Awesome African Cultures

Burkina Faso: Mossi and Bobo The major artworks of the Bukina Faso masks are mostly from the people of Mossi and Bobo. The Mossi are a very powerful people who raided and defeated the communities of the plains around them. Such people included the Dogon , Timbuktu, Bagana and Qualata . The Mossi people believe that the horse is endowed with exceptional powers and, therefore, military leaders are regarded as horses. The Mossi masks which are blade-shaped and on which a female figure stands in the background are worn by the military leaders or masters whom they call in their language ' Naba' during the Wango rites. The Mossi and Bobo masks are blade shaped and are carved out of wood. However, the Bobo are painted. The face of the masks is in relief and the back is attached to a high board that is sometimes indented with geometric and coloured motifs as the people's device.

Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire : Dan Ngere The major artwork of Liberia and Cote d'lvoire was the Dan Ngere mask carved out of wood. The mask which has almost the same appearance and form is used for different purposes. One of such purposes is as a channel of communication with their high god, Zan . The spirits of their ancestors are also invoked through the masks. Another function of the mask is its use, especially the one known as Dea , during circumcision. A tall conical headdress indicating beauty is worn with the Dea mask. Two types of the Dea masks have been identified. One is used for teaching initiates into the Poro Society and frightening away women and children from the initiation camp. The other one is worn while collecting food from the mothers of the youths. Some of the masks regarded as the low ones are merely used for entertaining those who have remained behind in the village while initiaton lasted. The carving of the masks is idealized to look like

The Republic of Benin: Fon The major works of the Republic of Benin, are the sculptural works of the Fon people. Some of the works were done on wood but a majority of the durable ones are bronze or brass castings of animals and of people at work or any other activities like processions, hunting and hoeing. In the Republic of Benin, Brass was regarded as an object of prestige. The brasssmiths, therefore, do the works for the wealthy who can afford to buy them and use them to decorate their homes as symbols of wealth.

Cote d'lvoire : Senufo and Baule The Senufo of Cote d'lvoire are the southern neighbours of Dogon of Mali who are known to produce remarkable ancestral figures and masks. The Senufo produce masks and figures somewhat similar to those of Dogon. The Senufo figures are used for two distinctive purposes. While some are used for divination, others are used by their Lo or Men Society's Rhythm-Pounders which is solely an up and down movement. The young men of the Lo Society carry the figures and hold them from behind by the upper arms in their Rhythm Pounders dance in which they all thump their figures on the ground at regular intervals and in unison. These are more or less ancestral figures. The divination figures especially those of the Bandeguele represent horsemen. The Senufo mask called Kponiugo is very important to them. It is a mythical being believed to protect the community from sorcerers and soul stealers. Apart from that, it is intended to re-enac

Mali : Dogon and Bambara The Dogon and Bambara people of Mali are well-known traditional sculptors. Their works are in wood and are mainly ancestral figures and masks. The Dogon wood carvings can be classified into three distinctive styles . The first is the simplified forms of the masks. The second is the cube-like ancestral figures which in recent times are used as decorative motifs on doors and the third, the round freestanding ancestral figures. Sometimes, however, the cubic and the round free-standing ancestral figures appear in one piece especially the round free-standing figures sitting on a carved stool with legs in the cubistic style. Some of the ançestral figures known as Nommo , a spirit associated with their creation, are sometimes represented with arms lifted up. These figures are used for prayers for the restoration of rain. Others, mostly from the Tellem area of Dogon , are used to call upon the force or god of fertility and birth and for the purification

Sierra Leone: Mende Among the Mende , in Sierra Leone, two types of sculpture prevail. These are figures in soapstone called Nomoli and wooden masks used by the female initiation ceremonv of the Sande society . The mask is called Bundu by the Sande society . The Sande society prepares and initiates young Mende girls into responsible adult life. During the ceremony of initiation, the young woman wears the mask and looks out through slits made beside the jaw at the level of the mouth. The Nomoli figures which are carved out of soapstone, also known as soft stone, are used to encourage fertility. The figures are kept in rice fields to protect the crop and enable it to yield well. The Mende believe that the figures are expected to steal rice plants from the nearby fields. If this is not done successfully, the figures would be beaten. The figures have big, powerful heads and the limbs are projected forward to represent a man leaning against a back-rest.

