Author: Edmond Bernus
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 302
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Book Description
The art of being Tuareg has fascinated travellers and scholars alike throughout recorded history. The elegance and beauty of the Tuareg peoples, their dress and exquisite ornament, their large white riding camels, their refined song, speech and dance -- all have been subjects of rhapsodic descriptions. Together they suggest a Tuareg "mystique," an existence made into art and lived out in one of the world's harshest environments. Art of Being Tuareg: Sahara Nomads in a Modern World examines this "mystique," or identity, as it has been constructed by the Tuareg themselves and by their observers. Historically, the Tuareg have been stereotyped in the West, seen as romantic desert-dwelling warriors and nomads, or even as "bandits" resisting central governmental authority. What these generalizations fail to acknowledge are the complexities of Tuareg history and the remarkable resilience and responsiveness of this people to dramatically changing circumstances, especially their late-twentieth century adaptations to modernity. Art of Being Tuareg, the rich, vibrant result of three decades of research and collaboration on the part of American, European, and Tuareg scholars and institutions, is one of only a handful of English-language volumes on Tuareg life and culture. Bringing together essays by many of today's most accomplished scholars of Tuareg art and society, it presents a comprehensive view of what it is to be Tuareg, exploring the remarkable arts that remain dynamic markers of the strength and perseverance of this highly inventive people.
Author: Tristan Gooley
Publisher: The Experiment
ISBN: 1615191550
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 320
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Book Description
From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Secret World of Weather and The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, learn to tap into nature and notice the hidden clues all around you Before GPS, before the compass, and even before cartography, humankind was navigating. Now this singular guide helps us rediscover what our ancestors long understood—that a windswept tree, the depth of a puddle, or a trill of birdsong can help us find our way, if we know what to look and listen for. Adventurer and navigation expert Tristan Gooley unlocks the directional clues hidden in the sun, moon, stars, clouds, weather patterns, lengthening shadows, changing tides, plant growth, and the habits of wildlife. Rich with navigational anecdotes collected across ages, continents, and cultures, The Natural Navigator will help keep you on course and open your eyes to the wonders, large and small, of the natural world.
Author: Helene E. Hagan
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1477165606
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 139
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Book Description
For you, it may look like a small unimportant detail, like your thumbnail. But for me, it is the whole vast world. Look at this jewel... here is the ant, here is the hyena, the jackal, the hoof of a horse, that of a gazelle, the sun, the moon, the stars, the good eye... this triangle, this is woman, and here are the eyebrows of the Malignant One, there, laughter... it is all of our lives in one piece of silver. (Translated from the French by Helene E. Hagan, from original Tuareg words of an artisan cited by J. Gabus, 1971) An extensive study of the symbolism of Tuareg jewelry has not yet been undertaken to date. It is this simple realization that brought the authors together in a decision to collect information on the topic, from past scholarly journals and books, contemporary articles and web sites, but also from Tuareg informants whose expert knowledge was sought. Though this book is small and does not aspire to be all encompassing, it is the first work totally dedicated to the presentation of the elaborate silver jewelry of Tuareg men and women of Northern Niger in the English language, and the only one we know that is solely dedicated to providing information concerning the function, meanings, and symbols of that jewelry. The book introduces the reader to the culture of the Tuaregs, a remarkable group of African nomads of the Sahara Desert, which has fascinated the Europeans who came into contact with them in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the last decade or so, as the Tuareg societies of Niger and Mali underwent major change, a number of American researchers began to document some of their ways. Research and publications in the English language are, however, lagging far behind those in the French language. Fortunately, the primary author of this book, Helene Hagan, was originally educated in the French language, and as an Amazigh (Berber) herself, is very familiar with North African scholarship in the Amazigh culture. Thus, as a bilingual anthropologist of Berber ancestry, born and raised in Morocco, and an activist for Amazigh cultural, linguistic and human rights, she benefits from a fourfold source of valuable information: French scholarship, American contemporary accounts, the latest Amazigh research emanating out of North Africa, and Northern Niger Tuareg informants she knows. This unique set of circumstances gives the book an extra dimension of depth and insight. The book recounts the myth of origin of the Kel Tamasheq of Niger, and looks at the continuity and development of symbols from archaic inscriptions and rock art of the Sahara to present-day engravings on silver jewelry and the Tifinagh alphabet. The second chapter is entirely devoted to retracing this development and showing the correspondence between Tifinagh characters of the Amazigh alphabet and the elegant, clear lines of geometric designs, which characterize the silver jewelry of the Tuareg people. The two are deeply connected. Modern Tifinagh Calligraphic Art is also featured in this chapter. The next chapter delves into the mystery of the famous Cross of Agadez and the various hypotheses that have been offered as to its meaning. It depicts the artisanal mode of production, and the functions the crosses hold for Tuareg people themselves. Nowadays, the production of crosses for the western world diminishes the role this cross, Tenghelet tan Agadez, had as a clan identifier. It has become, like other less well known pieces of Tuareg jewelry, a simple ornament or necklace devoid of any particular significance, and the markings on those crosses are losing some of their intentions of yore. The book reviews specific masculine jewelry and feminine adornment in the next two chapters, and looks at the role various pieces of silver jewelry play in the relations
Author: Lisa Bernasek
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0873654056
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 144
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Book Description
"In Artistry of the Everyday: Beauty and Craftsmanship in Berber Art, anthropologist Lisa Bernasek gives an insightful overview of Berber history and culture, focusing on the rich aesthetic traditions of Berber craftsmen and -women. She also tells the stories of the collectors whose generosity enhanced the holdings of the Peabody Museum. In a final chapter, she looks at Berber arts in the present day, examining how traditional arts are being used in new forms by Berber artists in North Africa and Europe."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Henrietta Butler
Publisher: Unicorn Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781906509309
Category : Nomads
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Published to coincide with the exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society, London, June 2015.
