Category Archive

Tribes/tribus/StämmeAshantiThe Ashanti are a major ethnic group of the Akans (Ashanti and Fanti) in Ghana. Two types of decorative brass vessels, Forowa and Kuduo, were made by the Ashante. The forowa is made from hammered or sheet brass, whereas the kuduo is always cast. The distinction is important because metal worked "cold" would be regarded as secular, and that which ...

The Asante region of southern Ghana is a remnant of the Asante empire, which was founded in the early 17th century when, according to legend, a Golden Stool descended from heaven into the lap of the first Asantehene (king), Osei Tutu. The stool is believed to house the spirit of the Asante people in the same way that an individual’s stool houses his spirit after death. The ...

Masks are the main art form of Cote d’lvoire. Masks have a lot of meaning and a lot of purposes. They can symbolize supernatural, the decreased, and even animals. Masks can also be said to be dangerous, as only powerful people are permitted to use/keep them. It is said that it is dangerous to wear certain masks, as they say ...

From the nomadic Tuareg, Fulani, Bozo fishers, Bambara, and Dogon farmers, each of Mali's dozens of ethnic groups each of which has passed down their own traditions, history and occupations over the centuries. Tribes/tribus/StämmeDogonThe Dogon inhabit the Bandiagara escarpment in Mali. Dogon sculpture is intimately linked with spiritual beliefs related to ancestors, both real ancestors and mythic Nommo spirits (primordial ...

Burkina Faso is a small, landlocked country north of Ghana and south of Mali and Niger. Burkina Faso “Land of the honest men.” is a small land-locked country in West Africa bordered by Ghana and Togo to the south, Benin to the southeast, Niger to the east, Mali to the north and Ivory Coast to the southwest. Many of the ...