Clockwise from bottom, L- R: Esailama Diouf-Henry; Sakeenah McCullough Diouf; Fatou Kine M. Diouf and Kayden; Kine, Sakeenah, and Esailama; Naomi Gedo Johnson-Diouf
Introduce your family to us. MAMA NAOMI: Naomi Gedo Johnson-Diouf and Zakarya Sao Diouf (Ancestor). Children, Ousmane Diouf (Senegal), Adjie Diouf (Senegal), Esailama G. Diouf- Henry, Sakeenah McCullough Diouf, Madiou S. Diouf (Son #1 in the US), Ibrahima O. Diouf (Youngest son in US), and Fatou Kine M. Diouf (daughter in Atlanta). The Grandchildren, Makai 16, TAKH 10, Maya 6, Kayden 4, and Demarcus 4. Go back, where did it all start? ESAILAMA: Papa Zak & Mama Naomi met on the dance floor… Okay, before that, who are your people? Where are you from? IBRAHIMA: My people are Senegalese, but me and my sib- lings came up with the name Senegaberian. We put it in that direction mainly because, your father first and then your mom. My dad’s from Senegal. My mom’s from Liberia. Our people come from Medina. My dad is Serrer,
from Kaolack, where he was born and then he traveled over to his family in Medina.
for the men it’s the Doglor and for women it’s the Boyeh. When you’re honoring a big person, you have to do these dances. That was my history. My first love with traditional dance. That was the marker. SAKEENAH: For San Diego life, our day to day was typ- ical. Kids went to school in the morning. We had dance class one night a week like on Wednesday nights or Thurs- day nights. That night was usually an eat-out night. We had our responsibilities, we had chores. Our parents were very particular on our homework. No matter what they had going on, they took time out to make sure that our homework was done, and we were on top of our things. Mommy really trained us up, on domestication. We knew how to do laundry, sort clothes, and cut chicken. ESAILAMA: What she forgot to say is that, we were liv- ing with the majority of the Liberian National Culture Troupe. There were about 15 people in a 2-bedroom apartment in La Jolla (San Diego). My mom was fin- ishing her bachelor’s in computer science engineering.
During that time, a lot of music and dance took place in the house. There’s a history of West African dance in the United States. A lot of the people who have compa- nies now were one large company performing in the San Diego Zoo or EPCOT Center and living together in one house talking about sewing, talking about music, about dance. A lot of the stuff that my mom learned came from those environments. All they did all the time was talk about drumming and dance. Dancing in the living room, drumming in the living room, rehearsing in the liv- ing room. Singing and dancing all day, arguing, fussing, doing all that comes with a whole bunch of people in a two-bedroom house.
ESAILAMA: On the Liberian side, we come from Lafay- ette Couya Johnson and Naomi Goede Johnson. Mama Naomi is named after her mother and both of those peo- ple were born in Cape Palmas, Liberia. That is where both father and mother of Mama Naomi come from. L Couya was an orphan raised by his uncle in Monrovia, the nation’s capital, where Mama Naomi was born. There are about 18 documented ethnic groups in Liberia. Ours is Grebo. They were known to be warriors who held heavy resistance in times of enslavement. What was home like for you growing up? MAMA NAOMI: My dance started in the home arena, in my father’s house, (although) in my immediate family who dances on this performance level. My father had this grand celebration that the president of Liberia (at the time) attended. And normally in our tradition when you have these, there is traditional dance. For Grebo people,
SAKEENAH: And then the family transitioned and moved to the Bay Area.
ESAILAMA: Only thing that changed from San Diego to the Bay Area was that the house got bigger. You still had a lot of people. There’s three waves of households. From the 1980s, up to the 2000s, the household has been a
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