Explores the early history of the Basotho people of Lesotho in the high veldt of southern Africa and describes their ceremonies that persist in the modern world. Focuses on male and female initiation rituals, the practices of female diviners and healers, and the sacred landscape that the people revere, as well as their colorful painted houses, which are a form of prayer. Includes many color photos. Oversize: 9x10.5". Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Full color photographs. "Hello, Stranger-Friend" begins Maya Angelou's story about Thandi, a South African Ndebele girl, her mischievous brother, her beloved chicken, and the astonishing mural art produced by the women of her tribe. With never-before-seen photographs of the very private Ndebele women and their paintings, this unique book shows the passing of traditions from parent to child and introduces young readers to a new culture through a new friend.

From a grand sandstone mansion rescued from dilapidation in the scrubby Free State veld, to a romantic Arts & Crafts style double-storey that presides over a halfacre of prime real estate in the high Berea suburb of Durban, Remarkable Heritage Houses of South Africa provides a privileged glimpse inside 20 of the country's most distinguished, remarkable and treasured private residences. Predominantly constructed no later than the mid 1950s and chosen for the singular legacy each keeps alive, these are homes that blend architectural integrity with an uncanny sense of place. Some more 'historic' than others, they have been sensitively rescued or meticulously preserved, or simply kept current with custodianship that has at all times respected their unique pedigree. Strikingly captured by distinguished photographer, Craig Fraser, they cover the full gamut of locations, architectural genres and interior decorating styles, yet have all been skilfully adapted to meet the demands of modern living.

This book draws on geometric ideas from cultural activities from Subsaharan Africa to develop mathematical reasoning.

The first world atlas ever compiled on vernacular architecture, this comprehensive work illustrates the variety and ingenuity of the world’s vernacular building traditions from a multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and comparative approach, using over sixty world and regional maps. Mapping such diverse aspects as materials and resources, technologies, structural systems, symbolism, forms and service systems on a cross-cultural and comparative basis, the Atlas of Vernacular Architecture of the World reveals the distribution, diversity and relationships of the world’s vernacular building traditions. Indicating geographical patterns, developments, lacunae and anomalies, it gives rise to new insights and understandings, stimulating new hypotheses, questions and research efforts. Augmenting the award-winning Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World, the Atlas of Vernacular Architecture of the World constitutes a unique and unparalleled resource for anyone involved in the growing field of vernacular architecture studies, including architects, geographers, art historians, planners, folklorists, conservationists, builders, and anthropologists as well as being of use to all those working in the fields of heritage conservation, architecture, regeneration, energy efficient building, resources management, development and sustainability.

For generations, the women of the Ndebele of southern Afrcia have produced an art of remarkable richness and vitality. In their ceremonial beadwork and in large murals that cover the exterior walls of their mud dwellings, these women have created designs that are at once ancient and modern in their simplicity, bright colours and abstract patterns.

People all over the world make art and take pleasure in it, and they have done so for millennia. But acknowledging that art is a universal part of human experience leads us to some big questions: Why does it exist? Why do we enjoy it? And how do the world’s different art traditions relate to art and to each other? Art Without Borders is an extraordinary exploration of those questions, a profound and personal meditation on the human hunger for art and a dazzling synthesis of the whole range of inquiry into its significance. Esteemed thinker Ben-Ami Scharfstein’s encyclopedic erudition is here brought to bear on the full breadth of the world of art. He draws on neuroscience and psychology to understand the way we both perceive and conceive of art, including its resistance to verbal exposition. Through examples of work by Indian, Chinese, European, African, and Australianartists, Art Without Borders probes the distinction between accepting a tradition and defying it through innovation, which leads to a consideration of the notion of artistic genius. Continuing in this comparative vein, Scharfstein examines the mutual influence of European and non-European artists. Then, through a comprehensive evaluation of the world’s major art cultures, he shows how all of these individual traditions are gradually, but haltingly, conjoining into a single current of universal art. Finally, he concludes by looking at the ways empathy and intuition can allow members of one culture to appreciate the art of another. Lucid, learned, and incomparably rich in thought and detail, Art Without Borders is a monumental accomplishment, on par with the artistic achievements Scharfstein writes about so lovingly in its pages.