The Journal of Negro History, Volume 8, 1923Various
History
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 8, 1923
Various
African Americans -- Periodicals
Aside from the ancient walls and temples reputed to be the products
of a genius foreign to the tribes of today, Bent comments favorably
upon the art such as is the product of the modern inhabitant. With
regard to a beautiful bowl he says: "The work displayed in executing
these bowls, the careful rounding of edges, the exact execution of the
circle, the fine pointed tool marks and the subjects they chose to
depict point to a race having been far advanced in artistic skill."
Hunting scenes are numerous and in the processions of men, animals
are often put in to make for relief, sometimes a bird is introduced
for the same effect. It is quite singular that in one of the hunting
scenes the sportsman is a Hottentot. Sculptoring was usually done in
soapstone and the bird upon the post is a subject which is frequently
depicted. The drawings found by Bent in the Mazoe Valley were simple
yet beautifully executed. The magnificent hand-made pottery is
decorated in patterns of red and black which colors are obtained
from hemolite and plumbogo. If we turn with Bent to Mtokoland and
see in the Mtoko's kraal the drawings of the Bushmen, "we can trace
distinctly three different periods of execution. The first is crude
and now faint representation of unknown life; the second is deeper
in color and admirably executed and partly on top of this latter are
animals of the best period of this art in red and yellow. The third is
an inartistic representation of human beings which evidently belongs
to a period of decadence and in the execution of this work the colors
invariably are red, yellow and black."[15]
What significance has this manifestation of art? What coloring does
it give to the cultural development of Africa? It simply means that
the African like other peoples enjoys the finer sentiments that make
life worth living. Among the writers there is as much unanimity on the
question of African art as there is on African ethics. All told, it
goes to show that in the essentials of culture the tribes of Africa
are not entirely wanting and there are many close parallels between
the cultural development in Africa and that in Neolithic Europe. What
difference there is is one of degree and not of kind. While Lady
Lugard's work savored more of politics than of archaeology, it cannot
be doubted that her vote may be cast on the side of those who contend
that the cultural manifestations of the African are pronounced when
their background is considered. Though crude and rudimentary, though
often hidden beneath brutal superstitions, there is always a cultural
norm with brilliant possibilities for social betterment. At best we
can be no more than fundamentally right or fundamentally good, and
this lends color to the claim of the African to real culture.
III. GOVERNMENT
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