Guinea: Kissi and Baga The Kissi of Guinea like the Mende of Sierra Leone carve figures from soapstone. They call these figures Pomdo . The figures are carved with strong vertical axes ánd they wear a smile similar to the archaic smile of Greek art. The Kissi also keep the figures in their rice field to protect the crop and make it prosper. Kissi's initiates wear fibre costumes and paint their faces instead of using masks. Baga The outstanding sculpture of the Baga of Guinea is the mask known as Nimba . The people of northern Baga have a society known as the Simo society which performs ritual ceremonies after the rice harvest. The Nimba mask is worn over the head and rests on the shoulder of the dancer during the ceremony which is per- formed after the rice harvest. Another work of the Baga that is worth noting is the Simo society's drum, which consists of a kneeling figure with other figures round it. It is used during funeral ceremonies of members of

Ghana : Ashanti For the past three centuries, the Ashanti of Ghana have been making artworks in gold and they have done some work in terracotta which appears to be of ancestral figures. They have also carved notable representational and charming dolls ( known as Akuaba ) and beautiful stools, all in wood. The Akuaba figures are aimed at expressing the ideal of beauty. They are carved to have long necks, round flat faces with high foreheads and small mouths. These dolls are carried by women especially pregnant women who are not expected to look at anything ugly, be it a carved figure or a living person, so that the child may not take on the ugliness around it. Apart from wearing it, the pregnant woman is to gaze upon the expressions of the idealized beauty of the figure to encourage the child in the womb to be beautiful. The gold works are in badges, jewels and in weight. This was motivated by the use of gold dust as exchange for whatever they wanted to buy. When a man wa

Gabon : Fang The Fang people of Gabon carve ancestral figures and masks . The ancestral figures combine the physical features of both young and mature adults. This reflects the Fang's view of life from the youth to old age before graduating into the ancestorship.

Congo: Baluba and Bakwele The sculptures of the Baluba people of Congo are done in wood and ivory. The works are not uniform in expression and style. The sculptures show ancestral figures, head or neckrests, royal stools or seats and masks which always take the features of females. The individual traits of the work are usually shown by means of the workmarks and insignia on them. Two distinctive styles are noteworthy. These are the Cascade and the Master Buli styles. The Cascade styles show the female figures with soft, flowing, almost sensuous shapes with a refined image whose elegance is given more force or importance with complicated and highly sophisticated head-dresses. The master Buli style show a more abrupt treatment. The rendering of the head and the body is distorted. The angular edges elongate the figure and display a range of clearly differentiated profiles. The predominance of the feminine appearance of the figures is as a result of outstanding political

Cameroon : Bamileke The major artworks of Cameroonians come from the Bamileke people who live in the grasslands. The works which are in wood, include ancestral figures, seats of different types and masks. Their works are very expressive, although they have an unfinished look. the works are freer than those of other cultures and their artists stand out distinctively as masters of Expressionism. The ancestral figures are very forceful and have more of the disdain of finish than the other works. The figures are mostly carved on door frames and verandahs of houses of ancestral cults or altars of the community. They, therefore, serve as architectural figures. The masks are less forceful and have tortured forms which are characterized by a proliferation of volume in space. The most famous among them is the Keaka mask representing a forest spirit. The mask has four different faces which are in low relief and seer from all angles. Some of the seats are elaborately carved and

Ancestral Figures and Masks Africans believe that their ancestors maintain contact with the supreme being . Their spirits are invoked by the ethnic groups or families to bless them in all material activities. They are called upon to deliver the ethnic group's or the family's request to the supreme being , to ensure fertility of the land, and child-birth and to ensure good health and good luck. Figures are therefore made to represent the ancestors. These sculptured figures are used as the medium of conversing with the ancestral spirits for soliciting for their assistance in all kinds of requests. For the ancestral spirit to be persuaded to stay in the figure, the sculotor has to make it beautiful. The head, the seat of intellectual power is always accentuated, that is, more attention and importance is given to the treatment of it. In some cases, it is the navel which is the centre of life and the link bętween mother and child that is accentuated. In any ot the figures

Ife The city of Ife is the ancestral home of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The city has an art tradition which has some similarities with the Nok Culture. It started between 1100 AD and 1400 AD. The Ife works are either in terracotta like the Nok or in bronze. These are done in naturalistic and idealized styles. The Ife terracotta are the most famous in Nigeria. This is because their faces are realistic. The works are reproduced in clay in such a skilful manner that the contours of the flesh and the faces wear the expression of nobility. The trunks and limbs of the figures are done in a simplified way and are highly decorated with terracotta representation of bead necklaces, anklets and bracelets. Tribal-marks are also incised on the faces. The bronzes are done through the lost wax cire perdue process. This is a process commonly employed in West Africa but it varies in detail from place to place. The lfe bronzes are famous because they are very detailed and naturalistic.

