Exam 2 (More Info)

Question 1

Ritual dancer wearing Bird of the Night (Butterfly) plank mask

Answer 1

• Do (or Dwo) is the Bwa people’s god’s son who was a middle-man of sorts on earth
• male elders in this agricultural society typically own these masks that are meant to symbolize renewal or rebirth of the season

Question 2

Game Pass Shelter

Answer 2

• eland is hunted, they then take on some of its features (eland is the focus)
• people are stylized, not so naturalized
• only natural substances are used, like earth or mineral
• 2D, shamans make the painting (paintings are the products are visions seen in rituals)

Question 3

The Great Enclosure, Great Zimbabwe

Answer 3

• granite curved wall enclosures to set a part different aspects of the community
• seen all throughout Zimbabwe, especially in Great Zimbabwe

Question 4

Ethiopian prayer scroll

Answer 4

• Christianity in Ethiopia is pre-colonial; it’s been around as long as it has in Europe
• earliest Christian texts that are brought over are in Greek
• limited color palette (black/red)
• passed down or ritually buried after use
• sometimes worn by the sick or hung in the home for protection
• made on parchment from sacrificed animal skin (animal replacement for the ill person)

Question 5

Head from Jemaa

Answer 5

• likely represents ancestors
• probably sat on an altar
• stylized facial features

Question 6

Head found at Ife

Answer 6

• focus on youth (“odo”)
• “jojora” is a balance between unique individuals and idealized creations
• symmetrical, balanced, delicate, clarity of form

Question 7

Queen Mother

Answer 7

• bronze, lifesize
• queen mothers are leaders and women of power in West Africa
• according to tradition, the woman who gives birth to the king has unique, magical powers that she uses to aid her son during his rule

Question 8

Mbari house

Answer 8

• built as reactions to hard times in the community
• Ala is an earth goddess and the Igbo people hope to please her with these houses
• works of Ala:
  
  • white face = purity
  • mother figure with children figures
  • surrounded by mirrors
  • uli/uri painting (organic, geometric painting done by Igbo women) is often used in the home or on women’s bodies

Question 9

Costumed performers in the Gelede ritual

Answer 9

• tradition may have begun as early as the 18th century and it continues today
• honors the female elders
• done in the marketplace because it is a setting where women have power and independence
• Oro Efe: performer on the frist night, gets the authority to perform from women; reinforces good behavior and condemns asocial/bad behavior

Question 10

The Great Mosque, Djenné

Answer 10

• one of the largest examples of mud architecture
• rice husks are used as the binder
• needs new mud layer before the rain comes in
• the whole community works together
• replastering also means having a prayer answered

Question 11

Male Chi Wara antelope headdress

Answer 11

• associated with farming
• owned/used by male secret societies
• used to influence people to be better and to influence the Chi Wara spirit
• based on mythical spirit Chi Wara who taught people how to farm
• possibly the product of a female god mating with a cobra
• incorporates antelope, aardvark, and pangolin (scales), but also part human
• antelope represents the energy of the sun, while the aardvark and pangolin represent farming (digging in the ground)
• shows the struggle between farming/farmers and the animals in their natural habitat
• sun is male and the earth is female; this union allows agriculture to happen (representation of fertility)

Question 12

Bogolanfini cloth

Answer 12

• cotton cloth with mud and dye
• men would wear it while hunting as camo but also as protection
• women would wear it during pivotal moments in life where they also may need protection (ex childbirth)
• political turmoil caused them to fade away but they were recently revived
• crocodile guards water (source of life) so it is seen as a guardian rather than a predator

Question 13

Scramble for Africa

Answer 13

• Yinka Shonibare MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire award) critiques British colonialism but has his own connection to the British empire (wealth, appreciates nice things) so he adds MBE to his name
• majority of his work is about 1830s-1900 Victorian/British era (expansion of British empire/colonialism) when British identity is solidified
• headless characters symbolizes the leaders being beheaded in the French Revolution
• mindless leaders making big decisions about the fate of Africa
• wearing the African wax print fabric may represent how there is a European conception of Africa and that colonialism is nearly an equivalent to capitalism

Question 14

Throne of Weapons

Answer 14

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