The
History
of Chewstick
the
Neo-Griot Movement
Chewstick
began in December of 2002, when a group of artists based in Bermuda came
together out of a life long friendship and history of collaboration,
to put on an event to share artistic talents. This event was the beginning
of the Neo-Griot Movement and what has become an intensely creative,
spiritual, and uplifting collective focused on the exploration and refinement
of human expression in every facet.
Since
Chewstick's inception it has staged regular open-mic jam
sessions at it's Neo-Griot Lounge developing a large family
of artists and socially conscious souls. This event has led
to the release of their own magazine entitled "Paradise
Now!", a spin-off TV show called "Tanzaoui Takes",
invitations to perform in various stage, TV and radio shows,
production of a half-time show for the world-cup qualifying
match and being featured in local publications UMUM magazine, Showoff
Magazine, the Royal
Gazette newspaper, and international magazine Black
Radio Exclusive. Chewstick's appeal is very broad attracting
every strata of society, from the streets to the offices,
with it's youngest member being sixteen and it's oldest being
65 (so far!).
Because
of Chewstick's diversity and reputation as the premier live
entertainment event for Bermuda, it has hosted some of the
biggest names in the entertainment scene both local and beyond,
including: Matthew Knowles, Howard McCrary, Lisa
Vaughn, Serpent
Fly (Leslie Helpert), Kid
Koala, Ras Giorgis, Ras Mykkal, Maurita Andre, Joy Barnum, Mishka,
MangoSeed.
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Griot
gri•oh
A
storyteller in western Africa who perpetuates the oral
tradition and history of a village or family.
Neo-Griot
nee•oh-gri•oh
A
storyteller in a modern context bound by no medium,
or ethnic group. Dedicated to keeping the truth of
thier culture and history alive.
Foundation ChewCrew
(L to R from top)
Djata, Riddla,
Kofi, TanZ, Omega9, Beatnik and Nalda.
What
is a Chewstick?
Garcinia kola, Gouania
Lupiloides, Salvadora Persica
COMMON NAMES
African
chewstick, Jamaican chewstick, siwak.
Brushing our teeth -- such a commonplace activity today, has been around
for a long time. Egyptians were concerned about their dental hygiene.
We know this today because they also had the good habit of being entombed
with all their treasures. So we were able to discover that tombs from
3000 years before Christ contained small tree branches whose ends had
been frayed into soft fibers.A variety of oral hygiene measures have
been performed since the dawn of time. This has been verified by various
excavations done all over the world, in which toothpicks, chewsticks,
tree twigs, linen strips, birds' feathers, animal bones and porcupine
quills were recovered. Those that originate from plants are tasty twigs
and although primitive, they represented a transitional step towards
the modern toothbrush. It has been stated that about seventeen plants
could be counted as natural sources for several of these oral hygiene
devices.
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Neo-Griot
explained
The
Chewstick family comprises of Griot of every medium
and background. We are unified under the banner of "Neo-Griot" because
we all have one primary unifying factor, we are storytellers.
Stories are shared through our voice, skills and
actions. Stories which we deem essential to our existance
and to culture as a whole.
It
has been said that a society can measure itself by the respect
it has for it's artists, for artists show us how we were,
are and long to be. Some see artists as Michelangelo or Aretha
Franklin, which, while true, fails to praise some of the
more common vanguards of our society who contribute to our
everday realities. These are people just like you who yearn
to learn, teach and enjoy life's blessings, doing so in the
most artful of ways, they are called Neo-Griot and we are
here to stay.
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