Monday, December 1, 2014

The True Meaning of the word ‘Ankobia’


 Sankofa, an Akan word from the Ghanaian language that means “to go back and get it", is the message the Pan African Students Organization (PASO) uses as its mission.
Last weekend, PASO held its annual Mr. & Mrs. Ankobia pageant on SUNY Buffalo State’s campus in the Campbell Student Union.
While most pageants are all about beauty and glamour, this one is a bit 
different. The Mr. & Mrs Ankobia pageant encourages all contestants to go back into the roots of any chosen country of the African diaspora, while visually and orally exposing it to the audience. 
This year’s theme of the pageant was “Mr. & Mrs. Ankobia: Battle of the Royal Kingdoms”, in which contestants were partnered up according to their chosen countries and compete and win the title and crown together. The countries that were represented this year were Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Jamaica, Ghana, and Guinea.
Because this pageant allows for both female and male contestants, each couple that was partnered up was asked to represent their chosen countries (Royal Kingdoms) as 
kings and queens - hence the title, “Battle of the Royal Kingdoms.”
Throughout the duration of the pageant, there are four scenes that the contestants must 
complete in order to be judged accordingly, along with certain criteria. The scenes are labeled as Introduction, Creativity, Beauty and Talent scenes.
Shontay Morgan is, a former Ankobia contestant , who now holds the title of Public Relations of PASO. “When I ran for Ankobia, I had so much fun,” Morgan said. “I represented Ghana even though I am actually Jamaican, and I learned so much! It was truly a great experience.”

She broke down the scenes, saying, “Each scene has its specifics. The introduction is where we meet the contestants; one by one, they give a one-minute speech where they tell us about themselves and why they deserve to win the pageant; the creativity scene asks the pair to pick an object that comes from their country and tell the audience why it is significant to that country; after this  comes the beauty scene/informational part where contestants tell us what makes their country beautiful. Afterwards is the talent portion, where they obviously show us a talent, something that makes them unique. The last part is the Q&A, where the judges ask the contestants questions in regards to PASO and its mission.”
This year’s pageant was filled with creativity - from the contestants as well as the scheduled intermissions. Every couple stood out in a particular way. From Ivory Coast speaking fluent French, to Nigeria’s beautiful native outfits, taking a trip to Jamaica and experiencing their creative way of connecting their well-known island to Ghana, landing in Ghana where the couple expressed the beauty of their land poetically, and ending in Guinea who had a story line throughout their scenes, the hard work and dedication of each couple showed throughout the show.
“The one thing that people don’t know about winning the Ankobia title is that is tied to so many things that PASO does in the future,” said Jamal Richards, PASO president. “The winners host another annual event called Toast for Change where we get together along with members and other guests to try to find solutions to specific problems in Africa. Winning Ankobia means becoming the face of our organization.
Every pair that stepped foot on that stage brought something completely different to the table. 

Kaitlyn Lowe, who represented Ghana that evening, gave the audience a large taste of Ghana even though she is American. Alongside her partner, Evans Akosah, they acted out a scene that people who may have grown up in an African household may have experienced when bringing a significant other to meet the parents. Their beauty scene had her acting as Mother Nature and revolved around the Ghanaian man and how his existence and dedication to the land is what makes Ghana beautiful. 
Each couple gave the judges a run for their money, but in the end only one couple can be crowned Mr. & Mrs. Ankobia.
In the end, the couple representing Guinea, Souadou Balde and Craig Pruitt,  were crowned as winners of the evening. 
“It was a really good show” said Bangali Doumbia, 2012 winner of the Ankobia pageant. “It was way better than last year’s, Guinea deserved to win.”

Contestants faces on stage as the judges deliberate.

The winning couple, Craig Pruitt and Souadou Balde representing Guinea.

1 comment:

  1. The original meaning of Ankobia is "did not go", and it was used for Asante/Ashanti warriors who were stationed throughout the kingdom to protect the civilians, Queen mothers, and the king's interests during war time. They were like modern day police except they were trained like soldiers.

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