Double Descent and Gender Issues in the Cross River Region of Southeastern Nigeria By: Simon Ottenberg Double Descent and Gender Issues in the Cross River Region of Southeastern Nigeria is a comprehensive study of an unusual form of human descent among a number of societies in Nigeria’s Cross River Region. The author provides an in-depth history and analysis of the variations of regional groups and raises the thought-provoking question of how matrilineal and patrilineal relationships affect a society’s gender relations.

Explores the dynamics of African masquerades and mask performances on the continent, linking performative expressions to societal characteristics. What is the meaning of masks and masquerades in African traditions and how can we understand their role in rituals and performances? Why do we find masks in some African regions and not in others, and what does this 'mask habitat' say about the general dynamics of masquerades in Africa? Though masks are among the most famous art icons of Africa, exploration of their uses and the way in which they articulate social characteristics of African societies has been underexamined. This book takes an anthropological perspective on the phenomenon of masquerades on the African continent to show how mask rituals are an integral part of African indigenous religions and societies, and are informed by and linked to specific types of social and ecological conditions. Having established the commonalities of mask rituals and a mask typology, the authors look at the varieties of mask performances and the types of rituals in which masks function in rites of passage and in rituals of gender, power, and identity. The following chapters focus on different types of rituals featuring masks, from initiation and death ceremonies to secrecy, kingship, law and war. With its broad examination of the use of masks on the continent, from Angola to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DRC, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, this well illustrated book will stand as an authoritative study of the use of masks, of interest not only to those in African Studies but to anthropologists and ethnographers worldwide.

The author, as an adolescent, wanted to be a polar explorer. He did not seem to care whether he went to the North or the South Pole. But at Northwestern University, he became interested in its African program, one of two major programs in anthropology there. The other was on African cultures in the Caribbean and South America. So as a graduate student, he did a study of African cultural survival in a community along the coast of Georgia. However, he was more interested in Africa at a time when Americans realized, after World War II, how little they knew about it. Government and foundation funds became available, and Ottenberg took advantage of it for his first African research in 1952-1953 on a year's grant for work in Nigeria. That began a long career there, where his interests varied over the years--from children and adult masking to family life to art and other subjects. He found African culture to be anything but simple; rather it is very complex. Each aspect has links to others; it's a web of behaviors to be traced in which language played key roles while Western cultural influences were changing African cultures.

Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary available. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the first of four, Keener introduces the book of Acts, particularly historical questions related to it, and provides detailed exegesis of its opening chapters. He utilizes an unparalleled range of ancient sources and offers a wealth of fresh insights. This magisterial commentary will be a valuable resource for New Testament professors and students, pastors, Acts scholars, and libraries.