Africa_010-041 1/20/09 1:11 PM Page 10 Peoples Western Guinea’s Coast Mande Volta Populations Fulani (Peul) Akan Peoples Nigerian Region Kongo Chokwe Luba-Lunda Kuba Zande Mangbetu Lega Mbuti Maasai Kikuyu Nyamwezi Makonde Swahili Madagascar San Shona Ndebele Nguni Chi Wara helmet, Bamana (Mali). New York, Brooklyn Museum of Art. Africa_010-041 1/20/09 1:11 PM Page 12 Western Guinea’s Coast “When you see a palm tree, the palm tree ... saw you first” This figure was consecrated by pouring blood from an ox, a noble animal, on it. Young men wear masks (Wolof proverb, Senegal) with ox-horns as a visible sign of success in raiding cattle, which raises their prestige in their age class and supplies them with the wherewithal to marry. Western Guinea’s Coast The area stretching from the Casamance region and the Gambia Peoples River Valley in southern Senegal down to the Ivory Coast, never Wolof, Baga, Bidjogo, Shebro, We had large states such as the Sahel region of western Africa. Still, it was the site of broad historical processes that affected tribes Geographic location Senegal, Guinea, like the Baga in Guinea, the Bidjogo in Guinea-Bissau and the These statuettes Liberia, Sierra Leone, Shebro in Sierra Leone, who were pushed into the area by Ivory Coast, Western also served as Africa Mande-speaking people: thus this forest area with a marshy containers. They are topped by a Related entries coastline became a haven for them. The Baga live on the coast half-length or Mande, Black Islam, where the men fish and grow kola nuts and the women grow full-length farmers, traditional anthropomorphic artists rice. The Bidjogo today number about fifteen thousand and live figure, or by a on the islands of the Bijagos Archipelago facing the Guinea- seated figure, Bissau coastline, where they mainly grow rice. a position that signified high status. These Iran statues are the Man standing next to receptacles of spiritual beings, his canoe. Bijagos Islands especially the guardian spirits (Guinea Bissau). of clans and villages. Statuette, Bdjogo (Guineau Bissau). Paris, Musée du Quay Branly. 12 13 Africa_010-041 1/20/09 1:11 PM Page 14 Western Guinea’s Coast The snake is one form under which the fertile spirit of The mask in the shape of a the waters appears; the rainbow (often called “snake- bird’s beak evokes a spirit in-the-sky” in Africa) is also associated with the snake, that moves between earth, which plays a cosmological role by reconciling the water and air. water kingdom with that of the jungle. This mask, worn at harvest celebrations, is an ideal representation of motherhood. The large, elongated breasts that suggest nursing are a The diamond sign of mature Two holes pattern and the womanhood; between the alternating colors the woman who breasts allow the mark the snake’s touches them dancer to see. undulating shape as the mask and suggest a dances can expect hypnotic movement, healthy children further heightened and rich harvests. by the round eyes. The snake is positioned vertically on the head of a masked The dancer male dancer wears the mask during the on his shoulders, initiation rituals his body hidden that escort boys from the waist into adulthood, or down by a wide during funerals. raffia-fiber skirt. Its weight and size require unusual athletic skills of the dancer who must move with the appropriate elegance. Basonyi helmet, Baga (Guinea Nimba mask, Baga (Guinea Bissau). Paris, Musée du Quay Branly. Bissau). Seattle, Seattle Art Museum. 14 15 Africa_010-041 1/20/09 1:11 PM Page 16 Western Guinea’s Coast A mask that embodies the terrible jungle The hair is made of cowrie shells “Even if you leave it in the river for a long time, a pirogue will spirits; it is used in war, against witchcraft from the Indian Ocean: used in and to mete out justice, which thus finds its the past as currency, they were a never become a crocodile” (Bamana proverb, Mali) legitimacy in a superhuman source. symbol of power. Mande The term “Mande” designates a broad linguistic family centered The use of in the Bamako region and stretching towards Burkina Faso, Geographic location human hair Bamana, Malinke, contributes to Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Diula, Bozo, Kagoro, the disturbing and Ghana. Belonging to the Mande family are savannah ethnic Marka, Soninke, look, as it adds Kuranki, Kono, Vai, a familiar, groups such as Bamana, Malinke, Diula, Bozo, Kagoro, Marka, Susu, Dan, Mali, domestic and Soninke, and jungle people such as Kuranki, Kono, Vai, Burkina Faso, Senegal, element to a The convex Susu, and Dan. They live on millet, sorghum, rice, and maize Gambia, Guinea, foreign and forehead, large Sierra Leone, Liberia, faraway reality. bulging eyes, red, farming. Cattle is kept primarily for prestige, for