Description

Book Synopsis
When the Republic of Guinea gained independence in 1958, one of the first policies of the new state was a village-to-village eradication of masks and other ritual objects it deemed 'fetishes'. This book intends to understand why this program was so important to the state and examines the complex role it had in creating a unified national identity.

Trade Review
"Unmasking the State is an engaging and insightful work that constitutes an important contribution to African studies, political and religious anthropology, and the study of iconoclasm. Mike McGovern artfully weaves an edifying tapestry of the demystification programs launched by Sekou Toure in the 1960s among Loma-speaking people of Guinea, West Africa. This is a well-argued and timely book." (David Berliner, University of Brussels)"

Unmasking the State

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    A Hardback by Mike McGovern

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      Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 11/29/2012 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780226925097, 978-0226925097
      ISBN10: 0226925099
      Also in:
      African history

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      When the Republic of Guinea gained independence in 1958, one of the first policies of the new state was a village-to-village eradication of masks and other ritual objects it deemed 'fetishes'. This book intends to understand why this program was so important to the state and examines the complex role it had in creating a unified national identity.

      Trade Review
      "Unmasking the State is an engaging and insightful work that constitutes an important contribution to African studies, political and religious anthropology, and the study of iconoclasm. Mike McGovern artfully weaves an edifying tapestry of the demystification programs launched by Sekou Toure in the 1960s among Loma-speaking people of Guinea, West Africa. This is a well-argued and timely book." (David Berliner, University of Brussels)"

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