African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, such as: African-American, Caribbean or art in South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa.
Nkisi or Nkishi are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to contain spiritual powers or spirits. The term and its concept have passed with the Atlantic slave trade to the Americas.
The Mumuye are people of the Taraba State, Nigeria. They speak the Mumuye language. They constitute the largest tribal group in Taraba State of Nigeria and form the predominant tribes found in Zing, Yorro, Jalingo, Ardo-Kola, Lau, Gassol, Bali and Gashaka, all of which are local government areas of the state. The Mumuye people are also found in many parts of the neighboring Adamawa State.
The culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely varied, reflecting the great diversity and different customs which exist in the country. Congolese culture combines the influence of tradition to the region, but also combines influences from abroad which arrived during the era of colonization and continue to have a strong influence, without destroying the individuality of many tribal customs.
The Chokwe people, known by many other names, are a Bantu ethnic group of Central and Southern Africa. They are found primarily in Angola, southwestern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northwestern parts of Zambia.
Traditional African masks play an important role in ceremonies, rituals, and masquerades across West, Central, and Southern Africa. Ceremonies in which masks are worn include harvest celebrations, funerals, rites of passage, weddings, and coronations. In some societies, masks and masquerades are also used to settle disputes and communal conflicts.
Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers" in West Africa. Direct images of African deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for traditional African religious ceremonies; today many are made for tourists as "airport art". African masks were an influence on European Modernist art, which was inspired by their lack of concern for naturalistic depiction.
The Luvale people, also spelled Lovale, Balovale, Lubale, as well as Lwena or Luena in Angola, are a Bantu ethnic group found in northwestern Zambia and southeastern Angola. They are closely related to the Lunda and Ndembu to the northeast, but they also share cultural similarities to the Kaonde to the east, and to the Chokwe and Luchazi, important groups of eastern Angola.
The Beembe are a Bantu people living in southern Congo-Brazzaville, precisely in Bouenza and in the cities of Brazzaville, Dolisie, and Pointe-Noire. It is a Kongo subgroup. The Beembe have some similar customs to the Kongo, which is what makes them a subgroup, but their art is what separates them apart. It is not clear when the Beembe separated from the Kongo but oral tradition suggests that it was some time around the eight century. They migrated Northeast from the Kongo and settled some five hundred kilometers from the capital of the Kingdom of the Kongo. This group was a part of the Kongo Kingdom during its height of power. The Beembe also have subgroups within it such as the Bisi-Nseke, Minkegue, Mmsumbu (Bambumbu), the Mongo, and the Musitu.Beembe society is economically based on agriculture.
A nganga is a spiritual healer, diviner, and ritual specialist in traditional Kongo religion. These experts also exist across the African diaspora in countries where Kongo and Mbundu people were transported during the Atlantic slave trade, such as Brazil, the southern United States, Haiti and Cuba.
The Chamba are a significant ethnic group in the north eastern Nigeria. The Chamba are located between present day Nigeria and Cameroon. The closest Chamba neighbours are the Mumuye, the Jukun and Kutep people. In Cameroon, the successors of Leko and chamba speakers are divided into several states: Bali Nyonga, Bali Kumbat, Bali-Gham, Bali-Gangsin, and Bali-Gashu. They are two ethnic groups in Ghana and Togo also called Chamba, but they are ethnically distinct. The Chamba are identified through their own language, beliefs, culture, and art.
Nyau is a secret society of the Chewa, an ethnic group of the Bantu peoples from Central and Southern Africa. The Nyau society consists of initiated members of the Chewa people, forming the cosmology or indigenous religion of the people. Initiations are separate for men and for women, with different knowledge learned and with different ritual roles in the society according to gender and seniority. Only initiates are considered to be mature and members of the Nyau.
The Kingdom of Luba or Luba Empire (1585–1889) was a pre-colonial Central African state that arose in the marshy grasslands of the Upemba Depression in what is now southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Mbole people are an ethnic group of about 150,000 people living in the Orientale Province, southwest of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Mbole were previously referred to as Bambole.
The Lulua people are a Bantu ethnic group settled along the Lulua River valley in south central Kasai-Occidental province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lulua are in fact a collection of small groups whose home bordered by the larger Luba state and the related Songye people and Chokwe people, with whom they share a very similar culture, history, and language.
The Hemba people are a Bantu ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Kwele people, or Bakwele, are a tribal group of eastern Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Cameroons in Central Africa. In terms of their language, they fall into the Bantu linguistic group. Their population consists of approximately 120,000 individuals. They fled the coastal area of West Africa during the 19th century after their traditional enemies acquired firearms from the slave traders. This altercation is often called the "Poupou" war. The Kwele then settled into lands between the Dja and Ivindo rivers. Their assumed five separate linguistic subgroups are identified by differences in where their community lies on a map, where they have migrated over time, political structure, performances implemented in rituals, and the community cohesion within each. When conflicts arise, their strategies to resolve these issues may be handled by intense individual competition. Important relations are impacted by the father's line of descent, due to past patrilineal and avuncular political decisions and relations.
The Bushong Kuba are responsible for some of the most beautiful and sophisticated masquerade or dance traditions in Africa.
The Suku people or Basuku (plural) are an ethnic group of Bantu origin who traditionally inhabit the south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo and north-western Angola. As of 2017, there are believed to be about 200,000 people who identify as Suku, many living in the Congo's Kwango Province.
A kifwebe or bwadi bwa kifwebe is a mask of the Songye or Luba of the Congo.
