Namji Doll 1940

  Namji is the people inhabiting an area in the West of the north Cameroon. The Namji tribe is famous for their wooden dolls carved with geometric features and adorned with multi-colored bead necklaces, cowrie shells, coins, metal strips, fiber and leather. The dolls held by young Namji girls to play and to ensure their fertility, are considered among the finest and the most beautiful dolls in Africa. They are carved from solid hardwood. The doll would have a name, be fed, be talked to and be carried strapped to the back everywhere the child would go. The most popular place to carry ones’ doll is strapped to the back the way real infants are toted around. This was the young girls’ first baby. This was her responsibility.

The doll helps prepare the young Namji woman for her role as mother in her future life.

Namji Woman with doll on her back

 Ike Ude Nigerian Artist.

Ike Ude

From his provocative Cover Girl series featuring photographic portraits of himself on the covers of popular magazines, to his writings on sexuality and identity, the work of Nigerian-born Iké Udé explores a world of dualities: African/postnationalist, photographer/performance artist, artist/spectator, male/female, mainstream/marginal, seduction/narcissism, and fashion/art. As an artist from Nigeria working in New York City, connected to the world of fashion and celebrity, Udé gives the political aspects of performance and representation a new vitality, melding his own theatrical selves and multiple personae with his art. Like Andy Warhol, Udé plays with the ambiguities of the marketplace and art world, particularly in his notorious art, culture, and fashion magazine, aRUDE. This book, which accompanies a traveling exhibition organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Maine College of Art, in Portland, Maine, is the first comprehensive publication on Udé’s photography. The book contains photographs of the installations “Beyond Decorum”, “Uses of Evidence”, and “Project Rear”; several series, including Cover Girls, Uli, and Celluloid; and photographs from his magazine aRUDE. The book also includes essays by Lauri Firstenberg, Kobena Mercer, Olu Oguibe, Valerie Steele, Octavio Zaya, and Iké Udé himself, as well as an interview with Udé conducted by Okwui Enwezor. The reader meets Udé the artist, editor, dandy, and aesthete. In his writing, Udé speaks of the futility of stereotypes, and in his photography, he brings to life the image of the artist in a plenitude of guises.

His work is in the permanent collections of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of Art, and in many private collections; exhibited in solo and group exhibitions; reviewed in Art in America, Flash Art, and the New York Times. His articles on Fashion and art have been published in magazines and newspapers worldwide.

Udé is the author of Style File: the Worlds Most Elegantly Dressed, recently published by Harper Collins in 2008. Style File is a remarkable volume that profiles more than 55 of the most influential arbiters of style in the world today. With a foreword by Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at F.I.T., and an introduction by Harold Koda, curator-in-charge of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this beautifully designed book provides an intimate perspective on these unique and influential men and women, offering frank insight to their views on fashion and life through evocative interviews and lush photography. Included among the many notable designers, artists, and public figures are John Galliano, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Victoire de Castellane, André Leon Talley, Dita Von Teese, Ute Lemper, Francesco Clemente, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg, Lapo Elkann, Frédéric Malle, and many others.

Style File also features numerous editorial features that deepen the book’s exploration of enduring style. Annotated photo albums examine the work of premier style-making photographers such as Scavullo, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Coreen Simpson, Seydou Keïta, and Maripol. Illustrated essays including those by journalist and professor Nicholas Boston on the popular blog The Sartorialist and by George Pitts, associate chair of photography at the Parsons School of Design, on the Motown Look explore a range of fashion eras, influences, and influencers, from the Belle Epoque to the late visionary stylist Isabella Blow. Evocative archival and portrait photography of fashion legends from Marchesa Casati to Diana Vreeland, select aRude fashion editorials that point to recurring themes in the intertwined cultural-political-style landscape, and style-related aphorisms are featured throughout. This comprehensive, gorgeous book is a rich exploration of personal style that belongs in every well-dressed library.

Vanity Fair included him in the magazine’s International Best Dress List, in 2009. He lives and works in New York City.

