American Chronicle

October 12, 2007

Hodaoa Saturdays Lanches This Weekend!!

Kobina Wright

Dramatic Pause Publishing is officially calling October 13th, “Hodaoa Saturday.” By the way, Hodaoa is pronounced, shah-DOE-ah. This weekend begins a continuous launch to educate and promote the Hodaoa-Anibo language, as every second Saturday of every month for the next 12 months will also be deemed “Hodaoa Saturdays” as well.

The idea behind DP’s Saturday launch is for people to share the language in smaller ways by teaching both people they know and don’t know, a word, a phrase or maybe even a piece of conversation in Anibo. Eventually DP hopes to launch a line of T-shirts dedicated to the language to wear on Hodaoa-Saturdays so that even shy supporters have an opportunity to promote.

For the past few months, my daughter has been bugging me about teaching her the language. Since she was little, I had been teaching her words and phrases here and there, but I never actually dove into it with her to the point she could be fluent in it. I felt, at the time, that if she wants to learn the language, I would give her the option, instead of forcing my will upon her. Of course, being a kid living in this ironic world, she now holds it against me for not immersing her in it. Isn’t it interesting, that when you give people choices, they don’t want them, and if you don’t give them any, they want them?

I’ve decided for her, that Hodaoa Saturdays will be the perfect opportunity to become more familiar with the Hodaoa-Anibo language and I have announced to her that on Saturdays (particularly Hodaoa Saturdays) we would only speak to each other in the language. Now of course, I can do this with her, because she has her own dictionary. Not everyone will be able to practice this at first. I am also hoping that down the line – I don’t know, maybe by the time she’s 30 – perhaps – she’ll appreciate the enforcement I’m about to put behind this for her.

In 2002 the Hodaoa-Anibo language was created in tribute to the African slaves that came to the New World starting in 1619, whose posterity has since lost their native language, culture, and specific origin. Anibo is an extension of art. The art of communication. I hope the readers, speakers and scholars of this language will always bare that in mind. For what has been lost, something new has been created to fill the void and take its place so that an entirely new culture will rise around it

Kobina Wright

Wright is a second generation Southern California native and attended the University of Georgia for two years before transferring to California State University, Fullerton, where she earned her BA in journalism, minoring in Afro-Ethnic Studies.

Wright has written for publications such as LACMA Magazine, The Daily Titan, and CYH Magazine. In 2004 she wrote her third volume of poetry titled, "Say It! Say Gen-o-cide!!" − dedicated to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. In 2003 Wright created the Hodaoa-Anibo language and in 2004 published the first edition Hodaoa-Anibo Dictionary.