In chapter 5 of Exchanging Our Marks<\/i> Michael Gomez examines the Sierra Leone and The Akan. Right in the beginning Gomez stated, \u201cAfricans from Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast, constituting some 28.9 percent of the total import estimate, transferred unique and significant qualities to emergent African American culture and society (pg, 88).\u201d In this chapter, Gomez really place an emphasis on the role of women in Sierra Leone and the Akan societies. Whereas the most of the Europeans tend to be very patriarchal, many African societies tend to be more matriarchal. For example Gomez gives many examples of the roles of women in these West Africans societies. These women exercised not only political power but also holding religious significance.<\/p>\n
To me, this reading tied really well into many of the theoretical interventions we’ve learned so far in class. For example the concepts of dual discovery and mutual misunderstanding. Gomez wrote on this chapter, \u201cWesterners label whatever they do not understand about non-Western societies and cultures as secretive and mystical (pg, 94),\u201d Europeans tend to view themselves as the superiors and disregard the non-western societies. Both of my classmates Allison Roberts<\/a> and Diana Tran<\/a> stated a similar view in their posts. The Europeans often to view Africans uncivilized savages and discredit their advancements. However, this chapter about the Sierra Leonians and the Akan proves that not only the Africans were civilized, they were able to create complex and sophisticated structures among their societies.<\/p>\n