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Zande Yanda Figures: The Statues a Secret Society Used to Check a Warrior King’s Power
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Several royal traditions documented in this book concentrate artistic power entirely in the hands of the throne. The Zande, 750,000 people spread across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and…
Gurunsi Masks: Seven Peoples United Under a Name Their Rivals Gave Them
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Most tribal names documented in this book come from within: a people’s own word for itself. Gurunsi is different. It is a collective term covering the Gurensi, Kasena, Lyele, Nuna, Nunuma, Sisala, and Winiama,…
Ashanti Gold Mask: History, Symbolism, and Royal Significance in Ghana
The Ashanti people of Ghana are renowned for their goldsmithing. Learn how their ceremonial masks reflect a powerful royal tradition.
African Masks Call Out to People for These 3 Reasons
From my book, Within Carved Lines The plain version and the deeper one My people have a saying: Atuolu omalu, omalu. Atuolu ofeke, o fenye isi na ofia. The same direction informs the wise and leaves the foolish lost in the bush. Igbo knowledge was layered. There was the plain version everyone understood and deeper…
Bemba Masks: The Honey Spirit’s Helmet, Hidden in a Cave and Forbidden to See
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Many masks in this book exist to be seen, their entire function bound up in public display, in the crowd’s reaction, in being looked at. The Bemba of Zambia and the southeastern Democratic Republic…
African Mask Meaning, Symbolism, And History
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Search “African mask” right now and you will get the same photograph forty times over. A dark wooden face. A caption calling it tribal art. Nothing about who carved it, why, or what actually…