Although reflection on art and African cultures was a per
manent feature of European interest at the end of the 19th century, the first contacts of westerners with such works took place even during the Renaissance period. Christian missionaries, mainly focused on converting followers of African religions, treated the values characteristic for na
tive African cultures as a symptom of barbarity. A similar approach was displayed towards their art. Moreover, it was awarded a special place by granting it the status of a curio
sity. which could be seen in a museum of curiosities, a Wun
derkammer, constituting a type of a natural museum.
The centuries-old aversion of Europeans to African artistic forms had at its foundation the different canons of beauty for the inhabitants of both continents. Europe followed the Hellenic tradition, setting a goal for artists to achieve mimetic accuracy between the light of nature and art. The European notion of art stressed the subjective vision of the artist, highlighting both the role of the Pla
tonic harmony and proportion. Viewing from a distance constituted a significant aspect in one's perception of the works of western art as a viewer did not have a direct con
tact with an artefact, but contemplated it. However, the traditional art of the Sub-Saharan Africa had its own rules, no matter how difficult they were to be perceived and ac
cepted by the western culture. Nowadays, it seems neces
sary to adopt a transcultural perspective in the studies on Africa, which in the case of aesthetics means not only an attempt to understand beauty and art in other cultures, but - inevitably - a deeper comprehension of one's own culture.
Methodological discussions on African cultural arte
facts started to appear at the end of the 19th century, together with an interest in this culture's ethnographic
dimension. The dissertation Negerplastik was one of the earliest European analyses examining African sculptures from the aesthetic point of view. This text was published in 1915 by Carl Einstein (1885-1940), an influential writer and critic involved in the movement of German expres
sionists. The author presented the opinion there that the distance and stereotypes which Europeans had towards African peoples prevented "any aesthetic valuation".
Moreover, the European viewer of African art was abso
lutely convinced of their own "unconditional even fant
astic superiority". Another significant publication is Negro Sculpture (1920) by Roger Fry (1866-1934), an artist and a recognised critic at the same time. Fry stated, with the sense of superiority characteristic for the white race, "that it seems unfair to be forced to admit that certain nameless savages have possessed this power not only in a higher de
gree than we at this moment, but that we as a nation have ever possessed it." He added at the same time that "com
plete artistic freedom" differentiates African sculpture from the western tradition.
Within a short time, however, European artists, influ
enced by new trends in art such as Fauvism, Cubism or German expressionism, discovered a new world of forms, materials, concepts, as well as symbolic meaning of arte
facts of non-European cultures. Indeed, their simple, raw shapes, perfect economy in the use of material and pur
poseful deformations of the human figure were bound to arouse delight. These features were consistent with the new aesthetic taste of the era with a trend for "negritude"
appearing within white artistic and inteIlectual¡st circles in the United States in the 1920s and the 1930s.
When drawing due attention to the broadly under
stood term 'native Sub-Saharan art’ regarding its inspir
89
ation of the achievements of European and American artists, it must be kept in mind that authentic African artefacts from the beginning of the 20th century had never been created with a view to being found in the col
lection of an admirer of exotic art or a western museum collection. This is because they were dedicated to the community that created them, with some type of sculp
tures meant to be exposed in dark temples, to which only members of a given community had access, whereas other sculptures had a commemorative, apotropaic value or that of a personal amulet. The greatest number of objects was created with the purpose of being a part of a live dancing and musical spectacle such as masquerades, during which they played a significant role in the rites of passage bear
ing a religious function. Indeed, all these sculptures, masks and other objects lose their meaning and cultural context forever when they are included into the cultural vision of the world of western civilisation and undergo "museal- isation’’ in glazed and illuminated display cases. Thus, no professional description or contextual presentation will restore the original function of the object.
When considering traditional sub-Saharan art, we should firstly think whether it is acceptable to look for a common aesthetic and cultural denominator for this whole geographical area. A second open question re
mains whether we can use the word art’ in the European, post-Kantian comprehension of this phenomenon, in rela
tion to the works of traditional African societies.