paying the Ivory Coast, Ghana, dilated nostrils “bridal price,” and for sacrifices. The Bozo fish along the Niger western Africa and open mouth The use of Chronology all work to River, while the Soninke and the Diula are wholesale traders. animal elements 13th-16th century: such as hair project a There is an important distinction between farmers, craftsmen threatening look. Mali empire reaffirms the and slaves, though this “caste” structure does allow for some 18th century: Segou distance between and Kaarta kingdoms men and the social mobility, such that even slaves can reach powerful posi- jungle spirits. tions. There is an important distinction between the Honrow Related entries Sudanese kingdoms who are tied to the land and to agriculture and consist of noble- and empires, chiefless men, warriors and farmers, and the Nyamakalaw, an endoga- societies, age-sets and initiation, blacksmiths, The sleigh bells mous group that controls the vital forces of nature (nyama). increase the size male and female, Black of the mask and Although wary of each other, they are closely co-dependent, for Islam, farmers, theater with their sound while the former provide the food, the latter produce the iron, call forth the ancestors to wood and leather implements and cult objects used in everyday mediate between life and in rituals. men and spirits. The mask enables the spirits to approach men and exercise some control over them, including providing visible, anthropomorphic assistance. Village on the Niger River, Mali. Mask, We (Ivory Coast). Private collection. 16 17 Africa_010-041 1/20/09 1:11 PM Page 18 Mande The Saga mask represents a ram, the animal that The Bamana, about two million people, live in western God sacrificed to wash away Musokoroni’s guilt, and southern Mali where they apparently settled in the the female deity that had turned the earth barren. 17th century. In the late 18th century the Segou and The myth of a primordial fault followed by an Kaarta kingdoms achieved regional power, but fell under act of reparation is also found in the beliefs of the attacks of the Toucouleur Moslems in 1860. Having other local populations, such as the Dogon. converted to Islam only then, they maintain many traditional beliefs. In 1890 Segou fell to the French. The puppet theater, These masks are sometimes polychrome; performed on some also have pirogues, plays metal plate scenes from decorations. everyday life The ram’s horns symbolize the growth of food plants, therefore fertility. The Bamana live in villages under chiefs whose role is legitimized by their families and the level achieved in their initiation society. Descent is patrilinear, and the choice The Bozo are fishermen who live along of a home the Niger River; a myth narrates that follows patrilocal they were generated by the primordial principles, twin sisters who were daughters of the with the bride water genie. The masters of the river, moving into her they are believed to be the earliest husband’s house. inhabitants in the region. Mask, Bozo (Mali). Seattle, Puppet of the Sogow Society, Seattle Art Museum. Bamana (Mali). Private Collection. 18 19 Africa_010-041 1/20/09 1:11 PM Page 20 Mande These wooden statues, carved by blacksmiths, have The anthropomorphic shapes of the oil lamps forged multiple uses. When carved as maternity figures by Mande blacksmiths contain symbols that are also (gwandusu) with a gently rounded shape, they represent found elsewhere, as pieces of an initiatory language. the female deity Musokoroni and are used by the Gwan For the Bamana, and the Dogon as well, these signs and Jo initiation societies where women with sterility or correspond to the divine design, they precede the pregnancy problems, or whose child is ill, find support. existence of things and are revealed in myth. “Son of the tree” “The keeper of refers to the wish truth” is a for progeny of symbol found the recently at important circumcised boy. meetings. The body is highly stylized, reduced to elementary geometric shapes. Particular This type of the emphasis is “The old statuette reminds placed on the woman’s corpse” This sign refers to the elderly and breasts, the sign is used when “the sacrificial young girls that prominent hips, burying the offering.” the young men buttocks and corpse of a very are looking for navel, all old woman. wives. Sometimes allusions to they are also used woman’s to commemorate fertility. Another This is “the dead twins. characteristic is heavenly fire” the crest-like sign that is placed headdress. on the head of This sign marks the members the household’s of the Hausa ethnic group. altar before readying the fields for sowing; it propitiates “The wind” represents the rain. the movement of the “Your two hands” soul in all things.