Yoruba Art and Language
Yoruba Art and Language
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Replaced by:
9781107663923
The Yoruba was one of the most important civilizations of sub-Saharan Africa. While the high quality and range of its artistic and material production have long been recognized, the art of the Yoruba has been judged primarily according to the standards and principles of Western aesthetics. In this book, which merges the methods of art history, archaeology, and anthropology, Rowland Abiodun offers new insights into Yoruba art and material culture by examining them within the context of the civilization's cultural norms and values and, above all, the Yoruba language. Abiodun draws on his fluency and prodigious knowledge of Yoruba culture and language to dramatically enrich our understanding of Yoruba civilization and its arts. The book includes a companion website with audio clips of the Yoruba language, helping the reader better grasp the integral connection between art and language in Yoruba culture.
- Provides an important contribution to studies of indigenous African aesthetics and art history
- Richly illustrated with 146 illustrations with nearly half in color
- Includes a website with audio clips of the Yoruba language to illustrate the book's arguments
Reviews & endorsements
'Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art provides a seminal and authoritative work pertaining to Yoruba art and languages of Nigeria. Rowland Abiodun, the John C. Newton Professor of Art, the History of Art and Black Studies at Amherst College, is an astute art historian, researcher, and culture activist, whose work will withstand the test of time and critical appraisal.' Tunde Babawale, Africa Today
Product details
September 2014Hardback
9781107047440
409 pages
260 × 188 × 23 mm
1.1kg
73 b/w illus. 67 colour illus.
Replaced by 9781107663923
Table of Contents
- Introduction. What is African in African art studies?
- 1. Orì: no Òrìsà blesses a person without the consent of his/her Orì
- 2. Àsẹ: the empowered word must come to pass
- 3. Òṣun: the corpulent woman whose waist two arms cannot encompass
- 4. Òrúnmìlà : henceforth, Ifà priests will ride horses
- 5. We greet Aṣọ before we greet its wearer
- 6. Àkó: re/minding is the antidote for forgetfulness
- 7. Ilé-Ifè: the place where the day dawns
- 8. Yoruba aesthetics: ÃŒwà , ÃŒwà , is what we are searching for, ÃŒwÃ
- 9. Tomorrow, today's elder sibling.
