African Culture

I read an article online at this website http://www.africaguide.com/culture/artcraft.htm and it described the arts and crafts of the culture in Africa. This article was interesting to me because it said that the arts and crafts usually show a couple, a woman and a child, a male with an animal or weapon, or an outsider. I also read the significance of women and men. It reads, "As women achieve significance through their children, men will often be honored in warfare. The one who goes into battle must have physical, emotional and spiritual energy to survive and to conquer. Thus the emphasis on weapons and the spoils of war in many African works" I thought this was interesting and now when I see African work I can relate better to it. I was also confused when this article said that some of the art were drawings of outsiders or "strangers". I read more about it and they said that they would draw people from different tribes and they would usually not be welcomed. In this article it says, "In Africa, a stranger is someone from a different country or tribe. They would usually not be welcomed; and the more distorted the portrayal of the stranger, the greater the gap that is normally symbolized. Sometimes strangers; especially white foreigners; are given a form of respect based on their relatively great weaponry and other powers". This quote reminded me of the book we are reading in class "Nectar in a Sieve" because in the book it shows when the tannery people come, Rukmani could tell they were more superior than the rest of them. This article is really interesting and I like how I can relate it to the book we are reading in class too.

"African People & Culture." Africa Guide. 8 Feb 2009 .