Africa vocab

Adobe

Sun-dried mudbrick used as a building material (e.g., Great Mosque of Djenné).

Mosque

Islamic place of worship.

Mihrab

Niche in a mosque wall indicating the direction of Mecca.

Minaret

Tower from which the call to prayer is announced.

Quibla wall

Wall in a mosque facing Mecca.

Oba

Sacred king or ruler of the Benin people in Nigeria; considered divine and central to royal art.

Heirarchal Scale

Artistic technique where size indicates importance or rank.

Kente cloth

Brightly colored, patterned textile from the Asante people (Ghana), woven in silk and cotton.

Lost-wax casting (cire perdue)

Metal casting process where a wax model is melted away to create a mold (used for Benin bronzes).

Nikis N’kondi

Power figure (Congo) with nails or blades driven into it to activate its spiritual force and seal oaths.

Lukasa

Memory board used by the Luba people (Congo) to record history and genealogies through carved beads and patterns.

Ikenga

Personal shrine figure of the Igbo people symbolizing strength, success, and manhood.

Nlo Bieri

Reliquary guardian figure of the Fang people (Gabon) protecting ancestral bones.

Bundu

Mask worn by Sande Society women (Mende people, Sierra Leone) representing ideals of beauty and womanhood.

Aka

Elephant mask used by the Bamileke people (Cameroon) during ceremonies honoring kings and ancestors.

Mblo

Portrait mask of the Baule people (Côte d’Ivoire) used in dances to honor respected individuals.

Ndop

Carved portrait figure of a Kuba king (Congo), idealized symbol of leadership and authority.

Pwo

Female mask of the Chokwe people (Congo/Angola), honoring women and fertility.

Reliquary

Container or sculpture holding sacred relics, often bones of ancestors or saints.

Torons

Wooden beams projecting from the walls of adobe mosques (e.g., Djenné), used for decoration and scaffolding.

Scarcification

Decorative scarring on the skin marking beauty, identity, or social status.