specific 2 Flashcards
The histories of Europe and Africa were intertwined
since
the first exploratory contact in the fifteenth
century
leo africanus
Between c.1509 and c.1517, the Spaniard Leo Africanus
visited Western Africa more than once, describing
his journeys in A Geographical History of Africa. described a rich, thriving culture
The
greatest number of African slaves exported from the continent
during this period came from __,
where trade relations were most developed.
western africa
The colonization of Africa took its fullest
form following
the Berlin Conference of 1884-85
It
was at the berlin conference that the major European nations
divided Africa into regions allocated for European
control – “scramble for africa”
The Kongo are a Bantu people who speak the
common language of
kikongo
Today, Kongo peoples
live in an area spanning
the western coast of
Africa, from Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo,
south to Luanda in Angola.
Kongo societies were organized into a
number of kingdoms, including (5)
the Kongo, Kakongo,
Ngoyo, Loango, and Vungu.
The __ was the dominant Kongolese
group in the region.
Kingdom of Kongo
what did the kingdom of kongo trade
slaves, ivory, and textiles.
Through its diplomatic
relationship with the __, who arrived in
the __, Kongo became a largely
__ kingdom
portuguese
late 15th century
christian
The kongo kingdom reached the
height of its power in the __ and __
centuries and then began to weaken throughout
the __ century
16th and 17th;
18th
why’d the kongo kingdom weaken
during a period of civil war
when multiple members of the royal family vied for
control of the throne.
late 19th century – which european countries controlled which parts of congo basin?
france – northern areas (republic of congo)
portuguese – south (angola)
belgium – central (Democratic Republic of Congo)
the kongo people lived where?
congo basin
describe belgian rule of Congo
King
Leopold II initiated Belgian rule in the form of the
Congo Free State in 1885. Some of the worst horrors
of colonialism were enacted in Congo during this period, including extreme violence against the native
population and massive environmental exploitation
and degradation in support of the trade in ivory and
rubber. The Belgians also removed much of the art
and cultural production of the country.
beginnign and end of belgian rule
begin: 1908, with the
establishment of the Belgian Congo
end: 1960 when Congo was
declared an independent state
Perhaps the most significant spiritual objects
in Kongo culture are the
minkisi (singular nkisi).
describe minkisi funcgtion
They are composed in order to relieve and
benefit people, and also to make a profit.
They are composed to visit consequences
upon thieves, witches, those who steal by
sorcery, and those who harbor witchcraft
powers. Also to oppress people. These are
the properties of minkisi, to cause sickness
in a man, and also to remove it
minkisi (nkisi)
sculptural forms that serve as receptacles to house
spirits
Minkisi are created and maintained by
banganga
banganga
spiritual leaders in Kongo culture who serve as healers
and mediums to connect this world with that of
the ancestors
what do the kongo peoples believe about the minkisi objects?
The Kongo peoples believe that the
sprits of the dead are housed in the minkisi objects
and that these spirits can be called upon to heal disease
and provide protection or to inflict pain and
suffering on an enem
Minkisi generally take the
form of
a vessel, such as a gourd, ceramic container,
or wrapped bundle.
minkisi are filled w/
wide variety of materials-bilongo or “medicine” -
including animal parts, dirt, and fruit.
nkondi
a specific type of minkisi that are particularly
aggressive in nature
nkondi are constructed
in a number of different forms, though the __, such as the example we will examine
here, is most frequently seen
human
figure type
Nkondi are typically used in
rituals intended to
discover and punish criminals
One calls upon the
nkondi to
avenge a wrong
after calling upon the nkondi, the supplicant
then affirms this appeal by driving
a metal nail or scrap into the sculpture
the practice of affirming a request to the nkondi by driving a metal piece into the sculpture tells us that
The
more bristling with metal fragments a nkondi is, the
more it has been in use and thus the more powerful
its magic.
who holds the Nail Figure?
Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)
the nail figure depicts a variety
of roles in one:
-chief, doctor, priest, and judge
the predominance of __ over _ in the Nail figure indicates
its use primarily in __
blades over nails;
civil matters
the nkondi is an abstracted representation
of __
socially unacceptable behavior, as well as a physical
demonstration of a community’s efforts to right
such wrongs
One of the most significant details of this nkondi
figure is the
large swelling at its belly, which has
a large cowrie shell embedded within it
the nkondi’s belly serves as
the receptacle for the nkondi’s medicine,
the element that gives it its power
Reliquary objects
containers that hold relics of the dead
The bones and other relics of important
relatives were collected b/c
they were believed to be imbued
with the powers that those extraordinary
people had during their lives, powers that
could be drawn upon to help the living
a ___ surmounts the reliquary vessel, typically carved in __ but also possibly fashioned in __
scculpted head form; wood, metal
reliquary vessels: the heads are not
intended to be __, but rather
are __
portraits of the deceased; protectors of the relic materials inside
2 primary functions of reliquaries
1) consultation
with the dead, particularly prior to undertaking
any significant event.
2) initiation rituals. With such ceremonies, youth
are brought into full adulthood and introduced to
the ancestors and culture of their community.
reliquary rituals
were intended to elicit
commmunication w/ the dead
The Fang people of Gabon live primarily in the
rainforests of southern Cameroon and northern Gabon
the fang of gabon are one of twenty clans that make up the
__ ethnic group
Beti-Pahuin
In terms of artistic production, the Fang are particularly
known for their
reliquary statuary
Bieri
Fang people’s ancestor cult
the great bieri is the [ MOST ] what ??
largest known Fang head of its kind
described materials used in the great bieri
It
is carved in wood polished liberally with palm oil.
what has the palm oil done for the great bieri?
The oil has not only preserved the sculpture, it has
given it the rich, black, burnished surface we see today.
what color is the wood used in the great bieri?
red brown
ekuma
a wig-like headdress worn by Fang warriors in
the nineteenth century
great bieri – the long, cylindrical neck would have originally connected the head
to
a bark box containing the skulls of at least nine
generations of the family lineage
nsek-bieri
portable
ancestral shrine containing the skulls of at least nine
generations of the family lineage
a nsek-bieri allowed the fang to
retain and protect their ancestors during
the clan’s primarily migratory period
trace the ownership of the great bieri
- Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro
- French art dealer Paul Guillaume
- British sculptor Jacob Epstein
- Robert Goldwater purchased for Museum of Primitive Art in New York
- transferred to Metropolitan Museum
of Art
Almost
all African societies use __, making it a major
unifying force across the continent
masks
In its most basic form, a mask is
an object to cover
the head or face
masks
also present a great deal of variety and creativity
within these established norms. They tend to emphasize
simplification, distortion and exaggeration
in their detail
masks are meant to __, rather than a __ rendering
capture the spirit
of a character,; naturalistic
It is possible that masking activity began with
the use of animal skins and heads, “first to embody,
and then to deceive, sought-after prey and/or to placate
their spirits
about masks – Many of these african myths offer the idea that
women were the first to know the secrets of masks
and to perform masquerade. This power was later
taken from women, and today most masquerade is
performed by men.
Masquerade is performed for a variety of reasons,
though in general this activity is consistent with the
nkondi and reliquary examples previously discussed
in that the goal is to
build bridges between the world
of the living and the world of the spirits.
how does masquerade connect the living and spiritual realms?
materialize spirits by impersonating them
so that these spirits may act upon the human realm
and, equally, so that people may respond to-thank,
placate, entertain-the forces upon which life depends
The Chokwe were originally one of the clans of
the
lunda empire
The Chokwe nation was established
in Angola at the end of the
16th century
who established the chokwe nation
a disinherited son of a Lunda king (although
it remained under the control of the Lunda until
the end of nineteenth century)
Politically, the Chokwe are organized into
small,
decentralized, relatively autonomous chiefdoms
__ is very important in Chokwe
society, with __ organized into __
hunters, hunters;
a professional
hunting society that is supported by significant
aspects of Chokwe religious practice
what type of society is the chokwe
matrilineal
Pwo
a mask category that celebrates founding female
ancestors of the Chokwe culture
Indeed, Pwo “is said to
reincarnate the
feminine ancestors of the Chokwe and to encourage
fertility.”
