Cristiana, Izzy, Liza and Soya ABET-Africa Cristiana, Izzy, Liza and Soya

Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe. Southeastern Zimbabwe. Shona peoples. c. 1000–1400 C.E. Coursed granite blocks. Created by the Shona peoples, these ruins are not only some of the oldest, but also the largest structures in Southern Africa. The G.Z. served as a royal palace for the Zimbabwean monarch as the seat of political power. In addition evidence suggests that it became a centre for trading—mainly in gold and ivory, with a network extending as far as China. The strength and design of the structure are integral to the daily practices of the society and evidently display the link between communities close and far.

Great Mosque of Djenné. Mali. Founded c. 1200 C.E.; rebuilt 1906–1907 The structure of adobe from Mali is central to African art and culture. The first mosque was commissioned by the sultan Koi Kunboro, who converted to Islam and turned his palace into a mosque. Djenné was a connection for traders from the deserts of Sudan and forests of Guinea with a direct connection to Timbuktu. It was also known as a center of Islamic learning and pilgrimage, attracting people from all over West Africa. Its physical build of massive walls are necessary in order to bear the weight of the tall structure and also provide insulation from the sun's heat along with roof vents with ceramic caps to ventilate creating a technique that would be carried on. Additionally, the use of local materials, such as mud and palm wood is a clear incorporation of traditional architectural styles. The adaptation to the hot climate of West Africa are expressions of its elegant connection to the local environment.

Great Mosque of Djenné continued

Wall plaque, from Oba’s palace. Edo peoples, Benin (Nigeria) Wall plaque, from Oba’s palace. Edo peoples, Benin (Nigeria). 16th century C.E. Cast brass. The Edo people created plaques including some famous portrait heads and smaller pieces.The Benin art led to a greater appreciation because originally, it was astounding to Europeans that people "so primitive and savage" were responsible for highly developed objects of metallurgy, a technique that was believed to have come from the Portuguese traders who were connected to Benin earlier. Theses objects had a variety of functions in the ritual and courtly life of the Kingdom of Benin: decoration and glorification. Ornamented with jewels to display the maker’s abilities, the plaques were also more naturalistic that the usual art. The Edo people reflected their strict hierarchical structure of society in the Kingdom of Benin demonstrating an Oba surrounded by his attendants, two of whom are depicted holding up their shields in a formal protective stance. Only the Oba was allowed to be shaded in this way within the city. The recurring motif is the royal triad: the Oba in the center, flanked by two assistants, highlighting the support of those in whom the king trusted in order to govern. Moreover, the tradition was developed that when a king died, his successor would order that a bronze head be made of his predecessor.

Aka elephant mask. Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region). c Aka elephant mask. Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region). c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, woven raffia, cloth, and beads. Elephants are the world's most commanding land creatures reflecting a lot of power. That is why elephant masks are fully appropriate symbols of important leaders. The societies that use these masks in fact act as agents of chiefs' control and as formal royal emissaries. Elephant societies that originated in Bamileke and spread elsewhere in the Grasslands consist of three graded ranks obtained by wealth. These elephant masks, signifying kingship and wealth, were worn by the powerful members of the Kuosi regulatory society, which included members of royalty, wealthy title holders, and ranking warriors of the Bandjoun kingdom of western Cameroon. The glass beads used on earlier masks were nineteenth-century trade beads; they were also used as exchange for slaves. Elephant mask costumes were thus called "things of money" since their beads were both objects and symbols of wealth.Elephant masks comprise cloth panels and hoods woven from plantain fiber over raffia. On this background multicolored beads are stitched in geometric patterns. The basic form depicts the features of an elephant—a long trunk and large ears. The hood fits tightly over the person’s head, and two hanging panels, one behind and one in front, partially conceal the body. The front panel is the elephant trunk, and the two large, stiff circles hinged to either side of the head are its ears, which flap as the masker dances. While the mask symbolizes an elephant, the face is human. Eyeholes provide visibility, and a nose and mouth with teeth are normally present. These masks were worn for many events like feasts and “parties”. The masks symbolized wealth and during these festivities, the people would dance to a drum beat in them.

Aka elephant mask. Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region). c Aka elephant mask. Bamileke (Cameroon, western grassfields region). c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, woven raffia, cloth, and beads. continued..

