Description
Book SynopsisA revisionist account of African masquerade carnivals in transnational context that offers readers a unique perspective on the connecting threads between African cultural trends and African American cultural artifacts In recent decades, there has been an explosion of scholarly interest in African-styled traditions and the influence of these traditions upon the African diaspora. In this important new analysis, author Raphael Njoku explores the transnational connections between masquerade narratives and memory over the past four centuries to show how enslaved Africans became culture carriers of inherited African traditions. In doing so, he questions the scholarly predisposition toward ethnicization of African cultural artifacts in the Americas. As Njoku's research shows, the practices reenacted by the Igbo and Bight of Biafra modelers in the Americas were not exact replicas of the African prototypes. Cultural modeling is dynamic, and the inheritors of West African traditions often adapted their customs to their circumstances--altering and transforming the meaning and purpose of the customs they initially represented. With the Bantu migrations serving as a catalyst for ethnic mixing and change prior to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, African-themed cultural activities in the New World became dilutions of practices from several ethnic African and European nations. African cultures were already experiencing changes through Bantuization; in this well-researched and engagingly written scholarly work, the author explores the extension of this process beyond the African continent. This book is openly available in digital formats thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Trade ReviewRaphael Chijioke Njoku's study of West African masking forms and their impact in the Americas is a welcome exploration of the history and function of body-mask performances in the context of African initiation societies and their adaptation into Caribbean carnival events and initiation groups, like the Abakuá of Cuba. -- Ivor Miller * H-Africa *
There are several aspects of this book that work very well: the structure is very clear and easy to follow, and the notion of understanding the dynamism and evolution of masquerades in Africa first, in order to then tackle their use and transformation in the New World, is excellent and commendable, and something other scholars should undoubtedly take notice of. The comparative analysis of the evolution of masquerades on each side of the Atlantic in the nineteenth century is also fascinating, as is the juxtaposition of the effects that slavery and colonialism had on these practices in the Americas and Africa, respectively. The author has also undoubtedly a substantial knowledge of the Igbo world, which shows in the discussion -- Sirio Canos-Donnay * Folklore *
Table of ContentsIntroduction Memory and Masquerade Narratives: The Art of Remembering Aspects of Society and Culture in the Biafra Hinterland Bantu Migrations and Cultural Transnationalism in the Ancient Global Age, c.2500 BCE-1400 CE Bight of Biafra, Slavery, and Diasporic Africa in the Modern Global Age, 1400-1800 Igbo Masquerade Dances in the African Diasporas: Symbols and Meanings Unmasking the Masquerade: Counterideologies and Contemporary Practices Idioms of Religion, Music, Dance, and African Art Forms Memory and Masquerade Narratives: The Art of Remembering
