Survival of African Art and Traditions: Colonial and Religion Influence

Africa is not a homogenous continent as it is commonly misrepresented. It is a continent with the largest category of racial variances. In specificity, the West African region is the most distinct region on the continent because it is extremely multifaceted in terms of ethnicities. The separation of African arts, voodoo culture, and tradition has generated a shallow understanding of what African art represents and what it means to African people and the African diaspora. African arts are not just for decoration or pleasure purposes but have a deep-rooted meaning to its creation. Very often, when there is a discussion about African Art, people are often improvident to describing what African art is. Whether, African Art is only subject to sculpture, masks, painting, photography, pottery, and textiles. However, most African arts are associated with the word “traditional” in other to give it a strong legitimate claim of being authentic. A lot can be said when considering contemporary African art, especially sculptures and masks in some West African countries, for example in Benin, Togo, Nigeria, and Central Africa Congo. Most of these sculptures and masks have significant meaning to the culture and customs of these African societies. Voodoo, funeral rites, dance, and celebration are often associated with these sculptures. Voodoo is a religious belief that was brought by African slaves and their descendants to the Americas. Voodoo is said to originate from Benin, Dahomean, Yoruba, and other African ethnic groups. Sculptures, such as Nkisi Nkondi, The Ife head, Ala of Igbo, and Pende mask are some of the art pieces I will be discussing in the paper. These sculptures are an example of African art which has less attribution to the role it plays to the African people in the views of western curators and anthropologists. African traditions and art pieces cannot be separated as they complement of each other. Most of these art pieces and sculptures are used for traditional religious beliefs that existed prior to the invasion of Western Christianity and Arabic-Islam within these regions. However, the majority of African traditions changed through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as colonial powers instituted their religious doctrine on the diaspora.

The most prevalent traditional practice in Africa is voodoo or traditional religion, which is the worship of gods or deities amongst others. Voodoo practices can also be traced to the West African Yoruba people of Nigeria, formerly the Republic of Benin. There are a lot of art discoveries in this region, including the head of Ife, Obalufon mask, and other ancient bronze art pieces. These art pieces are used for traditional religious beliefs or voodoo practices. The ‘Olokun’ head of Ife (1300 C.E Nigeria), caught the attention of the Anthropological researcher Leo Frobenius in early 1910 during his expedition. There came the dispute of the origin of the sculpture (the head of Ife) as art historians struggle to make sense of its existence during the colonial period. It was evident that “Although the Frobenius head was widely published and aroused great interest, the even finer antiquities which he was not shown, ow which were subsequently found there, by at least a few Europeans; these included Oni Obalufon II, and a number of terra cotta heads, most of the larger and more refined in treatment than those of Frobenius. “ The speculation of the head of Ife as seen prior to Frobenius was the rare image which was taken by another Expeditioner. By description, the head of Ife is three-quarter life-size, named after the town Ile-Ife in Nigeria. The head is hollow and about a centimeter thick. It is made out of brass with a crown on top. The casting style of the head of Ife is believed to have originated from Benin. These sculptures are kept in shrines for rituals that are key to regulating the social and political structure of the Yoruba society. The mysterious style and sophisticated craftsmanship of this object challenged Western conceptions of African art. This naturalistic sculpture and casting with stone, copper alloy, brass, and bronze shows some other aspects of African art with is barely acknowledged by Western Art, “Twenty years ago Johannes Fabian's book Time and the Other argued that, in the academy, Africa and other non-Western areas were not assigned coeval status with Europe, even when the testimonies collected by anthropologists pertained in large measure to the present moment of the interview. Much of the foundational fieldwork on traditional African art, since at least the 1930s, was also done at the same moment and in the same countries where the early African modernist artists were working. Until recently, little acknowledgment of the coeval aspect of the modernists and traditionalists was given in the standard texts on African art. Rather than being understood, as they should be, as occurring within a multivalent continuum of contemporaneity, the traditional and the modern have been constructed discursively by African art scholars as islands apart.” As mention in previous paragraphs, most western curators of African art are discursive in their description and translation of the meaning of African art and its history. The head of Ife is a perfect example of how Western curators, deny the fact that there existed civilized societies that had sophisticated techniques which are mysterious to western societies. One would notice in some articles about African art and history, that anthropologist narrate or describe their findings according to their view which sometimes deviates or misleads people. “It is interesting to compare Dr. Moss's figures with those obtained by Sir William Gowland for a 'typical' sculpture in the round from Benin, and published in Reading and Dalton, Antiquities from the City of Benin. These are (percent.): tin, 0o57; lead, 5-85; copper, 78-5o; iron, o054; zinc, I4'34; nickel, trace; arsenic, orii; antimony, o’og. Silver and bismuth, which were found by Dr. Moss, are not mentioned. Gowland drew from this analysis the conclusion that the metal must have come from the Iberian peninsula rather than from Northern Europe, but does not seem to have considered the possibility of an African origin; and indeed he would have found it difficult to obtain specimens of native African ores, which are even now not available for study in this country.” The fact that during the analysis of these sculptures, western curators continue to undermine the possibility of an early existence of a civilized society in that part of Africa is condescending.

