This speaker's name was Segun Gbdegesin. And he had a very VERY thick accent. As soon as he started to speak, everyone in class looked around at each other asking, “Can you understand him? Do you get what he’s saying?” I know I didn’t but it was good to know that I wasn’t the only one. He explained the term "Iwa,” which is basically like a personal identity or a character. If you lose Iwa, or your character, you lose everything. He continued to talk about Iwa as well as some other African terms and concepts that were hard to understand. That made me think about the African language and how different and interesting it is. Then out of nowhere he stood up and started chanting “Iwa, Iwa” while some other guy dressed in what looked like traditionally African tribal clothes started to beat on this drum he was holding. It was totally the wrong rhythm but it woke me up a little bit. It was kind of amusing seeing them up there. After the show was over, he began to talk about Socrates and Plato. As well as a Goddess named Ma'at and Vizier Ptahhotep and Pharaoh Amenemope, along with the Principles of Ma'at which are how the ancient Egyptians learned and practiced Truth, Justice, Order, Balance and Harmony. Living life following Ma'at made the Gods strong and powerful. After that I stopped paying attention because it wasn’t worth trying to understand his accent. I didn’t get much out of that lecture, just a fun show that lasted less than five minutes as well as what “Iwa” means.
-Rebecca Zoll
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