Coffin’s Emblem Defies Certainty

The New York Times ^ | 26 Jan 2010 | SEWELL CHAN

[Palter]

When the remains of hundreds of colonial-era Africans were uncovered during a building excavation in Lower Manhattan in 1991, one coffin in particular stood out. Nailed into its wooden lid were iron tacks, 51 of which formed an enigmatic, heart-shaped design.

The pattern was soon identified as the sankofa — a symbol printed on funereal garments in West Africa — and it captured the imagination of scholars, preservationists and designers. Ultimately, it was embraced by many African-Americans as a remarkable example of the survival of African customs in the face of violent subjugation in early America.

The sankofa was widely invoked in 2003, when the 419 remains were reinterred at the site, now known as the African Burial Ground following painstaking examination. It was chiseled into a black granite memorial unveiled in 2007. It is featured in an interpretive display in the federal building at 290 Broadway (the construction of which led to the discovery of the graves), which describes it as a direct link to “cultures found in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.” And it serves as a logo for the African Burial Ground as a whole.

The symbol of the African Burial Ground.

[Palter]

'that the heart-shaped symbol is not, in fact, a sankofa, and probably does not have African origins at all.'

[Made In The USA]

Stick a fretboard on it, and you would have one of Prince’s guitars.

Stick it on a big piece of granite, plop in the middle of NYC, and presto! Instant tradition. Much like Kwanzaa.

[silverleaf]

you have to read the whole article to figure out that a “sanfoka” dates from about 1927 and is therefore about as genuinely traditional african as kwanza

[Oratam]

Maybe it's just me but I see a resemblance to this colonial headstone from New England. Don't pay any attention to me. I've been called a xenophobe before.

[Grammy]

GGG ping?

[Logic n' Reason]

Is there some sort of point to this.....or is it “politically incorrect” of me to say that I don’t give a sh*t?

[Robert A Cook PE]

It’s a mirrored double-end scroll - very, very common in hundreds of thousands of wrought iron designs dating from many different decades.

[Ramius]

African origins, huh? That's a pretty common shape that is found all over. Like in this 19th century UK wrought iron:

[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks Grammy. Interesting! But modern, so just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[ansel12]

Is there some sort of point to this.....or is it “politically incorrect” of me to say that I don’t give a sh*t?

Right......, if it were not extremely important would they have put it on the internet? Think man!