African art and culture are one and the same. Culture is the history, practices and beliefs that make up a society. In Africa, art was seldom used for decorative purposes, but rather to give life to the values, emotions and daily customs of the various ethnic groups throughout the continent.

African art and culture, in many instances deals with making sense out of the world. It also deals with the religious aspects of life. The first African art were terracotta figures that didn’t bother with normal human representation. That’s because African art doesn’t focus on recreating the world in another form, but rather concentrates on explaining the world to reduce the fear of the unknown.

They blend together to create an explanation of the universe which would not be possible otherwise. It is poetry built into objects used throughout daily life. It includes ritual and ceremonial objects, items used daily, adornments showing status or tribe and representations of those things in life which defy explanation. For example, masks of the dual god Gulu show his creative side which brings life and his destructive side which brings death.

For thousands of years, African culture was primarily passed on through direct teaching and through verbal communication. Instead of books and tablets, Africans used sculptures and objects to pass on their beliefs and customs from one generation to another . A sculpture may be of an ancestor or a particular mask may be used only during a special ritual or ceremony that is important to the tribe.

The different materials used to make various pieces of African art were determined by location. However religion was the common thread that made African art and culture the perfect team. Masks, sculptures, headdresses, carvings, cooking bowls and many other items were created with the purpose of providing insight into the unpredictable unseen world.

They are so entwined that it is impossible to separate the two. Almost every piece of African art represents a cultural value or belief. For example, baskets may hold the remains of an ancestor whose story is retold to all group members or masks enable the wearer, in times of battle, to invoke the god of strength and courage. Its these mystical qualities attached to each piece of African art that makes them so unique, desirable and valuable.

Nok Object 1000 BC - Nigeria

Traditional West African Dance, Ghana

Culture Spot Light

Youth Urged To Embrace African Culture

STORY BY: MAGDALENE SEY, CAPE COAST

A call has gone to the youth to discard negative western cultures and fully embrace Ghanaian culture to liberate themselves totally from slavery.

They have also been urged to put a stop to indecent dressing all in the name of fashion and try something Ghanaian and indigenous to protect their cultural heritage. The call was made by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Director of Education, Mr. Simon Obotan Larbi, during the launch of the 8th Senior High and Technical Schools’ national festival arts in Cape Coast last Wednesday. The program was on the theme: “ensuring peace and unity in a sustainable society through culture.” Mr. Obotan Larbi explained that the nationwide festival, which is organized every two years, is to make the youth accept the Ghanaian culture as unique, adding “we should not make ourselves inferior to the western culture we should rather accept ourselves the way we are to emancipate ourselves totally from slavery.” He noted with regret how things are going wrong so far as culture is concerned, citing the influx of western names to local names as an example. The metropolitan director observed that Ghanaians and Africans in general are often embarrassed to mention their African names, warning that if the trend does not change, the erosion of our cultural heritage will continue and there will be nothing Ghanaian left. He also mentioned the way children and relatives living abroad are hyped during funeral announcements and obituaries as another example of cultural enslavement, saying it is time to liberate ourselves culturally without any intimidation. Mr. Obotan Larbi therefore expressed the hope that the festival will raise awareness in the youth and bring back positive cultural values that are fading away to make the youth more abreast of their heritage. The Central Regional Director of Education, Mr. Kofi Sarfo Kantanka, disclosed that Ghana Education Service (GES) believes in correcting the ills in society through education hence the need to raise cultural values in students to minimize the rate of moral decadence. Mr. Sarfo Kantanka further disclosed that GES has decided that pupils from kindergarten to class three will be taught in the local dialects to enable them speak fluent and correct Ghanaian dialects. The Adontehene of Oguaa Traditional Area, Nana Kwamena Nifa, who chaired the function, commended the GES for organizing the program, stressing it will instill the excitement of being Ghanaian in the youth, and appealed to them not to make the program a nine day wonder. On her part the assistant Headmistress of Mfantsipim School, Mrs. Phyllis Arthur Simpson, who hosted the program, announced that the program was the first ever official launch since its inception in 1995. She charged the students to take keen interest in their cultural and social groups to familiarize themselves with their cultural norms.

