"I am the Cowry King" : Reflections from Taalu 26'

وماذا يتبقى؟

futhi yini esele?

E o que resta?

Et que reste-t-il ?

Na nini kinabaki?

And what remains?

We are all fluent in the language of difference. Beyond a shared aspiration—a united Africa driving a shared vision—we are all entirely different. It is why we believe that here, at ALA, we will be exceptional. Stand out successfully against our peers, and be remembered for the profound contributions we offer ALA. While we want to be united, claim to be united, we seek to establish ourselves through difference. 

To be remembered by what we have, and what others lack. It becomes the foundation for the categorization we see among ourselves: the unattainable friend groups, distant academic weapons, and the ‘undeniable’ applicants. Difference becomes the weapon we hold against each other.

The weapon of difference is what keeps me stuck, unable to move freely among different people and spaces. It defines my position within this Academy, as it has for you. 

Yet Luca from South Sudan looked down the barrel of this weapon, front and center, between Dalia, Rosemin, Bra’a, Mathani and Fatima (our Sudanese deities), refusing its power. The power of difference that stripped him of a shared Sudanese identity: an undeniable desire for his (South Sudanese) ancestors to establish themselves as what the rest of Sudan was not: Muslim, not Christian, and Christian, not Muslim. Yet religion became an insignificant backdrop against Luca’s graceful strides. 

So, what remains?

***

I am the Cowry King. Cowry is a tenet of how I define myself, and I hope others define me: wealthy, prosperous, and divinely protected. Yet, Taalu reminded me they could never be solely mine.

As Theo braced them around her ankles under her beautifully draped Leitesi, the Ivorians donned their cowry-studded kye—cowry was ours. Despite our varied styling, the cowry represented the same values: wealth, prosperity, and divine protection, values I hope set me apart from my peers. 

I wondered: If we share the same values and cowry, what sets me apart from them?

What remains? 

***

I found this answer, marvelling at Loyiswa’s umqhele, reminiscent of the Great Shakazulu. Yet beyond its glory, it has been tarnished by the evil of others outside the boundaries of this Academy, who actively weaponize their Zimbabwean culture against them.  

At Taalu, they celebrate an identity that other Zimbabweans around the world seek to rid themselves of: To escape the weapon of difference they have been subjected to.  

That is what remains. If we strip difference of its artillery, our uniqueness becomes a contribution to a shared mission. It creates space for shared understanding, while also creating opportunities to learn how others can shape you through their difference.  

What remains is a world, an Academy, where we are free to move through the different spaces represented on this campus and find moments of learning in each one.