Ibibio The Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria have a tradition of ancestral figures and mask carvings in wood. The ancestral figures are composed of geometrical forms mostly cones, spheres and cylinders carved out of single blocks of wood. The faces are bearded and are attached to the body by a thick neck. The shoulders are wide with arms that are round and well muscled. The torsos are narrow while the abdomens are round. The legs are not given any importance, being shorter than the arms. Many of such figures are found in Oron. The masks are very naturalistic and are carved for the Ekpo Society which represents a spirit. The Ekpo mask is from Ikot Ekpene and is worn during dances and rituals of the Ekpo society. Such masks have found their way into other parts of Nigeria. The masks are decorated with glossy paint and are worn along with raffia by boys who move from house to house dancing and singing during festivals. Apart from the carving of the ancestral fig

Esie Esie is a small Yoruba town near llorin in Kwara State. Many soapstone figures where found in the bush near this town. The figures, numbering more than eight hundred, are the largest collection of stone curving in Africa. The figures are full of dignity and are near realism. Some stand on short legs while others sit on mushroom-shaped stools and hold objects in their hands. The figures either wear hats or specially designed head-dresses. They also wear beads around the neck, and sometimes round the wrist. The faces have striations like those of Ife . Some of the female figures kneel in front of water pots. The origin of the figures is not known. They are, however, used as objects of worship. seen also → Benin Art Igbo-Ukwu Art Ibibio Art Ife Art Owerri Art Nok Art Tsoede

Tsoede Some outstanding bronzes now known as Tsoede bronzes were found among the Nupe of Nigeria. The bronzes found in the vllages of Tada, Jebba and Giragi were said to have been brought down there by one Tsoede, the brother of the Atta of ldah who travelled along the River Niger to found the Nupe kingdom sometime in the 16th century. The bronzes are large figures of men and animals. Some of them are the largest cast bronzes and copper found in Sub-Sahara Africa from antiquity. The figures are naturalistic and wear a graceful pose like those of Ife. Some of the figures are ritually bathed by villagers to ensure fertility and good fortune. see also→ Benin Art Igbo-Ukwu Art Esie Art Ibibio Art Ife Art Owerri Art Nok Art

NOK Nok is a village in the old Zaria province. It has a long-established Culture which stemmed from the type of artworks that have been found in the area. The works are sculptures done in terracotta, dating back to between 500BC and 300BC . Terracotta is modelled clay which has been hardened by baking and becomes reddish-brown in colour. The Nok terracotta sculptures represent human and animal figures. They are highly stylized. Some are very near-naturalistic and others almost abstract in form. The most naturalistic of them are the animal figures. The sculptures vary in height, ranging from between 10 centimetres and 1.5 metres. The faces of the figures have their mouths open. The pupils of the eyes and the nostrils are represented by small holes. Some of the heads are oval and taper towards the chin while others wear crown-shaped head-dresses. Still, some are cylindrical or conical in shape. The remains of such works have also been found at Jema'a, Wamba, Kagoro,

Owerri Mbari Houses Mbari in lgbo means the act of creation. Mbari houses are common among the people of Owerri in Imo State of Nigeria. They are meant for their gods. The houses are filled with huge often more than life-size unbaked clay statues representing gods or characters from everyday life. The building and the creation of a Mbari house is connected with the religious belief of the people. Their priest believes that any occurrence of calamities like famine, disease and untimely deaths is a result of the displeasure of the gods. The people would, therefore, be called upon to create a Mbari house as a sacrifice to ensure the future well-being of the community. The building of the Mbari houses includes many members of the community in a major undertaking over a long period of time.They live apart from the rest of the community until the work is completed.This may take up to two years. They are subjected to strict laws and undergo various rituals, When the work is finish

Benin Benin is another area famous for its artistic productions in Nigeria. Benin has some similarities with Ife art. The Benin artists worked in wood, terracotta and stone, The famous Benin works known to the rest of the world seems to have started about 1400AD. These include sculptures in ivory and bronze. Tradition has it that the art of bronze-casting was taught to the Bini by a caster from Ife. This caster, according to the story, was invited to Benin through the Ooni of Ife in the late 14th century by Oba Oguola, to teach the Bini craftsmen the art of making memorial heads in bronze for ancestral altars. These heads have caps and high collars respresenting coral beads worn by the Oba of Benin during ceremonies. Having learnt the technique from the Ife caster, the Bini craftsmen later evolved the art in their own way. The Benin works, like those of lfe, are naturalistic and idealistic but they are more symbolic. They also used the lost wax process for the br

lgbo-Ukwu The people of Igbo-Ukwu in Anambra State of Nigeria have an important bronze-working tradition which prospered about the middle of the 9th century AD. The tradition was brought to light by Professor Thurstan Shaw who did excavations in the area. Most of the works found show evidence of skilful metalwork brilliantly cast and forged in bronze using insects and reptiles as decorative motifs. Male and female figures are sometimes combined with in- sects and reptiles as decorative motifs. Some are also decorated with coloured glass beads and stones. The works suggest ritual objects. This is because in a king's grave, small bronze pendant ornaments in the form of an elephant, leopard and ram heads, most of which were richly encrusted with delicate geometrical decorations, were found. These heads were symmetrically arranged and had flies, beeties and grasshoppers sitting upon them. Pendants in the form of a bird lying on a pair of eggs from which hang strings of bead