Author: Mette Bovin
Publisher: Nordic Africa Institute
ISBN: 9789171064677
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 120
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Book Description
"The author describes Wodaabe cultural choices as "active archaisation". Different art forms are analysed in the light of identity construction by the Wodaabe. Their elaborate cultivation of beauty in make-up, tattoos, body paintings, calabash carvings, embroideries, and architecture all follow the principle of symmetry and order in the cosmos. The author emphasizes the gendered aspects of social life and identity construction and explores masculinity among nomadic Wodaabe men, who are living sculptures displaying their beauty as a spiritual act, full of honour and dignity."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Tara F. Deubel
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443862894
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 425
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Book Description
Saharan Crossroads: Exploring Historical, Cultural, and Artistic Linkages between North and West Africa counteracts the traditional scholarly conception of the Sahara Desert as an impenetrable barrier dividing the continent by employing an interdisciplinary lens to examine myriad interconnections between North and West Africa through travel, trade, communication, cultural exchange, and correspondence that have been ongoing for several millennia. Saharan Crossroads offers a unique contribution to existing scholarship on the region by uniting a diverse group of African, European, and American scholars working on various facets of trans-Saharan history, social life, and cultural production, and bringing their work together for the first time. This trilingual volume includes eleven chapters written in English, five chapters in French, and three chapters in Arabic, reflecting the multicultural nature of the Sahara and this international project. Saharan Crossroads explores historical and contemporary connections and exchanges between populations living in and on both sides of the Sahara that have led to the emergence of distinctive cultural and aesthetic expressions. This contact has been fostered by a series of linkages that include the trans-Saharan caravan trade, the spread of Islam, the migration of nomadic pastoralists, and European colonization. The book includes three major sections: (1) history, culture, and identity; (2) trans-Saharan circulation of arts, music, ritual performance, and architecture; and (3) religion, law, language, and writing. While the gaze of international political analysts has turned toward the Sahara to follow problematic developments that pose serious threats to human rights and security in the region, it is especially timely to recall that the people and countries of the Sahelo-Saharan world have maintained long histories of peaceful coexistence, interdependence, and cooperation that are too often overlooked in the present.
Author: John Derian
Publisher: Artisan Books
ISBN: 1579656471
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 369
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Book Description
New York Times Bestseller Named one of the Best Gift Books of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, House Beautiful, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Luxe Interiors + Design, People StyleWatch, Garden & Gun, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, New York Magazine, and more John Derian’s home goods empire reaches far and wide—in addition to the four John Derian stores he owns in New York and Massachussetts, his products are sold by more than 600 retailers worldwide, including Neiman Marcus, ABC, and Gump’s in the United States; Conran and Liberty in the UK; and Astier de Villatte in Paris. It all started with his now-iconic collectible plates decoupaged with 19th-century artwork sourced from old and rare books, a process that credited him with elevating the decoupage technique into fine art. Over the past 25 years, the brand has expanded greatly to include home and general design gifts and products. Now, for the first time ever, comes the book John Derian fans have been waiting for. Culled from the thousands of images that have appeared in his biannual collections, here is an astoundingly beautiful assortment of nearly 300 full-bleed images in their original form. From intensely colored flowers and birds to curious portraits, hand-drawn letters, and breathtaking landscapes, the best of John Derian is here. The result is an oversized object of desire, a work of art in and of itself, that brilliantly walks the line between commerce and art, and that is destined to become the gift book of the season.
Author: Susan Rasmussen
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 0761861491
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 175
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Book Description
This book examines alleged “superhuman” powers predominantly associated with smith/artisans in five African societies. It discusses their ritual and social roles, mythico-histories, symbols surrounding their art, and changing relationships between these specialists and their patrons. Needed but also feared, these smith/artisans work in traditionally hereditary occupations and in stratified but negotiable relationships with their rural patron families. Many of them now also work for new customers in an expanding market economy, which is still characterized by personal, face-to-face interactions. Rasmussen maintains that a framework integrating anthropological theories of witchcraft, alterity, symbolism, and power is fundamental to understanding local accusations and tensions in these relationships. She also argues that it is critical to deconstruct and disentangle guilt, blame, and envy—concepts that are often conflated in anthropology at the expense of falsely accused “witch” figures. The first portion of this book is an ethnographic analysis of smith/artisans in Tuareg society, and draws on primary source data from this author’s long-term social/cultural anthropological field research in Tuareg (Kel Tamajaq) communities of northern Niger and Mali. The latter portion of the book is a cross-cultural comparison, and it re-analyzes the Tuareg case, drawing on secondary data on ritual powers and smith/artisans in four other African societies: the Amhara of Ethiopia, the Bidan (Moors) of Mauritania, the Kapsiki of Cameroon, and the Mande of southern Mali. In the concluding analysis, there is discussion of similarities and differences between these cases, the social consequences of ritual knowledge and power in each community, and their wider implications for anthropology of religion, human rights, and African studies.
Author: Jeremy Keenan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780719561702
Category : Algeria
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Jeremy Keenan travelled to Algeria in search of the Tuareg, the fearsome indigo-veiled nomads of the Central Sahara with whom he had lived as a young anthropologist. A chance meeting set him on his way to the Tuareg traditional fortress, the vast mountainous area of Ahaggar, in the tracks of bandits, his tents pitched besides caves decorated with pre-historic paintings. Here he discovered that the Tuareg, who had learned to survive as tourist guides after the horrors of Algeria's war of independence, were now being starved out of their livelihood by the violence in the north.
