"Many masterpieces of central African sculpture were created to amplify the power of sacred relics that affirm a family's vital connection to its ancestral heritage. This important volume, focusing on some 130 works representing a diverse variety of regional genres, illuminates the purpose and significance of these icons of African art, which first came to prominence because of their appeal to the Western avant-garde. While providing an overview of sources ranging from colonial explorers, missionaries, critics, artists, and art historians, the book breaks new ground in its examination of the complex aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of the reliquaries. Its interdisciplinary approach brings together the perspectives of scholars in African and medieval art history along with those in African history, religion, and ethnography." -- Publisher.

A CD-ROM and DVD set extracted from the 'The Art of Africa: A Resource for Educators.' The CD-ROM "contains a PDF of 'The Art of Africa: A Resource for Educators, ' which features forty traditional works of African art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It includes a brief overview of the Metropolitan's collection of African art; a short introduction and history of Africa; an explanation of the role of visual expression in the continent; descriptions of the featured works of art and background about the materials and techniques that were used to created them ... The DVD, 'Ci Wara Invocation, ' "presents the highlights of a dozen ci wara performances in Bamana communities in present-day Mali that were recorded by five different observers between 1970-2002. Among the Bamana, oral traditions credit a mythical being named Ci Wara, a divine being half mortal and half antelope, with the introduction of agriculture to the Bamana. The ci wara performances are part of biannual celebrations that either launch or conclude the farming season."--Container

The World of Spirits and Ancestors in the Art of Western Sub-Saharan Africa illustrates for the first time a collection of African Sculpture at the Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The masks and figurative carvings from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century are from two sources: Ambassador and Mrs. Julius Walker's gift to ICASALS (International Center for Arid and Semiarid Land Studies), now on permanent loan to the Museum, and the Elliot Howard Collection. Howard, an artist and authority on antiques, chose examples of sculpture for their "variety and aesthetic appeal". His hope was that the pieces he assembled would provide new discoveries for those unacquainted with the art of Africa and an art experience that would "enhance mutual respect among people". Fittingly, then, a context for understanding is the focus of Elizabeth Skidmore Sasser's book. As the title suggests, The World of Spirits and Ancestors introduces carefully chosen examples of masks and figures as social and spiritual communications imbued with the living history and culture of the various peoples of western sub-Saharan Africa. Sasser emphasizes that geography and climate - ranging from semiarid deserts to tropical rain forests - influence not only the art but also the habitations and ceremonial life of the region. More than 180 drawings and illustrations reflect the creative genius that continues to meet environmental challenges and to express the distinctive contributions of the cultures and the people of western sub-Saharan Africa.