Nigerian Art Nigeria has been in the forefront of art in Africa. She is to Africa what Greece was to the development of art in the Mediterranean world, This is because the oldest artworks in Africa, apart from the Egyptians, are found in Nigeria . The works are also the most important and the most outstanding in Africa. Areas where such works are found in Nigeria are in→ Nok Ife Benin Igbo-Ukwu Tsoede Esie Ibibio Owerri

African Art see also→ Nigerian Art Benin Republic Art Burkina Faso Art Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire Art Côte d'Ivoire Art Mali Art Sierra Leon Art Guinea Art Ghana Art Gabon Art Congo Art Cameroon Art Art happened everywhere in the world but the story of art as a continuous effort started in Egypt, Africa. Civilisation too, we know, started in Egypt. This was because the Egyptians had well organized monarchies which commissioned artworks for their burial tombs. These artworks were the only early works of Africa known to the rest of the world. This is because the Egyptian works were preserved in the pyramidial tombs. In other parts of Africa, there was no intent to preserve the works in the manner of the Egyptians. These works have only come to light through archaeological and anthropological finds of recent times. We also know that the beginning of art in Egypt was connected with the Egyptian religious belief. The artworks of the other parts of Africa wer

PRECOLONIAL AFRICAN ARTS Art happened everywhere in the world but the story of art as a continuous effort started in Egypt, Africa. Civilisation too, we know, started in Egypt. This was because the Egyptians had well organized monarchies which commissioned artworks for their burial tombs. These artvworks were the only early works of Africa known to the rest of the world. This is because the Egyptian works were preserved in the pyramidial tombs. In other parts of Africa, there was no intent to preserve the works in the manner of the Egyptians. These works have only come to light through archaeological and anthropological finds of recent times. We also know that the beginning of art in Egypt was connected with the Egyptian religious belief. The artworks of the other parts of Africa were also connected with the traditional religious beliefs and philosophies of African people. There is the belief in the existence of a supreme being among all the peoples of Africa. This being

DEMOCRACY IN IGBO TRADITIONAL SOCIETY In contemporary Igboland , the precolonial Igbo system of government is still being practiced to some extent. The Igbos generally had no Kings or chiefs, ( ie Igbo Enwe - Eze ) The Igbo people practice the Democratic system of government known as direct democracy , In this type of democracy, every qualified adult citizen in a community or state participates in decision making directly without electing representatives. The highest Democratic institution in Igboland is the Oha-na -Eze (ie- town Assembly ) The Igbos had a decentralized system of government. The Executive, Legislative and Judicial power were vested in the Oha- na- Eze , other Democratic institutions include; the council of elders, the Ofor title holders, the Ozor title holders, the Age-Grade , the Umuada , the Family and the Ani (is earth goddess) represented by a Chief priest. The main assembly of the whole town or village group is the highest platform for political d

Ogbono soup What is your favourite soup? Ask me mine and I'll gladly shout " ogbono soup!!! " Each time I eat ogbono soup reminds me to concur to an interesting story my dear mother told me about my passion for this delectable soup. My mum told me that right from when I was a one year old baby, I usually enjoyed and looked forward to eating this delectable soup, By the time I got to two years old, I wouldn't let anyone else feed me this soup as I'd already had a unique way of eating it. At that tender age, I would take small portions of either fufu, Akpu or pounded yam with Ogbono soup then, first of all, pass it around my head twice or thrice before finally popping it into my mouth. If you are acquainted with ogbono soup, then you will agree with me that one distinguishing feature of this soup is that it is quite viscous, So mum believed that my main reason for firstly passing the soup/fufu around my head before swallowing it is to stop the ogbono so

Igbo land is located in Eastern Nigeria in West Africa, Igbo people are well known for their very festive and colourful traditional marriage rites, In Igbo land , parents of the couple, their extended families, villagers and towns people play active roles in traditional wedding ceremony. Igbo traditional marriage process involves multiple different stages,                   First stage Love sight The future groom finds the lady he wants to marry and tells his parents, He is then accompanied by his parents, siblings and close family members, and contacts the family of the bride-to-be, A date is then set for both families to meet, During the meeting, the groom-to-be's father will state their intention.                  Second stage Mutual investigation The father of the groom and his relatives normally will not expect the family of the bride to give them positive or negative answer right away, They then will schedule another date to meet. Before the next meeting,