Issues in African Art And Architecture

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Cloth and The Masquerade in Southern Nigeria

March 21, 2022

Unlike many other artforms, textiles have the ability to operate in thee dimensions. When wrapped around the body they become three-dimensional taking the form of their wearer's body, or draping from it. In the form of tapestries, they can function like paintings or decorate backdrops. Across the African Continent, they can also enter the fourth dimension as part of the energetic moving spectacle of the masquerade. Both imported and locally made textiles play significant roles in the masquerade traditions of Africa. Locally made cloth is often integral to the construction of these costumes. These textile pieces often take on new ritual significance as they are imbued with medicinal and spiritually potent substances. In southern Nigeria, particularly in places where upright loom weaving is prominent, ritual textiles made in this way are often repurposed in masquerade celebrations. The ritual textiles made by the Ijebu weavers for the Ogboni society often become repurposed as part of

Aso Olona: Production and trade in the Niger Delta

February 26, 2022

The Aso Olona clothes of the Ijebu Yoruba are one of the most renowned Yoruba women's weaving traditions. These beautiful complex patterned textiles were not only created for use by the Ogboni Elder society ( called Oshugbo in Ijebu) but were important markers of chieftaincy and valued trade items exported to other communities both within and outside of Yorubaland. (Above)Indigo and White Aso Olona cloth Aso Olona (Cloth with patterns, Literally cloth that possesses art) is one of many diverse area-specific textiles made using the upright continuous warp loom. The cloth is most noted as part of the regalia of the Oshugbo elder society. This initiation society is closely associated with the worship of the earth goddess Ile. Through their connection with Ile, who is the arbiter of both life and death, it is Ogboni/Oshugbo that facilitates, orders, and permits the spilling of human blood, in adition to rites and rituals deeply tied to royal authority. The symbolism of Aso Olon

Black Marriage Cloth in the Nigerian Woman's Weaving Tradition

February 20, 2022

The upright loom weaving traditions of southern Nigeria are some of the most important textile traditions of the African continent. The cotton, Raffia, silk, and bast fiver textiles associated with this tradition played crucial roles in the commercial, social, and political histories of west and west-central Africa. The women ( and rarely men) who wove and traded these textiles were at the center of this history. Weaving was a common craft and industry among the Yoruba, Igbo, Edo, Ebira, Igala, Nupe, and Other ethnicities across Nigeria before the turn of the 20th century. As late as mid 20th century, the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers ( what is now Kogi State) was a region renowned for producing such cloths. The Yoruba, Northern Edo, Akoko, Ebira, and Igala women in the area wove various textiles for domestic use, trade, and as essential parts of puberty, age-grade, and marriage rituals. Numerous village-specific cloths were at the heart of ritual and social life throu

Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe and the South East African Textile Tradition

February 06, 2022

During the mid 13th century, the earliest “complex” stratified culture appeared in southern Africa. In the Limpopo valley of what is now South Africa and Zimbabwe. Agro-pastoral eastern Bantu peoples created a string of settlements starting as early as the 4th century C.E. The increase in east African/Indian ocean trade in the 10th century contributed to a build-up of wealth. This is believed to have driven the development of the Mapungubwe/great Zimbabwe cultural complex. Elaborate dry stone architecture is one of the hallmarks of the various kingdoms associated with this civilization. Early sites are also known for elaborate pottery, and from at least the 10th century, the ancestors of the Mapungubwe peoples were refashioning and exporting imported glass beads. Sites associated with this culture also contain ceramic spindle whorls. This is the earliest evidence of cotton spinning and thus spun textile production in southern Africa, part of understudied, but once-vibrant tradition.

New Interpretations And Explorations Into the Nok Culture.

January 30, 2022

In 1928 alluvial tin miners on Nigeria's Jos Plateau, right outside the village of Nok, made a discovery that would alter the course of African art history. They discovered a small terracotta head, part of a then-unknown artistic tradition. Bernard Fagg would lead subsequent archaeological excavations that would reveal more figurative terracotta sculptures. Stylized images of human beings, animals, and fantastic beasts richly adorned with beads, bracelets, capes, and in true African style elaborately arranged hairstyles. Evidence Iron smelting was soon found at the nearby village of Taruga. The original set of radiocarbon dates would situate both the Nok iron smelting and figurative sculpture tradition between 500 BCE and 200 C.E. This made them the earliest known artistic and ironworking culture in Subsaharan Africa yet discovered. The works are rich in symbolism and complexity. One iconic example shows interconnected figures with alternating sex characteristics (breasts and bea

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