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Description: The Arts of Africa: At the Dallas Museum of Art
Peoples Located on the Map
PublisherDallas Museum of Art
PublisherYale University Press
View chapters with similar subject tags
Peoples of Africa
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Amazigh (Berbers) 1
Amazigh peoples (Imazighen, “the free people”; also known as Berbers), who live in North and West Africa (see Tuareg), comprise between 40 and 60 percent of Morocco’s population of thirty-one million. The Ida ou Nadif and the Ida ou Zeddoute live around Igherm village in the central region of the Anti-Atlas mountain range, which extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sahara, and speak the Chleuh dialect. They use henna to decorate cloth woven from lamb’s wool for women’s ceremonial garments. Cat. 93
Asante 2
The south-central forest of Ghana is home to the Twi-speaking Asante peoples, who number about two million. Their expansive territory has three distinct regions, each organized into a kingdom. An agrarian peoples, the Asante make art that varies widely in both subject and form. Asante art—whether religious, political, or pertaining to daily life—is infused with symbolic meaning that derives from the human or natural world. Cat. 33, 83, 110
Baga 3
The Baga peoples, who reside in villages along the coast of Guinea and now number a hundred thousand, were once divided into small villages. Each village was governed by a council of elders, who derived their powers from specialized knowledge only they possessed and their interactions with spiritual beings. The religious regalia and ritual objects used by elders in ceremonies and male initiation rites were central to Baga artistic traditions, which persisted for several hundred years. A variety of religious and sociopolitical disturbances in the 1950s, however, have gradually caused the Baga culture, and thus artistic production, to disappear in most areas. Cat. 41
Bamana 4
The Bamana peoples are the largest ethnic group in the Republic of Mali with a population of about 2.5 million. Primarily farmers, the Mande-speaking peoples of the Niger savannah strongly resisted Islam and were known as bambara, or pagans, by the Muslim invaders. Bamana artists work in mud-dyed cloth, wood, iron, bronze, and brass to make ritual objects, masks, and tools. Cat. 55
Bamileke 5
The nearly seven hundred thousand Bantu-speaking Bamileke peoples live within the Cameroon Grasslands, a mountainous region in western Cameroon made up of many different kingdoms. Although the Bamileke peoples share artistic traditions with their Bamum and Kom neighbors, they produce works with distinct characteristics. Much of the art created by the Bamileke is for the king or ruler. Royal portraits and stools carved in wood are sometimes covered with beads, a prestige medium limited to royal use. The Bamileke also create commemorative figural sculptures and zoomorphic masks for use in ceremonies. Cat. 13
Bamum 6
The Cameroon Grasslands is also home to the Bamum peoples, their capital at Foumban in the Northwest Province of Cameroon. The one hundred thousand Benue-Congo-speaking Bamum are farmers and herders who live in villages presided over by hereditary headmen. They are among the few African peoples to have developed their own system of writing, which is largely ideographic or pictographic. Bamum sculptors emphasize depth and roundness in their wooden masks and other objects. Cat. 24
Baule 7
In the savannah between the Bandama and N’zi rivers (the “Baule V”) in central Côte d’Ivoire, the Baule peoples raise crops and animals to sell at markets run by the village women. Today, the Baule number 1.5 million. Their villages are ruled by notables, some of whom are descended from those who left Ghana in the eighteenth century. Baule artists work in wood and brass to create anthropomorphic masks and figures related to the afterlife. Although the practice has waned since the 1960s, the Baule also carve wooden doors. Some Baule art is stylistically similar to that of their neighbors, the southern Mande, the Malinke, and the Senufo. Cat. 12, 26, 78, 85
Bobo 8
The Mande-speaking Bobo peoples are a group of clans in Burkina Faso and Mali. They are farmers who live in compact and autonomous villages. The Bobo use natural materials such as leaves, wood, and fiber to create masks that are typically angular in shape and used in various ritual contexts. Nearly eight hundred thousand people make up the Bobo ethnic group. Cat. 34
Boma 9
The Bantu-speaking Boma peoples (also called Buma) live in the central savannah region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their small hunting and farming society, numbering about twenty-five thousand, is organized into chiefdoms. Boma artists carve angular wooden figures that provide protection against adverse forces in the universe. Fig. 4
Cham / Mwona 10
The Adamawa-speaking Cham peoples of northeastern Nigeria, of which there are about fifteen thousand, inhabit the southern region of the Gongola River Valley. Agriculture and small-scale herding as well as hunting sustain the Cham. Best known for the terracotta vessels that are used to invoke spirits in divination and healing rituals, Cham artists also work in iron and brass, decorate gourds, and create architectural decoration. Cat. 45
Chokwe 11
The Chokwe peoples have lived as hunters, farmers, and pastoralists between the Kwango and Kasai rivers in northeastern Angola for nearly four hundred years. By the twentieth century, they expanded their territory into the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and the northwestern part of Zambia. Chokwe culture peaked in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, during which time luxurious art was produced for the courts of chiefs. Figures, stools, thrones, and ceremonial objects were carved out of wood, especially for the leadership.