Reliquary figure (nlo bieri). Fang peoples (southern Cameroon). c Reliquary figure (nlo bieri). Fang peoples (southern Cameroon). c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood. In the dense rain forests of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southern Cameroon, a widespread belief among the Bantu-speaking people in the spiritual power of ancestral relics underlies the creation of remarkable works of art. Historically, the Fang peoples have derived a sense of continuity with their past and achieved communal cohesiveness in the present through an ancestral cult known as bieri. Over three centuries, a southwesterly migration into present-day southern Cameroon and northern Gabon has occurred village by village. These figures are created with wood and are created by the Fang people. During its travels, each Fang family carried a bark box containing the skulls of its ancestors. A carved head or figure mounted on top of the box guarded the sacred contents against the forbidden gazes of women and uninitiated boys. The earliest reliquary guardians are believed to be heads, but by the beginning of the twentieth century, busts and full figures were also being made. By the 1950s the role of bieri in Fang culture had been replaced by a syncretic religion known as bwiti. Bieri figures exemplify the qualities the Fang admire in people: tranquility, vitality, and the ability to hold opposites in equilibrium. These ideals are exhibited in the balanced forms of the figures. The large head of an infant is juxtaposed with the fully developed body of an adult, and a static, symmetrical pose and passive, tranquil facial expression are counterbalanced by the tension of bulging muscles.

Reliquary figure (nlo bieri). Fang peoples (southern Cameroon). c Reliquary figure (nlo bieri). Fang peoples (southern Cameroon). c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood.

Equestrian figure and female caryatid. Olowe of Ise (Yoruba peoples) Equestrian figure and female caryatid. Olowe of Ise (Yoruba peoples). Before 1938 C.E. Wood and pigment. This monumental work was one of a series of carved architectural supports designed for the exterior courtyard of a Yoruba palace. It was commissioned by a king from the most renowned master sculptor in the history of Yoruba art, Olowe of Ise.The two-tiered composition embodies a formal dynamism. Its principal personage, an equestrian warrior, is depicted frontally above a female caryatid with arms raised in three-quarter view. Through this contrast in their alignment, the figures at once reflect distinct attitudes while relating to each other smoothly. The compressed style of the upper half also contrasts with the greater degree of openness below. At the bottom of the sculpture two smaller figures radiate outward at oblique angles.In addition to the inventive dynamism of their overall design, works by Olowe are noted for the attention given to surface detail. The warrior on the top holds a spear and pistol in each hand, and his vest, saddle, and horse's headgear are carved with a pattern to them. While innovative in its formal interpretation, the subject of this work is a classic emblem of regional leadership. In Yoruba art such equestrian figures identify their patrons with martial conquest achieved through physical might.

Equestrian figure and female caryatid. Olowe of Ise (Yoruba peoples) Equestrian figure and female caryatid. Olowe of Ise (Yoruba peoples). Before 1938 C.E. Wood and pigment.

Female (Pwo) Mask This Chokwe mask honors founding female ancestors, considering the Chokwe people trace their ancestry and descent through their mothers’ blood line. This Pwo mask is said to bring fertility and prosperity to a community. On the mask’s forehead and cheeks, there are classic graphic designs that make women more beautiful and enhance their femininity as well as being a sign of her ethnic identity. This mask and other Chokwe masks like this are often used in performance at the celebrations that mark the completion of initiation into adulthood. The appearance that she is almost crying is supposed to symbolize the pride and sorrow the Chokwe mother has in her children, particularly her sons. Chowke People (Democratic Republic of Congo) Late 19th to early 20th century CE Wood, fiber, pigment, and metal

Bundu Mask Unlike many masks made in Africa during this time, this Bundu helmet/mask is worn exclusively by women. The mask presents an ideal of feminine beauty including elaborate hairstyle, full forehead and small facial features. The gleaming surface signifies healthy, glowing skin. The full face and rolls alternating with deep lines at the neck or back of the head are considered marks of beauty. Sande officials commission male carvers to produce the mask in secret. The surface is smoothed with the rough leaves of the ficus tree, then dyed black with a concoction made of leaves. Before use, it is anointed with palm oil to make it shine. With this confining mask, the wearer (who has to be a good dancer and an official of the Sande) puts on a thick cotton costume covered with heavy fiber strands dyed black. Her dances may last for over two hours. Sande Society, Mende Peoples (West African forests of Sierra Leone and Liberia) 19th to early 20th century CE Wood, cloth, and fiber

