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| Library status: currently open during regularly scheduled hours. |
George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. A Kaffir hunter. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9227-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
African Oral Epic Poetry: Praising the Deeds of a Mythic Hero by
Professor Pointer is the first person to offer an English translation of the Epic of Kambili, an African heroic myth. The book is careful to point out that this text deserves to be read by myth scholars and shows that the literary tradition of epic myth-telling extends to Africa through its oral folklore. The author argues that the story should be treated as an epic myth that was pieced together by different authors over several centuries, which may or may not have been the result of observing real events.
A Bird Dance near Saturday City: Sidi Ballo and the Art of West African Masquerade by
In 1978, Patrick McNaughton witnessed a bird dance masquerade in the small town of Dogoduman. He was so affected by this performance that its dazzling artistic power has never left him. As he revisits that very special evening in A Bird Dance near Saturday City, McNaughton carefully considers the components of the performance, its pace, the performers, and what the entire experience means for understandings of Bamana and West African aesthetics and culture. The performance of virtuoso dancer Sidi Ballo becomes McNaughton's vehicle for understanding the power of individuals in African art and the power of aesthetics as a cultural phenomenon. Topics such as what makes art effective, what makes it "good," how production is wrapped in individual virtuosity, and what individual artistry suggests about society reveal how individuals work together to create the indelible experience of outstanding performance. This exuberant and captivating book will influence views of society, culture, art, history, and their makers in West Africa for years to come.
Griots at War: Conflict, Conciliation, and Caste in Mande by
Griots at War Conflict, Conciliation, and Caste in Mande Barbara G. Hoffman An extraordinary account of conflict and peacemaking among griots. "... a compelling study of how social identities and relationships are constructed and reconstructed through action, specifically through speech.... The book succeeds marvelously in conveying the voice of the people who are, in every sense of the word, its subject." --Robert Launay In 1985, while she was an apprentice griot or jelimuso, Barbara G. Hoffman saw and recorded a remarkable event in the small town of Kita, Mali. For four days, thousands of griots from all parts of the Mande world gathered to talk, sing, and make music in celebration of the opening of the new Hall of Griots and the installation of the recently named Head Griot. This unprecedented assembly also marked the end of a deadly two-year conflict fought with griot weapons--words, reputations, and sorcery. Hoffman captures griots making speeches, singing songs of praise, and dancing in honor of their restored unity. Her discerning interpretations of the speeches not only explore the art of griot oratory but show how the use of history, metaphor, religion, proverbs, and praise can mend a community torn apart by war. The speeches, often marked by a keen edge, also reveal what it means to be a griot in a casted society and to demand that other castes recognize and respect this unique identity. The griot's formidable linguistic abilities come to the fore as they negotiate, reestablish, and assert their cultural power. This exceptional book, including generous extracts from the griots' speeches in Mande and in translation, offers surprising and important insights into the multiple meanings of Mande culture, caste, and identity. Barbara G. Hoffman is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Cleveland State University. She is author of many essays on Mande culture and producer of ethnographic videos on East and West African cultures. She is known to the Mande griot community as Jeli Jeneba Jabate. Contents Prologue: An Invitation to War Power and Paradox: Griots and Mande Social Organization In the Hands of Speech: Mande Discourse A History of Fadenya: Interpretations of the Kita Griot War Making Boundaries: When Griots Speak before Nobles Breaking Boundaries: When Nobles Speak before Griots The Healer Who Is Ill Must Swallow His Own Saliva: When Griots Speak to Griots Caste, Mande Style Epilogue: A Wound Cannot Heal on Pus
Iron, Gender, and Power by
Herbert has constructed a model of power relationships structured upon gender and age, and derived from male transformative processes, and in so doing has written a notable, and most enjoyable, book." African History "Herbert examines with great care and thoroughness the relationships between gender and power and the rationales that give them social form.... Her] analytical ability is outstanding." Patrick McNaughton "This book is a well-written and essential study of the place of belief in African material culture." International Journal of African Historical Studies Herbert relates the beliefs and practices associated with iron working in African cultures to other transformative activities chiefly investiture, hunting, and pottery making to propose a gender/age-based theory of power."
Reading Africa into American Literature: Epics, Fables, and Gothic Tales by
The literature often considered the most American is rooted not only in European and Western culture but also in African and American Creole cultures. Keith Cartwright places the literary texts of such noted authors as George Washington Cable, W.E.B. DuBois, Alex Haley, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, William Faulkner, Joel Chandler Harris, Herman Melville, Toni Morrison, and many others in the context of the history, spiritual traditions, folklore, music, linguistics, and politics out of which they were written. Cartwright grounds his study of American writings in texts from the Senegambian/Old Mali region of Africa. Reading epics, fables, and gothic tales from the crossroads of this region and the American South, he reveals that America's foundational African presence, along with a complex set of reactions to it, is an integral but unacknowledged source of the national culture, identity, and literature.
Sunjata: Warrior King of Mali : A West African Legend by
A young hero who overcame the unthinkable rises to unite his people. Weak and silent, young Sunjata is unable to walk, unable even to pull a bow. But a prophesy foretold that his mother would bear a son who will become the mansa of all the Mande people--the greatest king ever to rule. Sunjata sets out to find the strength and courage to fulfill his birthright and to overcome the plotting of a rival queen and the sorcery of the terrible tyrant Sumanguru. Are the armies and magic that stand against him undefeatable? Can Sunjata become the leader his people need?