Although artistic production declined during the twentieth century in the wake of famine, war, and disease, Chokwe cultural traditions have persevered. Today the Chokwe number nearly one million. Cat. 19, 46, 84
Dan 12
The Dan peoples are part of the Mande linguistic group and live in northeast Liberia and the neighboring areas of Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. Farmers and warriors, the Dan, who number about five hundred thousand, have no central authority; rather, they live in independent villages made up of different clans grouped around a chief. Secret societies are important to the organization of Dan society, especially the Poro society, which is common to all ethnic groups of the region. Masks are perhaps the most important works of art created by the Dan. Artists also carve figural sculpture and spoons and make pottery. Cat. 35
Djennenke / Soninke 13
Djennenke and Soninke are cultural designations for ancient and rare wooden statues collected in the region of the Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali. Figures that have been subjected to scientific analysis are dated as early as the eleventh century ad. The wooden sculptures, some of which have an oily patina, represent human figures detailed with scarification, jewelry, and clothing. Cat. 2
Dogon 14
Dogon farmers in the rocky plateau and plains of Bandiagara in Mali established their villages under vertical cliff faces to protect themselves from invasion. The Gur-speaking Dogon peoples migrated to this area in the fifteenth century to escape the Mande, and they developed an architectural style to fit their defensive geography. The cult of ancestors is important to the Dogon, who craft various sculptures and instruments for these ceremonies and other initiation rites. Figural sculptures are carved in a stylized manner as are the wide variety of masks also made by the Dogon peoples, whose present population is nearly two hundred and fifty thousand. Cat. 76, 77
Edo 15
Benin City in present-day southern Nigeria was the capital of the Benin kingdom, which was established around ad 900 and flourished until the end of the seventeenth century. The name of its capital city has caused some to refer to the kingdom and the art produced there as Benin. The people of this kingdom, however, called their land, language, and themselves Edo. Portuguese explorers arrived in the Benin kingdom at the end of the fifteenth century to find a vast kingdom ruled by a divine king. Copper alloy (brass or bronze) and ivory were the prestigious materials for art commissioned by the king for his regalia, palace, and shrines. The city-state was destroyed during the British Punitive Expedition of 1897. Today there are approximately one million Edo people. Cat. 35
Ekonda 16
The Ekonda, who number approximately three hundred thousand, are a group of Mongo-speaking peoples who live in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An account of the Ekonda written in 1944 describes the by-then defunct practice for choosing the ritual chief who embodied Ekonda political authority. According to the report, a group of village elders selected a wealthy outsider who paid the village in exchange for the title of chief. Following his installation, the chief was responsible for divination, ceremonial activities, and acted as a spiritual mediator. He had the exclusive right to wear the tiered fiber hat decorated with brass plates. Cat. 14
Fang 17
The forested area that extends from Cameroon to Gabon includes Equatorial Guinea and was home to the Fang peoples whose culture thrived in the nineteenth century. Fang villages and communities were organized around families and clans with common ancestors. Indeed, the cult of ancestors was central to Fang religion, and artists made reliquary figures to guard the bones and skulls of deceased relatives. Fang artists also carved wooden masks. As a migratory group, the Fang continually absorbed the cultural and artistic traditions of the peoples with whom they came in contact. European influence in the 1910s and 1920s resulted in a decline in the interest in the cult of ancestors, which was eventually replaced by Western religion, thereby causing Fang artistic production to die away. Today this ethnic group numbers two hundred thousand. Cat. 68, 101
Grebo 18
In the tropical rain forests of southeastern Liberia, the Grebo peoples make their living through agriculture, fishing, hunting, and gathering. Rice is the principal crop, but cotton, okra, millet, and sorghum are also grown. The Grebo are ruled by a chief, who lives in absolute isolation. Grebo villages consist of cone cylinder huts grouped in family compounds around a central plaza. Today there are approximately three hundred thousand Grebo. Cat. 91
Guro 19