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Ikenga (Shrine Figure) Ikenga is a horned deity found among the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria. It is one of the most popular symbols of the Igbo people, and the most common cultural artifact. Ikenga is a personal god of human endeavor, achievement, success, and victory. It is grounded in the belief that the power for a man to accomplish things is in his right hand. It also governs over industry, farming, and blacksmithing, and is celebrated every year with an annual Ikenga festival. It is believed by its owners to bring wealth and fortune as well as protection. They are normally only held by men or women of high reputations. Igbo peoples (Nigeria) 19th to early 20th century CE Wood

Lukasa (Memory Board) Lukasa, or memory boards, are hand-held wooden objects that present a map of fundamental aspects of Luba culture. They can be used as illustrations of the Luba political system or even territorial diagrams of local chiefdoms. Each board's design is unique and differs from others. Made of wood planks, some lukasa are simply carved in relief, while others, like this one, are first carved and then studded with beads and shells. All the elements of the board have very symbolic meaning, as do their placement in relationship to the other pieces. Reading a lukasa calls for the interpretation of those symbols as they relate not only to the past, but also to the present. The ability to decipher and interpret the markings on lukasa requires extensive training and is only done by those who have passed to the highest levels of the mbudye association. Mbudye Society, Luba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 19th to 20th century CE Wood, beads, and metal

Lukasa (Memory Board) (Continued)

Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool) Sika Dwa Kofi (Friday’s Golden Stool) or Golden Stool, the most important of all the royal treasures. This gold-plated seat is the repository of the Asante nation’s spirit and the symbol of national unity. In about 1700 it was “brought from the sky” by the priest and lawgiver Okomfo Anokye (Kwame Anokye Frimpon Kotobre) and alighted on the knees of the first Asantehene (King of Asante), Osei Tutu. The central focus of the ceremony, the Golden Stool is accompanied by its own entourage, umbrella, and drums. Although it is a seat, no one is allowed to be seated upon it, not even the Asantehene. Ashanti peoples(south central Ghana). c.1700 C.E. Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments.

Ndop (portrait figure) of King Mishe miShyaang maMbul Ndop figures are idealized portraits of individual Kuba rulers. This ndop, considered the oldest in existence, displays the king’s symbol, a drum with a severed hand. As in other ndop figures, the ruler sits cross-legged on a raised platform. His face expresses both aloofness and composure. The short sword in his left hand (held with handle out, indicating the nonaggressive pose of the nyim) and the belts, arm bands, bracelets, shoulder ornaments, and special projecting headdress are all elements of royal regalia. Ndop figures were believed to represent and honor the spirit of the nyim and serve as a point of contact with his spirit. Kuba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo) c. 1760-1780 C.E. wood.

Power Figure (Nkisi n’kondi) The sculptor gives visual expression to an ideal of unrivaled and assertive force as a presiding authority and enforcing lord. The crowning element is the distinctive headdress worn by chiefs or priests. The figure's posture and gesture—leaning forward arms akimbo—constitute the aggressive attitude of one who challenges fearlessly. There are also vestiges of an abdominal cavity for medicinal matter that originally attracted the figure's defining force. The various metals embedded in the expansive torso attest to the figure's central role as witness and enforcer of affairs critical to its community. They document vows sealed, treaties signed, and efforts to eradicate evil. Ultimately, this work inspired reflection on the consequences of transgressing established codes of social conduct. Kongo peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo) c. late 19th century C.E. wood and metal

Portrait mask (Mblo) One of the oldest of Baule dances is the mblo, a dance of celebration and entertainment that honors an ancestor. Masks are worn at the mblo that represent specific individuals, but they are idealized according to the Baule standards of beauty. Even so, no two masks are exactly alike. Only the best dancers in a village would be allowed to participate in the mblo, since the dance is focused on placating the spirit of an ancestor. Baule peoples (Côte d’Ivoire) Late 19th to early 20th century C.E. wood and pigment