Numerous contemporary African studies stress that the concept of the so-called homogenous "Black Contin
ent" is the intellectual construct of the Europeans, which is similar to that of 'orientalism'. However, a significant group of researchers has appeared among thinkers and academic scientists with African roots since the 1980s, who perceive culture and philosophy from this contin
ent as a specific, separate and peculiar form of individual thought, traditional faith, practices and social institu
tions characteristic for the whole continent. This kind of reflection over existence and cognition deals with one's interpretation of the world and reveals the systems of thoughts and ways of reasoning of individual ethnic com
munities, combining them in the entire cultural acquis ap
propriate for this region. It is worth adding that this type
of complex thinking about African aesthetics is, to a con
siderable extent, the negation of earlier research based on the structuralist model of studies created by Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009). Indeed, structural research resulted in a tightening of the links between ethnography and tribalism, as well as to an artificial multiplication of the so-called African styles', ironically defined as describing African objects according to the scheme of "one tribe, one style" postulated in 1984 by the American researcher Sid
ney Kasfir.
Many publications from the end of the 20th century propose rejecting the European concept of art under
stood as a discipline of pure contemplation, as a result of which non-utilitarian works are created, that is so-called pure art or art for art’s sake (l'art pour l'art). Instead, we should speak about art understood as the aesthetic result of every human activity. Such a depiction of the problem is proposed in Evelyn P. Hatcher's monograph regarding the anthropology of art entitled Art as Culture. An Introduction to the Anthropology of Art.
The majority of European and American ethnograph
ers conducting long-lasting field studies in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa agree that African tradition does not use the term 'art' in a similar manner to the European concept. Recognised anthropologists represent such at
titudes referring to the whole Sub-Saharan art, with the publications of Jacques Maquet and Sidney Kasfir having turned out to be the most realistic in forming this view.
Among others, a similar position has been adopted in re
lation to the field studies conducted on a region of limited to Western and Central Africa by the following: Marcel Griaule (in relation to the Dogon people); Jan Vanden- houte (in relation to the Dan people); Anita Glaze (in relation to the Senufo people); Pascal James Imperato (in relation to the Bamana people); James W. Fernandez (in relation to the Fang people); and Susan Vogel (in rela
tion to the Baulé people).
Moreover, in the 1990s, Rosalind Hackett proposed an interesting research perspective regarding significant links between Sub-Saharan art and religion in a book en
titled Art and Religion in Africa. She acknowledged that due to the significance of religion in African beliefs, it seems more justifiable to divide Sub-Saharan artefacts into
groups of objects with common religious functions (altars, initiation objects, objects created for use for secret asso
ciations, objects with influences of the Islamic religion, the Mami Wata cult) than to conduct structuralist explora
tions. Echoes of similar research concepts, uniting the art of various Sub-Saharan areas can be found in other works from the 1990 (inter alia: Monni Adams, Paula Ben-Amos and Suzanne Blier). However, Steven Leuthold, in his pub
lication Cross-Cultural Issues in Art: Frames for Understand
ing (2011), highlights that the art of ethnic communities is art integrated with the social order ("integrated art").
Therefore, despite the lack of a separate conceptual cat
egory for this phenomenon, there are significant special principles and guidelines regarding aesthetic practices which are applied and strictly observed. These rules in
clude content, context, the form of a prepared work and the author him or herself.
Communitarianism, a concept stressing the signific
ance and value of communities in the social life of African peoples, has been strongly highlighted in recent years in studies on African beliefs. This philosophical and religious view explains in a convincing manner the remarkable force which strongly binds individual tribal communit
ies; as above all, a person in Africa is firstly a community member and then an individual. Therefore, many African maxims criticise loneliness and individualism: "it is not good to be by oneself”; "one person will not build a city";
"if someone goes by oneself such person is a liar"; "if one person sees something, who will testify it"; and "a lonely person is crazy".