Originally known as the Kweni, the Guro are a group of Mande-speaking agricultural peoples who live in central Côte d’Ivoire. The two hundred thousand Guro live in independent villages with no central authority, but form alliances for the purpose of war. The direct descendant of the village founder, known as the “master of the earth,” controls the distribution of agricultural lands. Guro art is produced by specialists and often takes the form of wooden animal masks that are valued as sacred objects. The Guro received their present appellation in the early twentieth century when they were aggressively colonized by the French. Cat. 56
Hausa 20
With a total population of over twenty-two million, the Hausa live primarily in northwestern Nigeria and throughout West Africa, including Niger, Cameroon, and Ghana. Hausa artists create work in a variety of media, including leather, metal, ceramics, and fiber, in which African and Islamic characteristics are often combined. Hausa men both weave and embroider the voluminous prestige gowns that have become the masculine national dress in Nigeria. Cat. 96
Hemba 21
Previously considered part of the Luba peoples, the Bantu-speaking Hemba create art that is somewhat similar in style to that of the Luba, but represents a culture that is independent from the Luba. Today, the eighty thousand Hemba are farmers and hunters in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they live in large clans of families with a common ancestor. The cult of ancestors plays an important role in the Hemba’s matriarchal society, and most art is produced for this cult. Sculptors carve wooden ancestor figures and masks for ceremonies dedicated to the cult. Cat. 75
Igbo 22
The Igbo peoples of Nigeria believe that every piece of art has value, and they are known for the masks and sculpted figures of wood associated with shrine architecture. Although the earliest extant works of Igbo art date to the tenth century, most extant Igbo art was made in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Igbo, who number between seventeen and twenty million, are primarily farmers. They are not ruled by a chief or king, but rather by a council of elders whose power is balanced by secret societies. The Ada of Afikpo are a subgroup of Igbo which lives near the Cross River. Cat. 36, 39
Igede 23
In the Benue State of central Nigeria, the Igede peoples live in farming villages of cone-cylinder huts. The Igede speak a language of the Kwa subfamily that is distinct from that of their northern neighbors, the Idoma, with whom the Igede are associated. The Igede are farmers, who also raise small herds of livestock, and traders. The funeral is perhaps the most important event of the life cycle for the Igede; consequently, much art is produced for funerary use and for the cult of ancestors. Today the Igede number around three hundred thousand people. Cat. 44
Kanyok 24
The Kanyok are agricultural peoples who live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along the eastern side of the Luba kingdom with which they were associated politically. The population amounts to about ninety thousand, and they produce a variety of artworks including decorated prestige items and narrative sculptures. Sculptors carved wooden stools, water pipes, staffs, and ritual containers for the king and other titleholders. Older Kanyok art forms were very angular, but their carvings have evolved to be more rounded and portraitlike in appearance. Cat. 106
Kongo 25
The Kongo are a group of related Bantu-speaking peoples—which includes the Yombe, Woyo, Boma, and Mboma—who live in the adjacent areas of the Republic of Congo, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are known for their carved wood power figures that invoke the spirits. The Kongo also create stone and ceramic funerary art, wooden masks, and regalia. An alliance with the Portuguese enabled the Kongo peoples to prosper and gain immense political power in the fifteenth century. During this time the king and many of the Kongo peoples converted to Christianity. Slavery and war eventually led to the demise of the Kongo kingdom in the eighteenth century. Today the Kongo number over five million people. Cat. 99
Kota 26
Before settling in northeastern Gabon and the bordering areas of the Congo, the Kota peoples—forced by the Fang peoples—migrated across Africa for years. Kota society comprises several smaller groups that are governed by village chiefs. Kota religion, like that of the Fang, is based on the cult of the ancestors, whose power is thought to reside within their skulls and bones. Reliquary figures, the most common objects of Kota artwork, guard these bodily relics. The Kota also created masks and sculptures, many of which were destroyed in the twentieth century by Christian missionaries. Today, the Kota peoples number around one hundred and twenty-five thousand. Cat. 69
Kuba 27
The Kuba kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo probably began to develop in the sixteenth century, when people migrated from the north to settle between the Sankuru, Kasai, and Lulua rivers. The kingdom peaked in the mid-nineteenth century as the trade center for ivory, exported textiles, and other art. Although the Kuba kingdom comprises many ethnic groups, each one with its own leader, the king over all of Kuba is a member of the Bushoong group.
