Chapter 19 Keywords

African Art

adobe

sun-dried mud-brick, like the kind used to build the Great Mosque at Djenne

akua’ba

“Akua’s child.” A Ghanian image of a young girl

bieri

Fang reliquary guardian figures

congregational mosque

A city’s main mosque, like Djenne, designed to accommodate the entire Muslim population for Friday noon prayer

grain bins

large towers which are symbols of royal power and generosity in Zimbabwe, as the ruler received tribute in grain

ikegobo

a Benin royal shrine

kente

brightly colored patterned cloth, woven by Asante Men

linguist’s staff

gold-covered wooden staff sculptures commonly carried by an adviser who speaks for a king or chief

masquerade

the act of dancing with a mask covering one’s face, often used by the Senufo people to embody ancestors or call upon spirits for their special powers

mbari house

a house constructed out of mud about every 50 years by the community

of Igbo people as a sacrifice to major deities

mold

a hollow form for casting

monoliths

sculptures carved from a single block of stone

nkisi n’kondi

Kongo power figure statues, often diecting men pierced with nails and blades, used to heal or inflict harm

Olokun

the god of the sea, wealth and creativity in the kingdom of Benin, who was responsible for abundance and prosperity

Oni

an Ife king

Pavement Era

the 12^th to 14^th centuries when the Yoruba paved several rectangular areas of the capital at Ile-Ife with bricklike ceramic pieces

radiocarbon dating

measuring the decay rate of carbon isotopes in organic matter to provide dates for wood, fiber, and ivory

Royal ancestral altar

an assemblage of Benin objects and symbols, including a statue of the sacred king, plus copper-alloy heads, each fitted on top with a carved ivory tusk

Saltcellars

prestige items carved by the Sapi out of ivory, they were made for the Portuguese and other European elites

satimbe

a mask known as “sister on the head” which represents all women and helps recreate the legends of the Dogon

thermoluminescence

dating the amounts of radiation found in fired clay objects