When considering individual aesthetical categories in traditional Sub-Saharan African art, a significant topic, and one which seems to be a fact from an aesthetic point of view, is that whatever is beautiful is creative and enables one to experience good. Indeed, many languages suggest that there is an important link between moral and aesthetic values in thought and culture. Among the Senufo people, who are part of the Guru language group, the word nyoo is not only used to describe an object which is well made or of pleasant appearance or ‘good’, but is used to describe kindness of character or behaviour. Basically, each type of visual artistic form will be evaluated as "this is good (nybo)”
or "this is bad/ugly (pee)". Similar relationships are present
in the language of the Dogon people from Mali, where the word êsû'm means good and beauty, whereas êsi'ndé sig
nifies being good and also being beautiful1, or the Chokwe people, where the word chibema, can mean beautiful, but also 'moral, good'. Nayiligii (or nayiliwo) is another import
ant word expressing aesthetic criteria, meaning beauty or decorativeness within the time of youthfulness. In the life of each member of an African community the period starting from one's teenage years, through one's twenties and up to the age of thirty, is the time of the most intens
ive personal ornamentation of the body, characteristic for both sexes. Thus, it is the time of courting before marriage, when ornamentation of one’s body proclaims the attain
ing of the age of majority and the arrival of the time of ini
tiation, when a given decoration identifies one's rank and level, as well as marking a rite of passage. There is evid
ence in numerous African languages that certain objects and attributes associated with youthfulness are presen
ted in art. These are the power and vitality of expression, individualism, innovativeness and competitiveness (within accepted limits) and the perfection of form.
1 Walo (Dogon)-English-French Dictionary, Dec 2007 version, [online]
http://www.dogonlanguages.org/docsAWalo_Dict_12_2007.pdf.
Many examples of African art display a specific under
standing of its nature. It is an art form which gives a low priority to the imitation of the subject's outward appear
ance and a high priority to the interpretation of an invis
ible reality. Therefore, the figures with a powerful magical expression - nkisi nkondi), are characteristic for the whole territory of the Republic of Congo, figures whose power is linked with the magic and fetishist religious system of Vodun. This is a concept combining seemingly contrast
ing ideas on the basis of dialectical contradictions: thus, everything that is ephemeral (transient, passing, short
term) and everything which is unfinished (continuous, last
ing, and endless). What characterises follower of Vodun is the continuous, sensual, active participation of the viewers, in that they also become participants in magical activities at the same time. Therefore, the objects made in relation to this type of cult are never completely finished, but only continually reshaped. Thus, having been built or made from the beginning and they become ephemerally
transient. Moreover, Herbert Cole has highlighted that what is important here is "the [creative] process itself and not the form” and also that in African art "the greater stress is placed on transitoriness rather than permanence".
Therefore, the creative process in Africa is not focused on
"producing and isolating an object (...), but its developing and becoming". The following objects belong to this group of magical figures-fetishes, namely Songye, Teke, Vili, and Zambo. In the African meaning, a fetish has magical power accumulated in elements from which it is made and, al
though it constitutes an object, it is called upon to invoke its entitled results. It is also believed that it has its own will and can have impact on people’s behaviour.
The patriarchal Songye people, who live in the Demo
cratic Republic of Congo on the left bank of the Lualaba river, are the master-craftsmen in creating fetishes, ob
jects which are expressive, full of intensive dynamics and vitality. The geometrised masks of the kifwebe type are a characteristic form of expression for the Songye people.
₽. 31 Fetishes made by the Songye usually represent a male, an aspect which is linked with the dominant role of men and their patrilineal system of inheritance. The statues are placed on a round base, their sizes having a consider
able range from 10-130 cm. Metal belts, nails or other ac
cessories are often used, especially in the facial part of the statue, in order to counteract the power of evil spirits or other aggressors. The figures are usually carved in the up
per part of their head and stomach in order to make it pos
sible to insert a magical element of a fetish, called Boanga.