The two hundred thousand Kuba sustain themselves today as farmers and fishermen. Art objects created by the Kuba demonstrate a preference for geometric patterns. Kuba works include vegetal fiber textiles, wooden figures, and masks, often used to demonstrate prestige and leadership. Cat. 15, 16, 64, 86, 88, 94, 109
Lega 28
The Lega, a Bantu-speaking cluster of farmers who also pan for gold, inhabit the east-central area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lega, who now number around four hundred thousand, immigrated to this area from Uganda in the seventeenth century. Instead of a centralized government, the Lega have the Bwami, an age-graded association in which leadership is vested. Lega artists work ivory, wood, and bone to create masks and figures that symbolize moral principles. Cat. 10, 11, 17, 18
Luba 29
Founded in 1585 by King Kongolo, the Luba kingdom of the present-day southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo peaked in the seventeenth century when it controlled a federation of kingdoms. Luba art is made for the cult of ancestors, secret societies, and the king’s court. The frequent depiction of women in Luba art, particularly on prestige objects, attests to the iconic status of women in this matriarchal society. The empire began to collapse in the 1860s as a result of raids, slave traders, and Belgian consolidation. Today the Luba number over four million people. Cat. 20, 40, 48, 80
Lulua 30
In the eighteenth century, a group of farmers and hunters of Luba origin, known as the Lulua peoples, migrated from West Africa to the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The three hundred thousand Lulua live in independent villages ruled by a local chief in conjunction with a council of elders. The Lulua are known for crafting masks that are performed during initiation rites. Their culture underwent extreme changes in the late nineteenth century when the Lulua king prohibited the tradition of drinking palm wine, encouraged ritualized smoking of hemp, and burned all cult images. Cat. 47, 81
Makonde 31
There are two groups of Bantu-speaking peoples called Makonde, totaling about two million people. One group lives in northern Mozambique, the other in southeastern Tanzania. Before the Portuguese colonized the Makonde in the early twentieth century, the most important artistic works they created were carved wooden ancestor figures and masks. Tanzanian Makonde artists create facial and body masks, while the Makonde of Mozambique carve wooden helmet masks for boys’ initiation rituals. These helmet masks are usually decorated with hair, wax facial scarifications, and pointed teeth. Makonde artists also make decorative objects such as pipes, combs, canes, and bark boxes. Cat. 37
Mangbetu 32
The Mangbetu settled in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the nineteenth century and remained a political force until slave traders from North Africa arrived in the region in 1880. Many Mangbetu artworks are decorated with realistic-looking human heads with similar elongated heads and flared hairstyles. Although Mangbetu art is made primarily for the ruling class, artists also create prestige objects, such as knives with ivory handles, harps with figural motifs, and trumpets. Today the Mangbetu peoples number about five hundred thousand. Cat. 108
Mbala 33
Related to the Pende peoples, the Mbala have been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the seventeenth century. The two hundred thousand Mbala are agriculturalists who live in villages ruled by chiefs. They weave baskets, carve figures in wood, and, if rarely, produce masks. A red pigment (tukula) is used to color sculpted figures in a variety of forms. Cat. 32
Mboma 34
The Mboma, of which there are about thirty thousand, one of the Kongo-related groups, live in the area of Boma-Matadi on the Zaire River. They subsist on farming, hunting, fishing, and trading. In addition to wood, the Mboma used soft steatite to carve funerary figures distinguished by various attitudes—e.g., head-on-hand, cross-legged. Cat. 74
Mende 35
The Mende are rice farmers who migrated to Sierra Leone from various African territories in the sixteenth century and number about two million today. Within Mende chiefdoms, boys and girls are initiated into secret societies and remain members for life. These secret societies, Poro for males and Sande for females, serve as educational institutions that impart and preserve Mende morals and customs. Artworks, especially wooden masks, are created for initiation and healing ceremonies. The masquerade for the Sande society provides a rare instance of African women as maskers. Cat. 22, 38
Ndebele 36
The Ndebele, a Nguni-speaking peoples, are divided into two groups: those who live in Zimbabwe, called the North Sotho; and those who live in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces in South Africa. Ndebele women of South Africa create beadwork that decorates clothing and items related to initiation, weddings, and healing rites. They are also renowned for the murals they paint on the walls of their houses. The Ndebele number nearly three hundred and thirty thousand today. Cat. 95
Oron 37
