is emphasized throughout the poem with the help of colorful descriptions of picturesque African landscapes and the elements of its environment: “Africa? A book one thumbs/Listlessly, till slumber comes./Unremembered are her bats/Circling through the night, her cats” (Cullen, 1922, lines 31-34). Similarly, the description of the artifacts belonging to the African culture leave the impression of a large distance between the present-day African American cultural environment and the African roots that produced it: “Quaint, outlandish heathen gods/Black men fashion out of rods” (Cullen. 1922, lines 85-86). The description of the artworks presenting African culture sound mysterious and alien to the reader, which reinforces the sense of vast distance that needs to be covered for the current African American mindset to approach that of African people. Specifically, the term “heathen gods’ ‘ as the umbrella for the deities that are worshipped in African cultures demonstrates explicitly the distance between an average African American person and his or her African counterpart (Cullen, 1922, line 85). Whereas the gods in question are central to the culture and beliefs of African people, they represent an entirely empty image and message to African American residents. Therefore, the physical distance between the two continents is stretched even further by the distance in the cultural perceptions, beliefs, and philosophies.
The theme of grief and loss is interspersed with other emotions that stem from the overwhelming sense of despair that comes with the realization of being severed from the very roots of one’s culture. For example the anger that comes from the feeling of helplessness at the sight of the abandoned culture is raised in the poem. Namely, Cullen mentions: “Mortal grief compels, while touches/Quick and hot, of anger, rise” (Cullen, 1922, lines 112-113). Remarkably, the feeling of anger depicted in the specified lines does not evoke the idea of a powerful and destructive force that comes from the strength within. Instead, it instills the impression of helplessness and the anger that comes from it, as well as from the fear of being unable to ever return to the place that one could claim to be one’s home.
At the same time, the anger described in the poem in no way indicates the presence of weakness or the lack of resilience. Quite the contrary, the poet explains that the inner strength that inspires him to continue his fight and seek for the lost connection to the Africa cultural legacy lies in the ability to size control over his emotions and embrace the, instead: “Quench my pride and cool my blood,/Lest I perish in the flood./Lest a hidden ember set/Timber that I thought was wet” (Cullen, 1922, lines 119-122).
However, Cullen dos not leave his readers with the false sense of restored security; instead, he prefers to offer them the bitter truth and the further reconciliation with their loss. The fact that Cullen does not wish to lull his audience into the idea that they can magically rediscover their self despite the generations of cultural loss can be proven by the reiterated refrain of the poem. Opening and concluding it with the question, “What is Africa to me?,” Cullen conveys the idea that the specified question remains unanswered (Cullen, 1922, line 1; Cullen, 1922, line 63). Moreover, the poet encourages the audience to ask themselves this question, continuing the course of cultural exploration that Cullen has started. Thus, the author conveys the idea that cultural healing can become a possibility even for those cultures that have been affected by an intergenerational trauma, the ripples of which are still seen in the sociocultural context of the present-day American community. Bound together by the theme-word of loss, every line in the poem servers not only to bring the specified issue to the attention of a broader audience, but also to encompass the possibilities for healing and reconnection with the African legacy on a deeper, personal level.
By pointing to the presence of disconnect between the African cultural heritage and the identity of present-day African American people, Cullen emphasizes the gravity of the generational collective trauma, which also overlaps with a personal one. As a result of the specified exploration, the chance to heal and embrace the cultural roots emerges for African American readers. Cullen’s poignant and powerful poem appeals to the feeling of alienation and the sense of being lost that a significant part of the modern African American community feels when trying to reconnect with the culture of their ancestors. As a result, the sense of wistfulness that pierces one through when reading the poem creates premises for thorough contemplation of the effects that slavery and the colonial politics have had on the lives of present-day African American community members. Inspiring and thought-provoking, “heritage” opens the cultural discourse that needs to be had for African American people to reconcile with their collective trauma and approach the cultural heritage of which they have been deprived so long and so unfairly.
Reference
Cullen, C. (1922). Heritage. Web.