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The Artfulness of Death in Africa by John Mack
Revelatory exploration of funerary practice in sub-Saharan Africa
(Left to right) Power figure (nkisi), Kongo peoples (Loango, Republic of Congo),19th–20th century, wood with mirror, whose reflective surface suggests the dividing line between the realms of the living and the dead; Large, swathed female figure (niombo), Bwende-Dondo peoples (Republic of Congo, DRC), c1938. An early museum photograph of the object shows it originally had an additional small figure of a baby suckling on the right breast; Ceramic memorial head (nsode), Akan peoples (Ghana), c19th century and Crucifix, Kongo peoples (DRC or Angola), 16th–17th century, brass, its form reflecting a Kongo ideogram
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A SPECIALIST in African arts and cultures, John Mack has written many books based on more than two decades of research, field work, exhibitions and publications.
Memory, miniaturisation and maritime culture are just a few of his preoccupations and his latest work looks closely at the relationship between art and death in sub-Saharan Africa.
Drawing on an extensive list of archaeological, historical, anthropological and literary sources, Mack traces the patterns and divergences of sociospiritual life across sub-Saharan communities in seven richly detailed chapters.
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