The Kongo Gesture.
Dapper Museum| N° d'inventaire | 22198 |
| Format | 24 x 32 |
| Détails | 230 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2002 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782906067905 |
From impressive figures bristling with nails or iron blades to statuettes of refined naturalism, Kôngo works perfectly illustrate the theme of gesture in statuary. The figures are sometimes standing, with one arm raised or hands on their hips, sometimes seated, legs crossed cross-legged, or kneeling. Fingers brush the cheek, the mouth, the chin, join behind the head or rest on the thighs. These different modes of expression reflect some of the multiple functions performed by pieces selected for their representative attitude, but also for the quality or originality of their craftsmanship. Used in techniques of communication with the afterlife, dedicated to personal or collective protection, intended to intervene in the settlement of individual or community disputes, to manage disorders, illnesses or death caused by occult forces, these objects, of great stylistic diversity, constitute the best witnesses of very ancient practices. These are widespread in several societies in Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola. The Kongo peoples, who mainly include the Vili, Lari, Sundi, Woyo, Yombé, Bêmbé, and the Kongo proper, share many traditions and beliefs with neighboring groups, including the Punu and Téké. A language that transmits cultural heritage, gestures open up understanding of the world and oneself. All religious, therapeutic, philosophical, and political practices call upon specific gestures. These gestures spread and were then transformed in the Americas, where millions of slaves from the ancient Kongo kingdom perpetuated their traditions, notably through cults and martial arts such as capoeira. With his vivid and original style, Robert Farris Thompson, art historian and professor at Yale University, offers keys to understanding the meaning of Kôngo gestures, which he has been studying for several years and has compiled a comprehensive inventory of. The gestures and the beliefs that support them date back to the ancient kingdom of Kongo, discovered by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. Jean Nsondé, a historian of Kôngo origin, here reconstructs its sociopolitical structures. In the second part of the book, Robert Farris Thompson considers the influence of Kôngo sign language in the Americas, where slaves were brought. They were present mainly in Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, and Venezuela, where Christianity and religions of African origin blended. These practices are addressed here in their specificity by Erwan Diantelli, anthropologist and lecturer at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.
From impressive figures bristling with nails or iron blades to statuettes of refined naturalism, Kôngo works perfectly illustrate the theme of gesture in statuary. The figures are sometimes standing, with one arm raised or hands on their hips, sometimes seated, legs crossed cross-legged, or kneeling. Fingers brush the cheek, the mouth, the chin, join behind the head or rest on the thighs. These different modes of expression reflect some of the multiple functions performed by pieces selected for their representative attitude, but also for the quality or originality of their craftsmanship. Used in techniques of communication with the afterlife, dedicated to personal or collective protection, intended to intervene in the settlement of individual or community disputes, to manage disorders, illnesses or death caused by occult forces, these objects, of great stylistic diversity, constitute the best witnesses of very ancient practices. These are widespread in several societies in Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola. The Kongo peoples, who mainly include the Vili, Lari, Sundi, Woyo, Yombé, Bêmbé, and the Kongo proper, share many traditions and beliefs with neighboring groups, including the Punu and Téké. A language that transmits cultural heritage, gestures open up understanding of the world and oneself. All religious, therapeutic, philosophical, and political practices call upon specific gestures. These gestures spread and were then transformed in the Americas, where millions of slaves from the ancient Kongo kingdom perpetuated their traditions, notably through cults and martial arts such as capoeira. With his vivid and original style, Robert Farris Thompson, art historian and professor at Yale University, offers keys to understanding the meaning of Kôngo gestures, which he has been studying for several years and has compiled a comprehensive inventory of. The gestures and the beliefs that support them date back to the ancient kingdom of Kongo, discovered by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. Jean Nsondé, a historian of Kôngo origin, here reconstructs its sociopolitical structures. In the second part of the book, Robert Farris Thompson considers the influence of Kôngo sign language in the Americas, where slaves were brought. They were present mainly in Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, and Venezuela, where Christianity and religions of African origin blended. These practices are addressed here in their specificity by Erwan Diantelli, anthropologist and lecturer at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.