revodution - UWC Costa Rica

R E V O D U T I O N
S E N A
A N D
P E L E
V O N C U J O V I
SENA VONCUJOVI
Ghana and Japan
UWCCR Class of 2013
Middlebury College ‘17
PELE VONCUJOVI
Ghana and Japan
UWCCR Class of 2015
Middlebury College ‘19
During the summer of 2015,
Sena and Pele Voncujovi
collaborated with Middlebury
College Professor Germain
(Gigi) Gatewood and Visiting
Artist Sunita Prasad to collect
footage for a short documentary
“ReVodution.” The documentary
follows a modern Ghanaian
family in Accra as they balance
their international cosmopolitan
life with a commitment to
upholding the traditional West
African spiritual and herbal
practices known as Juju, Vodu,
or Voodoo.
VOODOO IN GHANA
A multicultural nation,
Ghana’s population traverses a
wide variety of ethnic, linguistic,
and religious groups. Today, the
majority of Ghanaians practice
Christianity or Islam. Before this,
traditional spiritual and herbal
practices were prevalent and are
still practiced by a minority
population today.
Due to Ghana’s deeply
colonized past, Voodoo has long
been stigmatized and
marginalized. As a result, the
average person in both African
and beyond is likely to have
misguided and prejudicial
understandings of these ancient
rituals and beliefs.
FIGHTING THE STIGMA
Sena and Pele were born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and Ghanaian
father. They relocated to Ghana when they were both very young, where their
father, Christopher Voncujovi, continued his practice of traditional religion.
“Growing up, I would see our traditions and how they are practiced,” said Sena.
Being part of the minority that practiced traditional religion often meant
being stigmatized. Growing up, the brothers often experienced prejudice
because of their spiritual practices. “I remember so clearly that my teachers
would call me a devil worshipper because of my family’s practice,” Sena
recalled, “I remember so much that I had to fight in class and argue with my
own teachers, because it’s such a close-minded view. They just did not tolerate
any difference.”
“It is a practice that is very stigmatized right now, not only in the world but
in Ghana, where it originates from,” added Sena, “That is why we wanted to
make a documentary that kind of demystifies the tradition.”
Sena and father Christopher Voncujovi
in front of the Togbe Gedze Shrine,
Hohoe, Volta Region
REVODUTION IS BORN
In February, Sena traveled to Puerto Rico to work on a sustainable
permaculture farm and learn about their practices. The farm, an NGO, was
dedicated to educating students about sustainable practices. “I did a workshop
on sustainable living, sustainable water collection, and herbal medicine. And
herbal medicine I was very interested in; I felt it was very similar to what we
were doing in Ghana, and so it made me think, ‘What if we made an NGO that
was based on education?” Sena remembered.
Sena used his Middlebury connections to find people who would be
interested helping him make a documentary that would kick off his plan to
start an NGO dedicated to teaching the world about Voodoo. He first recruited
Middlebury Visiting Professor of Studio Art Gigi Gatewood, a photographer
with some experience with Voodoo. Gatewood enlisted a friend, Sunita Prasad,
as a project photographer. They were joined by Middlebury student Vikram
Singh Kaleka and recent graduate Salvi Tony Hoxha. Joined by Pele, the team
became six.
“UWC really opened my mind. It opened
both our minds. I really did not value
what I was doing until I went to UWC.
You appreciate what you have,
especially in your new home, because
you start to become an other. It is only
when you become an other that you can
distinguish what makes you different
from other people. You start to realize
what distinguishes your culture from
another culture and the most beautiful
part of your culture. For me, what stood
out when I came home was my spiritual
practice. It is a very rare opportunity to
be born in a family that does this,
because even in Ghana people don’t
know about our practices…. UWC was
instrumental in forming or solidifying
that part of my identity.”
—Sena Voncujovi 13 DAYS IN GHANA
Over the summer of 2015,
the team spent 13 “packed” days
gathering footage in Ghana. Over the
course of the trip, they visited six
shrines throughout the country and
gathered over 50 hours of footage. “It
was very, very intense,” said Sena of the
long days.
Throughout the trip, Sena and
Pele’s strengths complemented each
other very well. “His knowledge of
Voodoo and his passion for Voodoo is
much stronger than mine,” said Pele of
his brother, “I practice, but not to the
extent that he does.” Pele, on the other
hand, has a strong background in
videography. “Pele’s very good with the
videos. I’m doing most of the talking,
but Pele is very good with videography
and photography,” added Sena.
While filming, both of the brothers
were surprised by the reception of their
questions by the people they
interviewed. “Honestly, I thought the
responses would be much more leaning
toward the negative, that almost
everyone would say, ‘It’s bad, it’s evil,’
but then when I actually went out there,
there was a fair amount of people that
spoke about how Voodoo is not bad—
it’s our tradition and we’ve got to
respect it,” said Pele.
Although many people were less
negative about Voodoo than the
brothers expected, most people had
little to no knowledge of Voodoo beliefs
or practices. “That’s what gives me
validation—that, yes, there are people
that want to learn, so we should really
teach them,” said Sena.
“I got into photography when I
was at UWC. Because I grew up in
Ghana my entire life, I didn’t think
it was anything cool or special.
When I came back, one of my
main jobs was to photograph and
film for the documentary. I
started filming different parts of
Ghana—Voodoo talismans,
things in the shrine—and I
started to appreciate the beauty
of what they have to offer….
Photography just opened my
mind to appreciate more what we
have here in Ghana. At some
point, I was just like, ‘Ghana is so
beautiful.’”
—Pele Voncujovi THE FUTURE OF REVODUTION
Sena and Pele expect that the “ReVodution” documentary will be finished
in March. The goal of the documentary is to demystify Voodoo through
observation, expert accounts, and close-up views of the traditional practices, as
well as to consider these traditions within the context of a contemporary
globalized culture.
Beyond the documentary, the brothers plan to create a website that will
be frequently updated with photos, videos, and podcasts about how to
practice the traditional ways of living in the world.