Having got everything together, you need to find somewhere to make your attaya. Ideally, you need to be just out of any breezes or it might get messy, but visible to passers-by or you’ll lose the communal aspect. Attaya is brewed three times from the same leaves, and the whole process takes two hours if you go from start to finish, so make sure you’re comfortable!

1.

First, you need to light the charcoal and arrange it in a kind of volcano shape. (You may use a stovetop in the same way if you are not able to do this in tropical West Africa) Try not to use too much, as piling on lots of fuel is uneconomical and you’re likely to be gently ribbed for your extravagance! Then put three glasses of water into the teapot and sit it in the burner, resting on the charcoal or stovetop.
2.

When the water is boiling, scoop a full glass of tea-leaves and pop them in. As this is the first brew, you’ll need a lot of sugar, as the tea will be very strong, so add 1.25 glasses of sugar too. On the second and third brews, you’re using the same leaves, so the tea will be considerably weaker, and you’ll only need three-quarters and a third of a glass of sugar respectively.
3.

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Photo by Peter Williams.

Salt is a common colorless or white substance that is found both in sea  water and in deposits in the earth. Animals including humans need salt in their diets. Salt is used to season and preserve food. It is also used in making soap and glass. Many African nations harvest sea salt for domestic use as well as for trade. Africa plays a major roll in contributing to the world salt demand. Senegal, Ehiopia, Ghana and South Africa have been key players in producing some of the best sea salts in Africa. What many of the salt lovers of world are not aware of is how many different countries in Africa produces very high quality salts for the world market. You may enjoy the gourmet flavors of sea salts but maybe the next time you purchase sea salt it may well be a blend of African sea salt you are tasting or garnishing your meal with. Salt harvesting is also an art form and the passion put into selecting the best salt batches is unique for every producer. At times African salt miners will sing and dance while working. The glow and diamond like reflections from the salt surface is magical. Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Angola, The Ivory Coast, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa are at the forefront of salt production.

Like many key natural resources the world uses out of Africa, salt   surely is a big part of the world’s food and life style culture. Caranda Foods is very please to introduce some exotic flavors of sea salts to you. You can use these salts as a flavor enhancement for what ever you may cook. (An extra added delight.)

Harder salt is a clear, brittle mineral that contains the elements of sodium and chlorine. Its chemical formula is NaCl; its mineral name is halite. Salt forms clear, cube-shaped crystals. Impurities can cause salt to appear white, gray, yellow, or red. Table salt also appears to be white.

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Recycling Of Bottle Tops An African Contemporary Master

El Anatsui: Gawu ! – Oriel Mostyn Gallery’s touring exhibition.

Sculptor El Anatsui is one of Africa’s most significant contemporary artists whose work maintains an ambitious breadth of vision that consistently speaks to the reality of Africa’s existence. To this reality, he adds further layers of meaning, fed by his awareness of the culture and history of the African continent, awareness evolved over years of restless intellectual and artistic enquiry. There is an allusion to a preoccupation with both tradition and change in his work, along with a strong sensitivity to his material’s physical expressiveness and their cultural implications as he employs common idioms and grammar of contemporary Western art at the same time as he actively undermines them by introducing ideas, techniques and material from never yet subjugated areas that lie far beyond the pale of Western art.
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Timbuktu – Mali West  Africa.

The name Timbuktu has taken on mythic meaning, suggesting a place that is very far away. The real Timbuktu lies in Mali, in West Africa. During medieval times, Timbuktu became a center for wealth, culture, art, and higher learning. Founded in the fourteenth century, the famous University of Sankore in Timbuktu drew scholars from far away. The splendor of Timbuktu is reflected today in Timbuktu’s fascinating architecture. In reality it’s a city in Mali, West Africa, of such great historical importance that in 1988 it was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site.

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