Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.
To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser.
2013 •
Journal of African Archaeology
Nok. African Sculpture in Archaeological Context. By Peter Breunig (ed.). Africa Magna Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2014, 303 pp. ISBN 9783937248462. € 49.80 (Softcover)2014 •
1984 •
thorough morphological analysis of those anthropomorphic Mbole statues currently known to us has made it possible to establish the general characteristics of these sculptures and to discover different categories, under which they can be classified. These artistic creations cannot be studied out of their context as they are inextricably bound to the whole cultural organisation. Therefore a concise summary of the ethnographic information on the Mbole is given for its relevance to a better understanding of their sculpture and its function, use and meaning. The Mbole live in the Province of Upper-Zaire in the region of Opala, which is the capital of their zone, virtually in the centre of Zaire. Their residential area, situated south of the confluence of the Lomami and Lualaba rivers and south-west of Kisangani, forms a long strip alongside both banks of the middle reaches of the Lomami river and broadens from the north-east to the south-west. The territory of the Mbole is situated in th...
Direct release to Academia.edu
A comparison of the anthropomorphic Vodun power-figure (West African bocio/bo/vodu/tro) with its Kongo counterpart (Central African nkisi)2019 •
This paper compares anthropomorphic power-figures from the Vodun and Kongo cultural areas. Vodun is practised along the Guinea Coast of West Africa (especially in Benin and Togo) whereas the Kongo religion is native to the west coast of Central Africa (especially the two Republics of the Congo and northwest Angola). First, overlaps in belief and praxis between the Vodun and Kongo religions are highlighted. Second, similarities are identified in the design and significance of anthropomorphic Vodun power-figures, especially Fon bocio and Ewe bo/vodu/tro(n), and their Kongo counterparts – minkisi, and especially minkondi, which are better known in the West as “nail fetishes.” The disturbing appearance of the figurines, the ritual operation of features such as pegs/padlocks, nails/blades, bonds/sutures and magical/medicinal material (Kongo bilongo) are treated in detail. Activation and appeasement by sacrificial blood, alcoholic drink and coloured dyes are also considered. The analysis ends with a broad intercultural comparison which ranges from ancient Egyptian belief to the art of Polish surrealist Zdzisław Beksiński, encompassing en route the zār cult and the Polynesian tiki. Overall, the study finds that the Vodun bocio/bo/vodu/tro(n) has much in common with the Kongo nkisi nkondi, the two sharing notable similarities in purpose, construction and operation. One difference, however, is that large Kongo minkondi used to serve as archival repositories of a community’s oaths, treaties and petitions, a commemorative role seemingly not shared by Vodun power-figures.
2010 •
"Nexus Network Journal. Architecture and Mathematics", v. 9 ; pp. 211-248. ISSN 1590-5896
Oval Domes: History, Geometry and Mechanics2007 •
2019 •
2021 •
Archivos de ciencias de la educación/Archivos de ciencias de la educación
El futuro llegó hace rato. La libertad de enseñanza de Alfonsín a Milei2024 •
Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
Management strategy for facial arteriovenous malformations2008 •
Proceedings of the 9th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies
Online Stress Management: Design for Reflections and Social Support2016 •
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Working Paper no. 10: Russian (hidden and overt) economic, political and cultural influences in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro2023 •
Dokladi na Bʺlgarskata akademiâ na naukite
Determination of 54Mn and 59Fe Specific Activities in Iron Plates Activation Detectors2023 •
Histoire des sciences médicales
Histoire de la médecine au Maroc à l'époque saadienne1992 •
Saturday, 16 JUNE 2018
SAT0546 Sensorineural hearing loss in takayasu’s arteritis2018 •