AFRICAN ART AND SYMBOLISM, TRADITIONS AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

摘要

African Tradition is expressed through many different art forms, such as creative arts, music, dance, sculpture and beadwork. Oral tradition is very important in African culture, as it insures the passage of cultural practices from one generation to another. These traditions are deeply ingrained into the whole African culture. Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in African society. Songs accompany marriage, birth, rites of passage, hunting and even political activities. Music is often used in different African cultures to ward off evil spirits and to pay respects to good spirits, the dead and ancestors. The African masks that are used in dances have religious, ceremonial and functional origins. The artist who carves the mask will ceremonially purify himself and offer prayers to his ancestors for guidance before he begins the actual carving of the mask.