Various sculptures that are associated to African tradition with strong, sophisticated, and mysterious aesthetics make it difficult to comprehend. Voodoo sculptures and practices in Central Africa (Congo) are also seen in Haitian societies today. The Nkisi Nkondi is an example of a voodoo sculpture that exists today in some parts of the Caribbean. These sculptures are not aesthetically pleasing to watch though they have their role they play in Congo societies. Karen Cook reported that “At a case of magnificent Congo fetish figures, parallels are demonstrated between the tribal use of fetishes and the use of good luck charms and protective devices such as rabbits' feet, horseshoes, and St. Christopher medals in the West. Sometimes such analogies draw uncomfortable reactions from Western viewers who are accustomed to viewing their own symbols through a protective screen of rationalization. But more often such comparisons lead people to perceive the fundamental human situations which, despite geographical distances, linguistic barriers and differing behavioral norms, evoke responses frequently startling in their similarity.” Such uncomfortable reactions from Western viewers is seen in the voodoo dolls in Kongo traditions such as those of the Nkisi Nkondi. The Nkisi Nkondi sculpture is believed to provide divine protection to the Kongo people (Democratic Republic of Congo). Nkisi could mean two things “a spirit” or “the medicine used by the healer.” The healer or ritual specialist called “Nganga” is responsible for conjuring the spirit into the sculpture. It is used as protective figure by individuals, families, and sometimes whole community at large to “destroy and weaken evil spirits, prevent or cure illnesses, repel bad deeds, solemnize contracts or oath-taking and decide arguments.” Western viewers are accustomed to using laws and rationale that give justification to crimes committed in other to find a person guilty or not guilty. As a result, the perpetrator is punished by the laws governing the land. The same can be said in voodoo customs, by using the Nkisi Nkondi to identify a person who is guilty of a crime or wrongdoing. The spirits of the gods decide the form of punishment. The Nkisi Nkondi figures by description are made of wood sculpture, metal, or ceramic, with nails, pins, blades, or other sharp objects inserted into its surface. From initial observation of the head, one can easily associate the figure to a male, from the shape of the jaws down to the chin. You notice shape pegs inserted like a form of a beard. Also, you would notice a piece of mirror in the belly of the figure which represents the spirit world. Most shape objects like pegs inserted into the sculpture are used to settle disputes while pins inserted deeply are used to punish serious offenders like murder. The Nganga who controls the sculpture, makes the parties validate their oath by licking the blades or nails, to seal their pledge to the severity of the punishment that is likely to befall them. When these blades or pins are inserted to the Nkisi Nkondi, then it carries out its mission of punishment or protection. The Nkisi Nkoni’s mission is believed to inflict pain and suffering to guilty offenders of a crime or disputes. This practice is seen in the Americas and Caribbean through the migrations of slaves from the diaspora.

Superstition in most African society today is almost no more, as curators are storing the art pieces in museums, as a result, these art pieces not kept in their original place (the shrine). To make matters worse, major religions like Christianity and Islam, have made traditional religious practices or voodoo practices as outmoded and evil. An example of these art pieces is the “Ani” the ‘mother of the Igbos.’ Ala or Ani is the Ibo fertility goddess of the earth. upon Thee'. Ala as a deity of fertility, earth, and morality, is the protector of women and children worshipped by the various ethnic groups in Igbo land. Igbo people make sacrifices and offer when they need a great harvest before the yam festival. It is believed that, when Ala is angry or upset by a member of a community breaking a taboo, the community may be deprived of rain and bounty harvest. This belief system also does exist in both Christianity and Islam, where there is a need for a sacrifice to atone for one’s sine. Christianity and Islam also had artistic figures, from saints, the image or statue of Jesus, the half-moon, and symbolism in calligraphy. African tradition should not be considered outmoded or evil given that it most of its worship is of the ancestral spirit, deity, and natural phenomenon. Edward Ilogu also acknowledges that “the Ibo traditional religious worship has used Ala (earth goddess) and Ifejioku or Chi n'Agu as the throne from where to gaze and gaze upon God. But from wherever the Christian and the traditional worshipper have gazed upon God, they both recognize the God that creates and sustains with bounty as well as with the possibilities of scarcity in the lean years or years of pestilence and war.” The influence of Christianity and Islam in many African societies until today has been negative as this doctrine conflicts with the traditional belief system that existed before its acceptance in these societies. Many African art pieces have been crushed, burned, and buried by leaders of these two-major religious belief (Christianity and Islam). Though it is fair to say, some of the existing traditional beliefs may be considered barbaric and inhumane since it did not positively improve the social and political status of these traditional African societies.

