It's about time that Coast performer Jean-Pierre Makosso be allowed to bring his wife and daughter to Canada, as he would like to do. I'm not alone in wishing this for him. A warm audience packed the Lutheran Church in Davis Bay last Saturday night to hear the African raconteur tell tales in a show, From Africa With Love. They were there also to taste the African stew, listen to the drummers and give financial support through this fundraising show and silent auction that will aid the Makosso family, still living in the war-torn Congo.
Makosso is a consummate entertainer. He has the whole package: he tells stories, he sings, he dances, and best of all, he manages to imbue his performance with a positive spirit of living. This evening of story-telling gave his audience a chance to learn more about his life, including the highly entertaining account of his birth and his mother's great gift to him.
In another story, he told about a husband who dreamed of his wife cooking a roast of meat slowly and gently and how he wanted that tender meat all for his own, even going to his grave before he would let his brother take a bite. The story is reminiscent of the dog in the manger story of Aesop's fables. Since Aesop was a slave in Greece in 6th century BC, it suggests that he was an African, as many believe, and that he drew his inspiration from a very old culture.When Makosso told this story in Africa, he was called to account for it. Before the courts he had to explain who were the characters in the story, and what was he trying to say? The implication was that his story was a thinly disguised political message. He explained as well as he could to the judge - by telling another story. That worked so well that he was set free to perform again.
Thank you, Makosso told the audience, adding that in Africa you don't say thank you. "You take it and hold it in your heart and never let it go. Later, you thank God."
