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The Brooklyn Museum

Education: Lesson Title: African Art and Community




This lesson emphasizes the functions of art in traditional African communities. Students will see objects associated with responsibility, kingship, education, and village life to discover how art is used to maintain important social relationships. They will draw or write about objects that reflect their own communities.

Grade Level: Middle School to ­High School
Author: Rose Ojo, May 2002
Theme: Understanding the roles of women in several African communities

Lesson Objectives
List of collection areas/objects with label information
Additional Objects for Possible Variations


Materials Required
Pencils, Worksheets

Procedure/Activities

Introduction

Object-Based Discussions

Ladle (Wunkermian)
Liberia, Unknown Dan artist

Introduction
Tell students that this object was made by an artist who comes from the Dan people, which is an ethnic group in Liberia. It was given to someone as a gift. Ask students to try to figure out who that person was and what his or her role was in the Dan community.

Questions


Share background information with students.

Background Information
This object is a special kind of ladle called a Wunkermian. It was used as a trophy, given to women who were very generous and provided food to other members of their community. Other ladles were used to hold food and distribute large quantities of rice and grain to numerous people, but this trophy ladle simply symbolized generosity and kindness. A woman would have held it while she danced in a community festival, throwing rice into the air to welcome guests and as a sign of prosperity. On the top part of the ladle, the artist carved a woman’s face to represent beauty.

Questions
What does the way this object was used tell us about the Dan community? What was important to them? How does the Wunkermian express that?

Transition to the next art object.
Now we are going to examine an art object from a different community. This object explores not only one woman’s importance, but also the importance of every man and woman in the community.

Door
Nigeria, Unknown Yoruba artist

Introduction
Tell students that the Yoruba people in the African country of Nigeria are known for elaborately carved wooden art objects like this one.

Questions
Background Information
Share the following background information with students as it comes up in discussion.

The amount of decoration and carving on this object indicates that it was made for someone important. It was likely one part of an entrance to a leader’s or a diviner’s shrine or compound. The top tier shows the leader’s seven wives, each holding a child on her back. The women are shown kneeling—the position that the Yoruba assume to greet someone older or of royal lineage. This gesture also symbolizes respect for the chief’s ancestors. The Yoruba believe that women’s ability to bear children gives them a close connection to the spirit world. The presence of the women would also have symbolized fertility, and thus a promising future for the entire community.

A diviner (someone who helped the community contact the spiritual world) is depicted on the second tier of the door, riding a horse. The diviner’s placement in the center of the door and the fact that he’s shown riding a horse indicates that he is the most important figure in this object. In Yoruba society, only important or wealthy people owned horses, because they had to be imported from North Africa. The diviner is accompanied by two attendants, or people charged with ensuring his safety and well-being.

The Yoruba consider diviners to be related to the gods or spiritual beings and, as such, they are to be kept separate and secret from the rest of the community. The two figures shown holding a cloth on the third tier and the six soldiers holding guns on the bottom tier are all intended to protect the diviner and keep him hidden.

The chain motif surrounding the four tiers may represent the Yoruba belief that the first human being climbed down to earth from the sky on a long silver chain. Some people compare the chain to the concept of community—like a chain, a community is made up of smaller parts that come together for a common good or goal.

Two notches on the right side of the door show where pegs would have been placed as part of a hinge.

Questions
Based on this information, what do you think the Yoruba people wish to recognize as the contributions of men and women to the community?

If you were to create a door to represent a community that you belong to, how would it look? Who would appear as most important? How would you make him or her look most important?

Transition to the next art object.
Next we will see another object used by a chief or king in a different African community. We’ll determine the role of women in that community.

Bow Rest with Female Figure
Democratic Republic of Congo, Unknown Luba artist

Tell students that this object comes from the Luba community in Congo. It held the bow that the king used for hunting and warfare.

This object was guarded by a female official and was never shown in public.

Questions

 Background Information
Share the following background information with students as it comes up in discussion.

