African Ceremonies

From the collaborative team behind four award-winning books on Africa (Africa Adorned; Maasai; Nomads of Niger; and African Ark) comes an outstanding two-volume survey of the continent's rituals, rites and ceremonies. Divided into six sections--birth and initiation; courtship and marriage; royalty and power; seasonal rites; beliefs and worship; spirits and ancestors--the set documents 43 ceremonies in 26 countries. In addition to the more than 800 arresting color photographs, the text respectfully details each ceremony (including controversial ones, such as Maasai clitoridectomy). The authors lived with each of the groups they photographed; their bonds with their subjects are apparent in the images, which drive home the point that these ceremonies are simply conducted by ordinary people with different traditions than ours. Thus, young Taneka men dancing before a circumcision look nervous; Kassena mothers gaze lovingly at their babies as they are shaved during naming ceremonies; and Krobo girls preparing for coming-of-age dances look as cheerful as teenagers at a prom. Because masks, textiles, jewelry, sculptures and body painting often have a prominent role in rites, the books also highlight the diverse beauty of Africa's traditional arts. Ten years in the making, the volumes also represent an important anthropological achievement--some of the rituals have never been seen by outsiders and many others are disappearing under the cumulative pressure of drought, famine, political upheaval and Western influence. 45 maps. BOMC selection; 8-city author tour. (Nov.)