Pwo is typically performed with
Cihongo,
her male counterpart who represents wealth.
the pwo + cihongo’s performance does what?
brings fecundity and
prosperity to the community
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the pwo mask is __, which suggests __
is the linear detail inscribed across its surface. Such
detail typically indicates tattoo or scarification decorations
of the face
pwo mask – The markings on
the cheeks are understood to suggest
tears falling
down the mask’s face-a detail that relates to one of
Pwo’s key ritual functions.
pwo mask – The pattern on the forehead has
been described as
a cosmogram
Much Chokwe masquerade relates to
initiation
rituals-celebrations that mark the transition from
childhood to adulthood.
why is the tear motif present on the pwo mask?
intiation rituals –> marks the dissolution of the bonds of intimacy between
mothers and their sons. The pride and sorrow
that event represents for Chokwe women is alluded
to by the tear motif
The figure of the king is centrally important in
most African cultural groups.
The king serves a
variety of roles,
frequently acting not only as the
political leader, but also as the supreme spiritual
figure. In fact, the king is often understood to be divine.
images
and objects related to the king often emphasize his
head and hand
2 common images connected w/ king
elephant and leopard
why’s the leopard treated as the main symbol of chieftainship?
it embodies qualities such as courage,
strength, ferocity and cunning which are considered
appropriate for chiefs
why is common animal
image connected to the king is the elephant?
the elephant head implies a reference to extraordinary
powers ( deriving from the colossal might of
the animal), as befits a king
why do images epmahsize the king’s head and hand?
the hand, in a ritual
context, signifies a man’s power to do things, i.e.,
his own ability to achieve success in material and
practical things,” while the head is a symbol of good
fortune
Kingship in Africa is marked by
the use of specific
material objects
Particular precious materials may
be associated with the king, such as
gold and ivory
or specific types of beads.
the first
objects from Black Africa to reach European collections
were
ivories brought from West Africa to
Portugal in the last years of the fifteenth century
define Ivory
a hard, white material harvested from the
teeth and tusks of animals
what did the portuguese nickname ivory
“white gold”
Today the Yombe live in
the northwestern tip of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the
Republic of the Congo
the yombe cultural group is am amalgamation of
various clans who migrated to the
region from 15th - 17th centuries
Today the Yombe are organized into
__ major clans
nine
yombe – clan chiefs are elected by the clan in recognition
of
their social status and wealth as well as their
oratory skills
yombe – role of clan chiefs
Clan chiefs wield primary religious
power and also act as the highest judges within the
community
describe Finial of a Royal Scepter:
It is an ornamental flourish decorating the end
of a staff that would have been held by the Yombe
king
The finial depicts
a figure – describe
seated with crossed legs. In one hand
he holds a horn or short scepter, and in the other an
object which he raises to his mouth. probably the king
how does the finial depict a key aspect of
Yombe spiritual practice?
In order to connect with the spirit world,
the· king would chew on a hallucinogenic root in ritual.
the top portion is hollowed out and would have served
as a receptacle for the plant consumed by the chief.
The peoples of the Cameroon Grasslands include
three smaller subgroups
Bamilike, Barnum,
and Bamenda Tikar
ppls of cameroon grasslands all arrived from the __ during
the period of the Bantu migration
north
according to cameroon grasslands ppl, The
spirits of ancestors are held in
the preserved
skulls of the deceased, which are venerated and
maintained over time.
The Cameroon Grasslands
people rely primarily on __ (2),
with __ functioning as a relatively peripheral
activity
farming and animal husbandry;
hunting
Traditionally, each Cameroon Grasslands village
paid allegiance to a single chief, known as the
Fon
As the spiritual
leader, the Fon served as
the main performer in ceremonies
and rituals. He also oversaw the group’s secret
societies.
how was the Fon selected
He was typically the head of one of the
dominant families in the village and was selected by
his predecessor, in consultation with a. council of elders.
quote about the Fon
The Fon was “the sacred representative of the
founding dynasty of his kingdom, the traditional
political leader of his people, and the ideal embodiment
of traditions and values.’
