Art of the Lega

Art of the Lega

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  • 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版/ページ数 231 p.
  • 言語 ENG
  • 商品コード 9780930741884
  • DDC分類 745.096751

Full Description


Drawing upon diverse sources, including Daniel P. Biebuyck's seminal fieldwork of the 1950s, Elisabeth Cameron investigates the culture and the art of the Lega peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Among the Lega, art is only created for and used by the Bwami Society. Bwami is a complex organization consisting of multiple levels, and it forms an essential component of the political, social, and religious structure of the Lega. Within Bwami, artworks are used in conjunction with proverbs, anecdotes, and performances to form complex layered metaphors and to serve as mnemonic devices. As initiates move up through the ranks of the Bwami Society, a variety of different artworks assist them in recalling a vast corpus of complex aphorisms. The many beautiful examples of Lega artworks illustrated in this volume are drawn primarily from the Jay T. Last collection and include masks, animals, human forms, miniature tools, and spoons.

Contents

ForewordsPrefaceLAYERED METAPHORSThe Lega and Their EnvironmentThe Bwami SocietyRhetoric, Metaphor, and MpalaArtists and AestheticsThe Public and the SecretPART TWO: VISUAL VOCABULARYFound, Assembled, and Utilitarian ObjectsAnimal FiguresHuman FiguresLega MasksConclusion: The Mythical versus the RealAppendixEndnotesReferences Cited