According to some scholars, the Oron are related to the Ibibio; the Oron insist they are not. Estimated to number over one hundred thousand, the Oron peoples live on the west bank of the Cross River in southeastern Nigeria. Village elders rule their Oron communities while the Ekpe societies (secret associations of which only the men are members and charged with maintaining social and political control) enforce the rules of the village and control the distribution of wealth. The Oron peoples create ancestor figures, many of which were destroyed or stolen in the 1970s during the Biafran War. Cat. 67
Ovimbundu 38
High on the Benguela Plateau of Angola live the approximately 4.6 million Ovimbundu peoples. They farm and raise livestock. Although Ovimbundu art was inspired by Chokwe forms, contact with Europeans probably informed the naturalism evident in some Ovimbundu works. Depictions of Ovimbundu women are characterized by their braided hairstyles. Other artworks, predominantly statuary, may have been enacted in ritual settings. Today, there are more than two million Ovimbundu peoples. Cat. 105
Pende 39
The Bantu-speaking Pende peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were at one time overwhelmed by the Chokwe, but regained their independence with the rise of colonialism in the twentieth century. Pende art, which varies by region, shows stylistic similarities with the Chokwe and the Luba. Chiefs use carved objects, such as stools and staffs, as symbols of their power, and wooden or fiber masks are made for initiation and healing ceremonies as well as for masquerades that entertain and reinforce social norms. Although carved figures are rare, Pende artists carve ivory pendants in the form of miniature masks. The Pende peoples number five hundred thousand and sustain their villages through agriculture, selling the harvests at markets run by women. Cat. 21, 87, 89, 97
Sango 40
The Sango live in the regions of northern Lastourville and Kulamoutou, along the course of the Sebe River in Gabon. The total population is estimated to number about fifty-four thousand people. Like the Kota, they make reliquary guardian figures that are decorated with brass. Sango figures are, however, carved with smaller, more ovular heads and lack the elaborate hairstyles of Kota figures. Cat. 70
Senufo 41
The Senufo peoples, who now number three million, have inhabited areas of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire since the fifteenth century. Senufo villages are organized according to family lineage and age and are governed by a council of elders. All men belong to the Poro society in which they learn their social, political, and spiritual roles. Similarly, women belong to the Sandogo society. Senufo art includes wooden sculpture and masks for initiation and funeral ceremonies as well as dye-decorated textiles and pottery. Cat. 25, 55, 59, 63
Songye 42
Thirty-five individual chiefdoms make up the Songye territory west of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Songye are historically related to their Bantu-speaking neighbors, the Hemba and Luba peoples, though their society and artistic styles are unique. The one million Songye peoples, who farm and hunt, are renowned for their visual arts, especially expressive masks for the kifwebe secret society. Cat. 53, 54, 57, 58
Suku 43
The Suku peoples, of which there are about eighty thousand, have had a complex history in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With the Yaka, they invaded the Kongo kingdom and, years later, were themselves overtaken by the Yaka. Suku society is matrilineal and ruled by regional chiefs. Most Suku art is created as regalia for these chiefs. The Suku also craft power figures, masks, and wooden sculpture for ritual and everyday use. Cat. 104
Tsogo 44
The Tsogo are a small ethnic group originally located in the area of the Upper Ngoume River in Gabon and numbering about thirty-seven thousand. They are neighbors of the Sango with whom they share a tradition of ancestor worship and the production of carved wood figures that guarded ancestral relics preserved in baskets or bundles. Cat. 71
Tuareg 45
Numbering over one million, the Tuareg are seminomadic pastoralists who inhabit the Sahara Desert, southern Algeria, southwestern Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. They are grouped into politically autonomous federations that, on occasion, join together for purposes of trade and defense. Continuing droughts since the 1980s have caused some Tuareg to become sedentary agriculturalists and city dwellers. They are renowned for carved wood household furnishings, metal and leatherwork, and jewelry with simple shapes and decoration that combines linear and geometric motifs. Cat. 79
Wongo 46
The Wongo are a small ethnic group of about ten thousand who live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they are neighbors of the Pende and Kuba peoples. They subsist on farming and fishing. Their art includes raffia weaving and woodcarving, the styles of which resemble that of their neighbors. Cat. 90
Woyo 47
One of five groups that originally made up the Kongo kingdom, the Woyo (residing in the western part of the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cabinda, with a population total of about twelve thousand) are considered a cultural subgroup of the Kongo. Woyo power figures and other statuary resemble those of other Kongo groups, but their polychrome masks, pot lids with figures carved in relief, and figurative ceramic vessels by Voania Muba are unique. Cat. 107
Yaka 48