__ was a central
illustration of the Fan’s status
palace architecture
summaarize european control of cameroon
- germans in 1902
- british ruled Western
Cameroon under the League of Nations after
World War I - After World War II, the region became
a United Nations Trust Territory (still under the
administration of the British) - in 1961,
it joined with independent Republic of Cameroon
(formerly French-administered Eastern Cameroon)
to become the Federal Republic of Cameroon
While contemporary palaces, such as
the example we will study in depth here, are constructed
in very different ways, using modern materials
and often representing westernized styles,
traditional palaces
were built as a grouping of raffia
pole buildings.
historically, cameroon palaces had a clearly marked
entrance
building with a large, public audience hall.
movement through cameroon palaces was very controlled –
only high ranking individuals were allowed further
into the building and past the main hall space.
Deep in its interior the cameroon palace contained a
royal grave shrine, dedicated to the king’s ancestral
line
__ was charged with the day to day running of
the palace
The queen mother, or the Fon’s first or favorite
wife
The cameroon palace would have been bordered
by
a large open square, where the king’s subjects
would gather for markets and religious gatherings.
Many of the traditional palaces fell into disrepair
over time. why?
Made from highly flammable materials,
they often caught fire and burned to the ground.
Most contemporary palaces have succumbed
to the pragmatic benefits of
mud
brick and metal room constructions.
The Royal Palace of Foumban is located in
in the
capital city of Bafoussam in the Republic of Carneroon.
Royal Palace of Foumban: Today, the palace is the home of
the nineteenth
ruler of the Bamun dynasty, a king whose line extends
back to the fourteenth century.
The original Bamun palace complex
was destroyed when?
end of 1910
Royal Palace of Foumban: the original building had an __ plan
irregular trapezoid ground plan
Royal Palace of Foumban: the original building was made up of a series of __, the basic unit of which was ___
domed, thatched roof structures,; a square room with a domed roof and walls plastered with clay
Royal Palace of Foumban: the original building housed __ people
3,000
people, including the king’s 1,200 wives and 350
children.
Royal Palace of Foumban: the current building looks a bit like
a medieval
chateau with vaguely Islamic flourishes
We will consider Western Africa to include present-day
Senegal, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo,
Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon
In terms of its geography,
western africa geography region is characterized primarily by
low plains
western africa is bordered by ___, while the northern region is a ___
the Atlantic Ocean to
the west and south,
semi-arid transitional zone to the Sahara Desert
The peoples of Western Africa, unlike the other areas
we have studied, are not
predominantly Bantu-speaking
3 cultures in western africa
asante, ife, kingdom of benin
Several
Western African communities fought valiantly to
maintain their independence in the face of European
incursions, but in the end, all but __ would fall
Liberia (with its
strong historical ties to the United States)
Much of our understanding of Nok culture is necessarily
speculative b/c
As with several of the ancient
societies we have already examined, the Nok left no
written or oral histories
While __ and __
maintained minor strongholds in West Africa, it was
__, and to a lesser degree __, that dominated
the region during the colonial era.
While Portugal and Germany
maintained minor strongholds in West Africa, it was
France, and to a lesser degree England, that dominated
the region during the colonial era.
The initial discovery of significant Nok sites occurred
in the 1880s, during the advent of __ in __. For many years prior, British employees of
the __ had been purchasing __ at __
The initial discovery of significant Nok sites occurred
in the 1880s, during the advent of major tin
mining operations in the lowlands south of the Jos
plateau.
For many years prior, British employees of
the Royal Niger Company had been purchasing ingots
of tin at various trading centers in the Benue
Valley.
The first intact nok sculpture was discovered in
__ byC__. Young
found a small __ head
The first intact sculpture was discovered in
1928 byColonelJ. Dent Young, co-owner of one of the
mining partnerships established in the area. Young
found a small terracotta head
Fagg was central in establishing an
“__” in the area, set aside by the
L__ in 1947. In 1952, he established
a __ in __ focused on __
He was central in establishing an
“archeological reserve” in the area, set aside by the
Lieutenant-Governor’s office in 1947. In 1952, he established
a national museum in Jos focused on Nok
material
the __
appears to be the cradle of the first important tradition
of figurative sculpture of sub-Saharan Africa
the Republic of Nigeria
appears to be the cradle of the first important tradition
of figurative sculpture of sub-Saharan Africa
Nok terracotta figurative statuary was created between
approximately __
1000 BCE and 1000 CE
nok terracotta works are generaly __, except for __
generally hollow,
except for some miniature pendant examples.