Magical ingredients consist of many different animal, plant, mineral and human substances. As the fetishes from west
ern Africa are related to white magic, their task is to activ
ate the friendly power of the spirits of one's ancestors. In addition, they are used to guarantee success, fertility and wealth, as well as protecting people against evil powers, such as lightning or illnesses (e.g. against smallpox which is very frequent in this region).
The fetishes of the Songye display a hieratic pose, their arms are square and their hands are folded on the stom
ach profiled in a peaked shape. Their faces are long and firm; the forehead is rounded, with big almond-shaped eyes and heavy bulging eyelids. In most cases the eyes are slightly opened or made of encrusted cowrie shells. They
look straight ahead. The mouth can have different forms:
its shape usually resembles a horizontally placed number eight, a crack in the shape of a half moon, or a bean. Nu
merous fetishes have a horn or feathers at the top of the head, which strengthens their alarming appearance, as well as their magical powers. Large statues are respons
ible for guaranteeing one’s prosperity, whereas smaller statues of this type serve one’s personal use and protect individuals against illness or death.
Wooden fetishes with strong magical powers are also characteristic for the Teke people (living in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo). These figures have the following characteristic features: various coverings of a lengthened head with a trapezoid beard and the presence of small parallel scarifications on the cheeks. The magical power of fetishes is obtained by adding materials called Bonga or Bilongo placed in a carved abdominal cavity or, which is more frequent, in a barrel-shaped body surroun
ded by a bag or skin, out of which the head or feet protrude.
Anthropomorphic containers, finished with the upper body of a person or his or her head (Yaka, Kusu, Luba) constitute another type of unfinished ephemeral African objects. They are characteristic for many African regions and serve to store magical substances. They are usually made of a gourd or a pumpkin fruit, often covered with skin. There are also original containers of this type, which are woven from leather or textile fibres.
An example of a small fetish of the Fon people (living in Benin and eastern Nigeria) illustrate clearly, how strong aesthetic impression is made by the artists of Western Africa by using unsophisticated organic materials such as an animal bone, plant fibres and leather.
Small statues (Teke) are defined as Mutinu bmamba and serve to protect women during pregnancy. Jan Vansina, while analysing objects from the area inhabited by the Teke people, noticed that those who could not afford large and costly wooden figurative sculptures, maintained con
tact with important ancestors by using a simpler version, such as those mentioned above. Soil collected from burial places often constituted a magical element of a sculpture.
These fetishes are treated as the personalisation of a male form of power, regarding everything, which is patriarchal as venerable ancestors and chiefs.
p.46.47
p.35.36.
37
p.29
The Ikhoko pendant in the shape of a small mask, made of wood, is an example of an amulet from the western Pende. This small magical object is related in style to the bigger ceremonial masks of a ruler (Phumbu) of the Mbuya type with a characteristic hairstyle divided into three (or more) parts. The Ikhoko amulets sometimes take the form of a whole human figure.
Very often, small functional objects repeat icono
graphie and aesthetic patterns worked out in bigger objects with purely religious functions. Such a situation takes place in the case of the small wooden whistles of the Chokwe people (living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola). The anthropomorphic shape of the whistle refers directly to ritual masks of the Pwo type and the statues of the divine ancestor of all Chokwe - Chibinda llunga.
The Lega people (living in the Democratic Republic of Congo) produce small (up to 35cm) wooden or ivory sculp
tures, defined as Maginga. Example of these is a statue of Janus with two heads. The statue placed on a round base, has a spirally carved body, without marked hands or legs.
The trunk splits upwardly into a two-head figure. This subject, which is often present in African sculpture, re
calls a deity whose ability to see in several directions at
the same time causes it to be exceptionally dangerous and greatly powerful.
Another statue of Janus of the Lobi people (living in p.48
Another statue of Janus of the Lobi people (living in p.48