Unit 6: The Art of Africa

Who dances wearing the aka mask?

• Only warriors, royal family and wealthy, important people wear the aka; used in the royal court

• Only the king dances wearing the aka

• Only the members of the king's extended family dance wearing the aka.

• Only noble women dance wearing the aka

What do the neck rings suggest?

• The many gold neckbands worn by the King

• the emergence of the water spirit from the water

• the form of the figure

• the ability to keep secrets

Where was this work originally displayed?

• On the walls of the king’s palace
• On the lintels of palace entrance
• In the king’s observatory
• Inside a mosque

What can we infer about the builders at Great Zimbabwe by looking at the construction of this wall?

• They used it as a fortress

• Their skill with stone work increased over time, ashlar masonry

• They brought the stone from some other location

• They only decorated royal residences

No matter how realistic or abstract, what is the most important aspect of this figure?

• The scarification
• The type of wood used
• The right hand
• The horns

There are several types of nkisi figures. This is nkisi n'kondi. What was the purpose of this figure?

• Priestly rituals for veneration of ancestors

• To seek vengeance, resolve disputes, and curing of ailments

• Burial practices for elite individuals

• Coronations and affirmations of dynastic succession

What is a possible intention for creating a Lukasa?

• To use in an initiation rite
• To keep track of historical events
• To represent ideal beauty
• To ward off evil spirits

This mask was meant to be a portrait of a specific person. Who danced wearing the mask?

• The person who it represents

• A Male, honoring the woman it represents

• A female, honoring the male it represents

• A child to show respect to elders in the community

Each ruler has an identifying mark, or symbol, that gets incorporated into the design of Ndop figure.  Who designs the identifying mark in a work like this?

• The Nganga (medicine man)
• The king
• The king's parents
• the artist commissioned to create the piece

The Fang byeri are primarily

• Portraits of ancestors
• Idealized images of physical beauty
• Guardians of ancestral remains
• Household deities