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The origins of art in Africa
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The Western notion of art- creative expression appreciated solely for its aesthetic qualities- is a recent import to African culture. While African societies have been creating statues, masks, and carvings of appreciable aesthetic quality for centuries, their purpose was never to be looked at. Their existence was utilitarian, the physical representation of African spirituality.
To understand African art requires an understanding of African society and spirituality. In the past, African societies have been comprised of overlapping religious and social institutions that formed the core of African beliefs. Among these was ancestor worship-
the belief that upon death, relatives lived on as spirits who had considerable influence over every aspect of survivors’ lives. Masks and statues served as vessels to hold the spirits of the dead. Africans could have human-like relationships with their ancestor totems, interacting with them through prayer. Constant appeasement in the form of sacrifices was necessary to ward off the dead’s feelings of jealousy. In this sense, the emphasis of African ‘art’ was emotional- serving as vessels for wards who offered a feeling of control to people who were at the mercy of nature.
Like statues, masks also held the spirits of ancestors- but when an African wore a mask, the mask’s spirit entered the body and replaced the original inhabitant. Elaborate secret societies used masks to instill fear and respect in populations. The legitimacy granted by the ancestor masks granted the wearer enormous political influence. Masks also played a prominent role in rites of passage. During one rite, an adolescent was ‘swallowed’ by a mask’s spirit, underwent a transformation, and was vomited back out. The individual took a new name and reentered society as an adult.
Having a use did not prohibit works of astounding beauty, creativity, and depth from being crafted. In many places, Christianity and Islam have replaced traditional African spirituality, leaving African art neutered. Like most things in Africa, the tradition of wood carving adapted to new circumstances. Today wood carvers cater to foreigners who, not understanding the purpose of statues and masks, buy thousands of totems every year. However, in many places, ancestor worship lives on, either unchanged or as a hybrid, blended with elements of monotheism. Christianity in particular merged well with ancestor worship, as people shifted their dependence from ancestors to Jesus. Africans are generally very religious, and in each village you will find at least one church or mosque. However, ask for a fetish priest and he’s usually not far away.
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