QueenDom: KakuyonStronghold.Com
HerStory: TIKI MERCURY-CLARKE is a kabandwa. As a “keeper of the ancestral wisdom and history", a kabandwa cannot simply pass on information that is already accessible to individuals who decide to search for it. More is expected of those who are chosen.
A kabandwa’s proficiency as a powerful entertainer is paramount; their artistic prowess must be spellbinding.
A kabandwa must also become comprehensively knowledgeable about a topic, drawing from numerous sources to become an authority.
An important kabandwa attribute is the ability to take dry material and restore it to life and relevance by reshaping and repackaging it into an entertaining, educational vehicle that is understood and appeals to all.
Most importantly, a kabandwa is born with something exceptional that cannot be gained through any type of skills development - insight.
The kabandwa’s endowment of insight carries with it a responsibility. Insight gives the kabandwa the means to seek, recognize, and resurrect the wisdom of the ancients; to make clear to us that much of the confusion and suffering in modern society is a direct result of our having lost proven truths which had been guidelines for millennia. Therefore, from the research carried out, a kabandwa actually creates an entirely new thing from supposedly disparate data. A kabandwa does not simply restate what others have said; they must go beyond the scholar’s limited view. The kabandwa must enable understanding. The kabandwa must inspire action.
As an artist TIKI MERCURY-CLARKE does just that.
Her progressive journey toward her role as a kabandwa began as a child growing up in
Canada
. A multi-talented singer-pianist, storyteller, lyricist, composer, and writer, Tiki started singing publicly as a child in various
Ontario
churches which she visited with her minister-scholar grandfather, Rev. G.L. Mercury. It was quality time spent with him which started her lifelong studies in Afrikan history, a keen interest of her grandfather’s.
As a precocious teenager, young Tiki was already qualified to lecture in Afrikan history under the auspices of the Library of Black People’s Heritage. Tiki also had a column in Contrast Newspaper,
Toronto
’s only Black newspaper at the time. At 16 Tiki started singing professionally and this performer and creative artist has continued to appear on stage, TV, and film, in nightclub and concert settings, over a career span which has now reached 30 plus years.
The importance of adult illiteracy and culture are issues close to Tiki’s heart and her role as a kabandwa combined with her career as an entertainer have allowed her to work on projects that reinforce her message on these subjects. Tiki produced her own storytelling performance "The
Reading
Train", as well as worked with a major Canadian broadcasting company to produce music for the video "Changing Futures". Both endeavors deal with adult illiteracy. Tiki has also been instrumental in ensuring that Canadian Gospel Music is recognized in the mainstream Canadian recording industry by working as chair of the JUNOS' Gospel Music Advisory Committee , initiating and developing the gospel music category for the JUNOS,
Canada
’s Recording & Music Industry’s awards.
Tiki has been fortunate to share her love of the cultural medium of music overseas. She has performed as a singer and singer-pianist in exclusive nightclubs in
Singapore
,
Malaysia
and
Qatar
with her special blend of dynamic and moving jazz.
Tiki has formed two companies to promote her work as a performing artist, BOLD RUNNER PRODUCTIONS and the current KAKUYON STRONGHOLD which specializes in Africentric and cross-cultural productions and products. The focus of Kakuyon Stronghold is on educating, inspiring and energizing the listener to put the wisdom Tiki has shared with them into practice. Both companies have focused on spreading the word about Tiki’s vibrant storytelling performances, “The Reading Train”, “LIFT EVERY VOICE & SING: The Roots of Gospel Music” and “Time, and Women and Song” each of which showcase Tiki’s professional diversity - her rich, melodic voice, her talent as a pianist and her flair for narration. These productions demonstrate that her “artistic prowess is spellbinding.” (Source: KakuyonStronghold.Com)
I.S.I.S. CIRCLE celebrates Tiki Mercury-Clarke, who brought the house down at AFRIKAN
QUEENS
REIGN SUPREME: Lessons In Womb-New-Versal Law (4.3.05)!