Most of these arts have been collected by curators and placed in museums which do not give its full meaning but rather only describe its origin, the material of which it is made of, the indigenous style of molding, and its aesthetic. Zeo S. Strother, a Riggio Professor of African Art, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, is a specialist in Central and West African art history. She conducted research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mali, and Senegal. During her research, Zoe reported that western scholars have woven intricate categories for Pende masks from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the basis of their material, style, and shape. However, Pende themselves categorize masks primarily by the aesthetic emotions that they arouse, and the spiritual and traditional rites it is used for. Voodoo sculptures or masquerades are displayed in a museum “is for non-Pende the visible tip of the iceberg.” The argument of separating art pieces like the Pende mask from the dance and performance gives it little or less meaning to lovers of art. Written text or description of the Pende in a museum as a display makes it difficult to translate the culture and tradition to non-Pende, “the absence of this sort of information means that the masks under discussion are not fully restored to their human context. Our picture of the masks and their accouterments is far more complete, and our understanding of what we might call the backstage elements is far clearer (this at least one would expect from a student of Robert Farris Thompson).” Fairly stated by Stephen Belcher, the description of some of this figurative art, is limited to its aesthetic rather than giving it a complete meaning through the cultural dance, celebration, and practice which it is used for. Having said that modern museums today, have trained intellectuals who can associate with African art and history, as they are able to teach and inspire African descendants from the diaspora. “Black children were exposed for the first time to African culture through Museum activities. The children have been equally enthusiastic; one fifth-grader, for example, wrote that 'the part that interested me was how you told the truth about Africa.' Among the Western Pende along the Kwango River in the Central Democratic Republic of the Congo, masks are worn to celebrate the graduation of young men from the Mukanda initiation camps, where they are taught the skills needed for survival and the responsibilities of adult men in village society.  The masks denote important social functions in Congo. Chiefs wear this sacred mask at ceremonies when performing sacrifices to ancestors, seeking blessings and farewell from their community. By description, the Pende mask is made of carved wood. The patterns tend to be geometrical and symmetrical. Different geometric patterns are used to distinguish between male and female masks. The patterns are forms of coded information, which show social status and family hierarchy. Zigzag, parallel, square, curved, and triangular grids are carved on some sections of the mask. Some masks are decorated with braided hairstyles adorn the top of the head.

“Jean Vanden Bossche has suggested that this loss of stylistic articulation from mask to mask, already prevalent in the thirties in the western region, was due to acculturation, and he feared that within a number of years, Pende mask art would be dead, surviving only as routinized copy work of a former.” The market for African art especially masks has significantly impacted the purpose of the Pende masks as European collectors and art lovers only buy it for its mystic and aesthetic purpose. This, in the long run, make the Pende marks valueless to non-Pende people. For the basic reason of not being able to associate with what the actual purpose of the Pende was designed for.

It is now possible for us to understand why some African Art and traditions have faded over time. The loss of art, colonial influence, and Christian and Islam influence in African societies, have greatly impacted the social, cultural, and political structures of Africa. Why do I say that one would ask? This is because one; the use of traditional means of enstooling a chief, has changed drastically in some African societies as the burning and burial of deities or voodoo sculpture are no longer used in selecting leaders in modern African societies. Leadership is no longer based on merit or foreseen success through the eyes of the gods, or by superstitious means. Leadership is now the base of corruption and association with some ethnic groups which have heavily impacted the progress of African societies. If the use of traditional practices like voodoo sculpture (for example Nkisi Nkondi) was used to elect capable leaders of African societies, there would be less corruption in leadership positions in Africa. The use of Nkisi Nkondi would have held guilty leaders accouter of wrongdoing, corruption, and murder. An example is how corrupt African leaders swore an oath in criminal court using the Bible and Quran, who are sometimes actually guilty and go scot-free knowing they would not face immediate judgment or punishment from God or Allah. In addition to that, colonial influence or Western influence on African art, history, and tradition, has undermined some of the cultural practices that enabled African societies to perform some customary rites which are now considered outmoded. The worship of deities for example Ala of fertility and harvest, if not abolished would still impact the rate of childbirth for mothers and also increase crop yield in Igbo society. Western influence on African art has separated in large the traditional practices that are associated with some African art or given it a meaning that does not necessarily coincide with the original purpose of the art. The dissociation of customs or traditional practices associated with African art, turns to make those art pieces valueless to the natives or members of that society. As Western curators may place more focus on the mystic and aesthetic beauty of the art. This renders the sculptures meaningless to people who would have love to know the culture and customs that the sculpture might project. Not accrediting, and foreseeing the existence of civilized societies in Africa by Western Expeditioners, shows how Africa is diminished in terms of the social, political and economic hierarchy. In terms of voodoo sculpture and practices, every religion is entitled to be observed without criticism, as all religions belief in a supreme being. Though the doctrine or practice may vary, no religion has the right to cause destruction to the other. Time and time again we saw voodoo practices labeled as “devil worship” without sufficient evidence. Sculptures being destroyed on the basis of man’s own interpretation of what is righteous should not be acceptable.

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