Similar to the Yoruba people of Nigeria, the Luba believe that women have a close connection to the spirit world. The figure is shown with her arms folded across her chest, perhaps a reference to the Luba belief that women guard the secrets of royalty within their breasts. In Luba society, only women of high social rank had the kind of elaborate scarification marks on their faces and bodies seen on the female figure in this object.

Questions

 Transition to the next art object.
We’ve been looking at art objects that show women and men’s importance in their communities. Now we are going to look at a video of a performance that shows similar things.

Male Wodaabe Charm Dance Video
Niger, 1997, Chad Hall
Male Wodaabe Charm Dance Video
Niger, 1980, Carol Beckwith

Introduction
Tell students that this video is of a ceremony performed by the men of the Wodaabe community in Niger. They will discuss the purpose of this ceremony as well as the roles of men and women in this community after watching two film clips and answering questions on the handout.

Distribute worksheet (attached) and pencils. Read the questions aloud to the students, explaining as necessary.

Questions

 View the video and ask the students to complete the worksheet. Discuss their responses.

Role-Play and Discuss
Ask for a volunteer for this exercise: Pretend that you are walking down the street when suddenly you spot a very attractive person looking at you. You decide that you want to leave an impression on this person. How would you do this? Act it out. How would you walk? What would you express with your face or your words?

Conclusion

Tell students that they have seen four artworks from different African communities that represent the roles of men and women. Ask which one was their favorite and why. What object would they design to show the role of a man or a woman in their own communities? What would it look like? Would it be stored publicly or privately? Invite students to come back with their families to see more of the artwork in the Museum.

Additional Drawing Activity

(May be used to substitute for Wodaabe video and worksheet or back in the classroom)

Instruct the students to draw an object of their own design on a sheet of paper. The object will be given to either a male or a female who does a great job providing a service to other members in their community (teacher, principal, parent). This object should represent the gender and some of the qualities of the person who will receive it. Variation: Using the Yoruba door as a model for the representation of a community, ask students to design a door representing their own communities.

Objects that can be used in addition to or in place of the objects above:

Dance Headdress (Chi Wara) 77.245.1 and 77.245.2i
Mali, Unknown Bamana artist, 19th or 20th century
Wood, metal

These masks were used in ceremonies devoted to the spirit that, according to tradition, taught the Bamana people how to farm.

They may be used to discuss the roles of both men and women in relation to farming.

Ndoli Jowei Helmet Mask for Sande Society Mask 74.64
Sierra Leone, Unknown Mende artist
Wood

This mask—one of the very few masks worn by women in Africa—was used during a female initiation ceremony. It may be used in this lesson to discuss how beauty and behavioral ideals were taught to female members of the Mende community.

Emblem of Leopard Society (Nkpa)
Cameroon, Unknown Ejagham artist
Wood, animal bones, plant fiber, and iron

Emblem of a male society whose primary role is to regulate social behavior.

May be used to discuss the role of men within the Ejagham community.

Resources/Bibliography

African Gallery Guides: Art and Leadership. New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1995.

Africa: The Art of a Continent. Royal Academy of Arts, London, October, 1995–January 1996. London: Prestel Verlag.

The Arts of Africa, the Brooklyn Museum Teachers Book. Learning Center #LC-ED N79ar C3.

Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Royal Arts of Africa. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1998.

Murray, Ocelyn. Cultural Atlas of Africa. Andromeda, Oxford Limited, 1998.


Brooklyn Museum
Lesson: African Art and Community
Gallery: Arts of Africa

African Art and Community Worksheet

Today’s activity looked at three objects, each from a different community: the Dan of Liberia, the Yoruba of Nigeria, and the Kuba from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Close examination of each object revealed something about the roles of men and women in each of these cultures. Now look at the Wodaabe community of Niger and try to observe the roles of men and women in this particular culture. After watching both film clips, answer the following questions:

1. Look at the label. What is this ceremony used for? What do you think is the importance of this ceremony?










2. Describe the roles of men and women in this community.










3. Are the roles of the men and women in this ceremony different from the roles of men and women in your community? How?










4. Are there any ceremonies or events in your community that are similar to the one that you have just seen? Describe them.