African Art and Architecture

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Objects for Divination

Another important African religious practice is divination, which is the art of receiving hidden knowledge or insight from supernatural sources. Diviners attempt to uncover problems, determine their cause, and provide solutions, and they may use objects to aid this process. Some African cultures use artistically rendered objects, while others use parts of animals, such as feathers or horns. In western Africa, the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin use a decorated tray for divination. This round, rectangular, or half-moon-shaped board is carved with geometric and animal motifs and one or more images of Eshu, the Yoruba trickster deity, who is thought to deliver messages to and from the spirit world. The divining process begins by covering the board with white chalk. The diviner then throws palm nuts onto the board and interprets the markings they make on its surface.

The Kuba people of central Africa use an itombwa, or friction oracle, for divination. This carved wooden object takes the shape of a four-legged animal with an elongated body. The animal is chosen for its abilities to find something hidden. A dog, for example, is good at sniffing out game and a crocodile can attack swiftly without being seen, so both are good choices. On the sides of the itombwa are intricate patterns, such as chevrons or crosshatches, and on its back is a removable knob that is flat on the bottom. The diviner soaks this knob in oil or water and rubs it on the long, flat back of the itombwa while reciting various possible cures or solutions. When the knob stops moving, the diviner turns the animal upside down. If the knob remains in place, then the cure pronounced at the time it stopped moving is the correct one.

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Art and Adornment

People in all cultures adorn their bodies in some way, typically with jewelry, hairstyles, or clothing. In Africa people also adorn their bodies with tattoos, scars, and other body art; they may also reshape their earlobes or lips. Adornment can serve as an expression of beauty and also as an indication of a person’s title, age, social status, or membership in an exclusive group. It may also protect against danger or assure health or success in war.

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Scarification

Scarification is the practice of cutting the skin and introducing irritants into the wound to produce a permanent scar. Although rarely practiced today, scarification has a long tradition in many African cultures, and these traditional markings continue to appear on carved statues and pottery figures. Most scars were made on the face, back, chest, or around the navel. Scarification could indicate status or ethnic affiliation, or it could offer protection against harmful spirits. For example, among the Somba people of Benin and Togo, in western Africa, scarification indicated a person’s stage in life. An individual received his or her first marks at the age of 14, signifying the transition from childhood to adulthood.

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Jewelry

In Africa, both men and women adorn themselves with jewelry, which can include earrings, necklaces, armlets, rings, pendants, belts, and bracelets. Jewelry may be made of gold, brass, leather, or ivory, and it may be embellished with beads, feathers, or seeds. Among the Masai, a nomadic people of eastern Africa, belts, beaded earrings, and ostrich feathers indicate the stage a man has reached in life. In the past, a Masai man who had not yet killed a lion would wear ostrich feathers.

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Textiles

Both men and women dye cloth and stamp or weave designs into textiles used for clothing. Like jewelry, textiles may be used to indicate social status or group membership. Among the Akan of western Africa, only royalty were allowed to wear a fabric known as Kente cloth. The earliest surviving examples of Kente cloth date from the 16th century; they consist of woven strips of blue- and-white silk sewn together. This cloth signified the wearer’s status and through its patterns might also allude to a proverb or a historic event. Today, a more brightly colored version of Kente cloth is popular among all social classes.

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