The Wamba River that flows along the southwest area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Angola is home to one million Yaka. The Bantu-speaking Yaka migrated to this region in the sixteenth century. Their highly structured hunting and farming society is ruled by a chief of Lunda origin. Like the Suku, the Yaka believe their chiefs are superhuman and create royal regalia for their use. Yaka artists craft masks for initiation ceremonies, statuettes, and prestige objects. Although the Yaka have been influenced by the Suku, Kongo, Holo, and Teke peoples, their art can be identified by its distinctive features, such as the upturned nose and the pigments applied to the surface of carved wooden objects. Cat. 104
Yanzi 49
The Yanzi, a trading community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are organized by a caste system. The Yanzi peoples have a tradition of exchanging artistic styles and borrowing forms from neighboring cultures. However influenced by their neighbors the Yanzi may be, their figures are recognizable by their elongated and angular forms. Today, the Yanzi peoples number around forty thousand. Cat. 49
Yombe 50
Two hundred thousand Yombe peoples live in the mountainous forests and savannahs of western Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their society is based on a matrilineal line of inherited power and ruled by male chiefs. The Yombe subsist by farming, hunting, and raising animals. The Yombe create animal masks for ceremonial traditions related to their agricultural and herding pursuits. Perhaps best known for their “power figures,” which hold ritual medicines and are embellished with mirrors and nails, the Yombe also forge iron, carve wooden masks, and weave raffia. Cat. 31, 51, 52, 72, 73
Yoruba 51
One of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, now numbering approximately twenty-five million, the Yoruba, comprised of several different groups that speak the Yoruba language, trace their origins to the city of Ife in present-day Nigeria, where according to their story of the Creation, the world began. Today, most Yoruba people are farmers who live in Nigeria and the neighboring areas of the Republic of Benin and Togo.
The Yoruba believe in an extensive pantheon of deities, deified kings, ancestors, and nature spirits. They create masks, divination trays, and brass and terracotta sculptures, which are frequently dedicated to the spirits and ancestors. Besides sculptural works and masks, the Yoruba make a variety of beaded objects and woven textiles. Cat. 69, 23, 2730, 42, 65, 66, 100103
Zande 52
During the eighteenth century the Zande peoples began to emerge from groups of people who were moving from the west toward the forests of central Africa. Today, the Zande inhabit an area that spans the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and southern Sudan. Although Zande art is very similar to that of the neighboring Mangebetu peoples, it is not intended for royal use. Rather, Zande artists create musical instruments and carved statues for secret societies. The Central Sudanic-speaking Zande number about one million. Cat. 50, 82, 92
CULTURES OR SITES
Egypt, ancient
Located in the northeastern corner of modern Africa and along the Nile River, ancient Egypt was bounded by the Mediterranean to the north, the First Nile Cataract to the south, and desert to the east and west. The ancient Egyptian kingdoms (Old, Middle, and New) prevailed for three and a half thousand years, from c. 3000 bc to ad 395 (from the First Dynasty to the Ptolemaic period), as evidenced by the extant monuments and treasures as well as hieroglyphic texts. Ancient Egyptian art was essentially religious and made for tombs and temples. Cat. 6062
Ethiopia
As early as the first century ad, the East African country of Ethiopia was part of a prosperous trade network from the Horn of Africa (modern Ethiopia, Djibuti, and Somalia) to Egypt, South Arabia, Persia, India, and Ceylon. There arose the kingdom of Axum—consisting of Sabean and indigenous African Cushite cultures—in the regions of present-day Tigray and Eritrea. It thrived from the fourth to seventh century ad. Along with trade came new religions. Judaism was introduced first and, by the fourth century ad, Egyptians in Alexandria were practicing Christianity. During the seventh century, Islam rose, conquered, and prevailed along the Red Sea, depriving Axum of its control over trade and religion. Yet Christianity survived, especially in Highland Ethiopia, where it is practiced today. Cat. 98
Lower Niger
The term Lower Niger is a geographic designation assigned to works of art that have been attributed to ancient Nigeria, but are stylistically divergent from works that have been confirmed as having an ancient Nigerian origin. Cat. 43
Sokoto
Sokoto is the name of both a state and its capital, as well as the designation for terracotta sculptures that have been found in the region since the late twentieth century. Characterized by a heavy brow, delicate features, and lack of ornate accessories, the Sokoto terracottas seem severe in comparison with those discovered at Nok, a village located near the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers. Separated by a vast distance, the Nok and Sokoto cultures date from about the same time, between about the fifth century bc and the third century ad, but a relationship between the two remains to be established. Cat. 1
Peoples of Africa
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