African Art

1. African Art

2. 1. SOWEI Mask • Mende, Sierre Leone and Liberia • Wood • This mask is worn over the head of a female elder who dances for the Sande women's society. The mask displays and celebrates Mende ideals of female beauty and virtue: elaborately braided hair (cosmetic skills, sexuality); neck creases (full-bodied, good health); smooth, broad forehead (nobility, intelligence); lowered eyes (contemplativeness, restraint); well shaped ears; small nose; small mouth (not given to gossip); composed expression (inner serenity), smooth skin (youthfulness). All these features are exaggerated in the mask, its three thick rows of braided hair, large neck folds, wide forehead, diminutive nose and mouth, and polished surface. The bird figure (missing its head & tail) perched on top of the coiffure has many meanings: clairvoyance, love, fertility, power, danger, discipline, prudence, and laughter. The mask's shining blackness connotes the essence of female beauty and moral purity.

3. CHI WARA HEADRESS (female CHI WARA HEADRESS (male) Bamana, Mali Republic Wood

4. Bamami headresses To the Bamana people, farming is the most important and noblest profession. At planting time, men of the Chi-Wara association of farmers dance with headresses like these in the fields to honor Chi- Wara, the mythical "farming animal" that taught agriculture to the ancestors of the Bamana. The headdresses, always danced in male and female pairs, depict the antelope-like Chi-Wara and display the ingredients of successful cultivation. The long horns of the male Chi Wara stand for the tall growth of millet; the penis signifies the rooting of this grain. The long ears refer to the cultivators' listening to the songs sung by women who encourage the men while they work in the fields; the open, zigzag pattern in the neck symbolizes the sun's path along the horizon between the two solstices. The "female" Chi-Wara headdress, representing the earth, always accompanies the male headdress during the harvest dances. The baby carried by the female symbolizes baby human beings. As in the male Chi-Wara headdress, the long horns stand for the desired growth of tall millet. The element of water is represented by the fiber costume attached to the headdress. When danced by a pair of men chosen as exemplary farmers, the headdresses symbolically combine those elements necessary for good agriculture: sun, water, and a solid rooting of the plant in the earth.

5. 5. AKUA'BA. FEMALE STATUETTE

6. The akua'ba figure is supposed to induce pregnancy and ensure safe delivery of a beautiful, healthy infant. After being blessed by a priest, a woman carries the statuette around with her and treats it like a real child; she adorns it with beads and earrings, "nurses" it, and puts it to bed. The statuette illustrates Asante concepts of beauty: a high oval, flattened forehead (achieved by massaging the infant's soft skull); a small mouth; a neck ringed with creases of subcutaneous fat, indicating the good health of the infant. Most akua'ba figures depict females, since among the Asante the family line is passed down from the mother to the daughters.

7. 8. GELEDE. HEADDRESS Yoruba, Nigeria Wood

8. The annual Gelede festival honors the creative and dangerous powers of women elders, female ancestors, and goddesses, known affectionately as "our mothers." The Gelede headdress often consists of two parts, a lower mask and an upper superstructure. The lower mask depicts a woman's face, its composure expressing the qualities of calmness, patience, and "coolness" desired in women. The static expression and simplicity of this portion of the headdress contrasts with vitality and diversity of the superstructure. The design of the superstructure is intended to placate the mothers by displaying their inner powers for all to see, thus pleasing them and ensuring the well-being of the community. Birds signify the dangerous noctural powers of women who act as witches. Snakes symbolize the positive feminine qualities of patience and coolness. The snake coiled around the front also cautions vigilance with the saying "the snake sleeps but continues to see." Gelede artists demonstrate their artistry and mastery of the medium by developing complex imagery within the confines of the basic cylindrical mass of wood. The elaborately carved example shown here (originally painted in bright colors) exhibits many different forms and angles to view, as the dancer moves before his admiring audience.

9. 9. ERE IBEJI. TWIN FIGURES Yoruba, Nigeria Wood, beads and brass necklaces

10. Among the Yoruba, twins (ibeji) are special children whose birth can bless their parents with good fortune. The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world, and the loss of twins is therefore considered a great misfortune. If a twin dies, the mother commissions a memorial figure (two if both twins die), and the soul of the deceased twin is transferred to it. The mother dresses the statuette in cloth and adorns it with jewelry, and keeps it near her bed. She also offers it food and prayers weekly and performs more elaborate rituals on the occasion of birthdays and annual festivals. The figures are carved according to different regional styles; those shown here are made according to the Abeokuta style. The statuettes conform to the Yoruba aesthetics of physical proportion. The head is one third the size of the body, because the head is associated with a person's destiny or "inner head," which determines success and failure in life. Artistic emphasis is placed on "human resemblance," rather than photographic likeness, and the facial features, though stylized, are carefully deliniated and delicate. The smoothed surface, which is difficult to achieve without sandpaper, expresses the desired quality of luminosity. Other Yoruba aesthetic qualities are relative straightness, good composition, youthful appearance, and clarity of line.