African Art

The Symbolism of Animals in Africa

In Africa, the use of animals in artwork isn’t merely for show. Each animal has a specific meaning to the artist, and certain animals signify certain character qualities. This is why you will see so many carvings of animals, or evenanimals embroidered onto African clothing.

What Do Animals Symbolize in African Art?

The Lion - The lion is an emblem for royalty, strength, conquest, valor, pride, wisdom, authority, courage and protection. The lioness represents the moon, femininity and fierce motherhood.

The Leopard - The leopard signifies ferocity, aggression, the Great Watcher, and courage.

The Elephant - The elephant signifies strength, royalty, dignity, patience, wisdom, longevity, and happiness. This is a large symbol of good luck, especially when the elephant’s trunk is pointed up. The elephant represents status and power since royalty used to ride on elephants. For Christians in Africa, the elephant is a symbol of clarity and temperance and signifies Christ trampling a serpent.

The Camel - Although many cultures see the camel as a symbol of arrogance, laziness and bad temper, African’s have a much different view. Countries that use camels see it in a more positive light. In Africa, the camel is a symbol of sobriety, and for Christians it is a symbol of temperance because it drops to its knees to receive a burden, as if before God in humility and obedience.

Patchwork in African American Art - Animal Art is a very beautiful pattern which is placed on animals to display a safari type of artwork.  It’s displayed on giraffes, elephant statues and other types of artwork.  The picture at the top of this article displays a gorgeous glossy statue trio which has a wildly whimsical look from the patchwork pattern of earth tone animal-skin prints.  This can be a colorful display of African American Animal art to be used to enhance your home or office.

Friday’s Proverb

“Anger draws arrows from the quiver, but good words draw kola-nuts from the bag”.
    - Nigerian proverb

If you’re interested in filling your home or office with art, there are several factors that you should consider before purchasing. For one, always make sure that you stay within your budget. Art can be extremely pricy, and it’s easy to fall in love with a piece and throw your budget out the window. That’s why you should go into every art purchase with a firm upper limit. You should also ensure that all your art is created with first rate, high quality materials.

After all, if you’re going to make the investment into artistic pieces, you’ll want to ensure that you’ll have them for a good deal of time. That’s why artistic pieces from sculptures to animal figurines to watercolors should be done with care and attention to detail. To that end, look for materials such as bronze or other sturdy metals. These won’t deteriorate or lessen in visual appeal over the years.

This rare wood comes from the root of the Thuya tree; found primarily in the town of Essaouria, in Morocco. Due to the limited supply of Thuya wood, the products made out of this wood are limited and will never be made in large quantities. This wood is so valuable that it is only given to the most skilled artisans. Each piece is hand-crafted and hand-rubbed for hours.  Lemon juice and vegetable oils are worked into the wood to bring out a gorgeous luster, revealing Thuya’s natural burled grain. Its beauty will complement any African Decor or atmosphere.

Skilled artisans have used other types of wood for their carvings.  Ebony makes a beautiful figurine like the “Ebony Women Kneeling in Prayer”.

Friday’s Proverb

When a man thinks he is too big or great to fall, it only takes a little thing to bring him down.

Change   ~   Art   ~   Quality

Africa is a truly unique continent. With over 53 countries, and about a thousand different languages; this is a land where diversity is normal. While in Africa, one finds different ethnic living styles within ten miles of each other to be the norm. Even though group loyalties run very deep, people still have long-standing relationships with each other.

Find out the most astounding change in Africa

Africa today is changing at a pace faster than has ever been seen in the history of civilization. Changes that took many centuries to complete in Western Europe and North America have taken place in just a few short decades in Africa.

Where else in all of history have we ever seen people moving so quickly from tribal societies to modern nations? Progress in African nations has been happening at a rate, and in a manner not experienced anywhere else on the globe.

The goals of independence and nationalism among many of Africa’s people, has sped up the process of breaking down barriers between tribal groups. This merging of tribal cultures has further weakened the traditions already made weak from contact with western civilization.

Art is one of the most important parts of any culture

In Africa traditional art is becoming a thing of the past as quickly as the continent changes. With the disappearance of traditions and other aspects of African culture, works of traditional African art are becoming more and scarcer. The art of previous generations was produced to meet religious and social needs that no longer exist within most groups of Africans today.

Quality works of ancient African art are harder to find

The value of African art has gone up accordingly; and much of the traditional artwork has left the continent for private collections overseas. People living in poverty will often give up family heirlooms; some passed down through generations; in order to survive.

Artisans who create African art are also adopting new world views. This makes traditional work of modern vintage somewhat less meaningful and true to the original heritage. Just as the culture of Africa is changing fast, in the same way its art, as a reflection of that culture, also changes quickly.

New African art is not by any means inferior however, just different. Just as modern Western art has taken prominence over older forms, so too, modern African art is replacing the traditional. This brings with it its own new meaning and aesthetic significance. African culture is shown through art in paintings and sculpture, as well as in jewelry and other items of everyday life.

Friday’s Proverb

Once the mushroom has sprouted from the earth, there is no turning back.

(Luo proverb)

Usman Sagara. This smiling gentleman works doing specialized traditional African carvings. He makes the Dogon seated couples for us, one of which he’s holding in this picture. His family origins are of the Duru ethnic group, a group in the Dogon region of Mali, West Africa. He is a very conscientious worker, always faithfully striving for high quality. Usman is a very serious family man, and has been working on traditional carvings ever since childhood.

Wednesday’s Recipe

African Squash and Yams (Futari)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small onion; chopped, pared and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 pound hubbard squash; pared and cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 medium-sized yams or sweet potatoes
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Cook and stir onion in oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling.

Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about five minutes longer.

There’s nothing quite as impressive as an elephant in the wild. If you’ve seen one at the zoo, you can begin to gauge its tremendous weight and size, but there’s still nothing to rival the feeling of seeing one without the benefit of any barriers or bars. Like any wild animal, it can act in unpredictable and unforeseen ways, but it’s particularly scary with the elephant because of its sheer size. Many guided African safaris offer this opportunity, and it shouldn’t be missed.

Even if the experience is somewhat intimidating or scary, it’s well worth it. And you’ll quickly find that elephants on the whole are sweet, loving, and surprisingly gentle creatures. That doesn’t mean, however, you should be careless or casual around them. But if you do decide to partake in any of these guided safaris, don’t forget to purchase commemorative elephant figurines. The experience is a once in a lifetime endeavor, and you can be reminded of that every time you see the figurine in your home.