Art and Religion in Africa

This comparative study of Africa's visual and performing arts concentrates on their geographical, material and gendered diversity, and focuses on the relation of these arts to African religion. The author attempts an understanding of these issues which challenges Western interpretations.

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The artistic and religious traditions of Africa constitute a primary example of the intelletual and cultural vitality of this vast and fascinating continent. Art plays a vital role - especially when oral traditions dominate - in expressing and communicating ideas about the relationships between the human, spiritual and natural worlds. However, despite the ritual and symbolic significance of many artistic works, the interactive and interdependent relationship between art and religion in the African context remains understudied and misunderstood. This book draws on the methodologies of several disciplines to provide a greater understanding of the philosophical and reigious aspects of artistic works and to challenge Western perceptions of what is 'important'. Case studies and examples reflect the geographical, material and gendered diversity of Africa's visual and performing arts and highlight the changes imposed by Christianity, Islam and the newer religious movements in post-colonial Africa. Rosalind I.J. Hackett is Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.