Dr. Maxime Vignon
Maxime VIGNON, Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, serves as the Coordinator of Affairs for African and International Graduate Students in French. He is the Director of the UA in France program. Additionally, he is the Global President of the High Council of Beninese Abroad (the Beninese diaspora worldwide). His interdisciplinary research interests primarily focus on linguistics, encompassing but not limited to language contact, sociolinguistics, phonetics, translation, second language acquisition, African and Francophone studies, geopolitics, and international trade. Dr. Vignon is the author of Et si l’Afrique Osait; What if Africa Dared, Linguistics Way Out… Drawing on his extensive experiences and his multilingual and multicultural personal background, Dr. Vignon teaches a wide range of courses at both undergraduate and doctoral levels. He also serves as a peer reviewer for several scholarly journals.
They will be presenting at the symposium at New Orleans National Vodou Day on the topic of :
The Wisdom of Ifá: Healing and Balance in the Africatown and the Clotilda Battle
Their Presentation
This paper investigates the intersection of African spirituality, cultural resilience, and historical trauma by exploring the role of Ifá wisdom in the narrative of Africatown and the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States. Drawing on the Adja-Tado spiritual system of Ifá (also known as Fá or Afá), the study highlights how its principles of balance, healing, and ancestral reverence provide a framework for understanding the resilience of the Clotilda survivors, their descendants in Africatown, and the future implications of the Clotilda’s physical remains. Grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, the research integrates Ferdinand de Saussure’s semiotic analysis of National Geographic’s representation of the Clotilda with discursive, ethnolinguistic, ontological, and self-referential analysis, employing data triangulation through the lens of African traditional religions. This comprehensive methodology investigates how the wisdom of Ifá informs the ongoing struggles and triumphs of Africatown’s descendants. It also explores their collective efforts to preserve cultural heritage, seek justice, and heal from the enduring impacts of slavery and environmental degradation. By linking the wisdom of Ifá to the historical and cultural legacy of Africatown, this paper sheds light on the continued relevance of African traditions in addressing contemporary challenges. It emphasizes the importance of African spiritual practices as essential tools for confronting historical injustices, inspiring healing, and fostering equity and renewal.