Status and Identity in West Africa
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Status and Identity in West Africa by David C Conrad
The nyamakalaw, a major professional class of artists and other occupationally defined specialists among the Mande-speaking peoples of West Africa, play powerful roles in Mande society. Yet they remain its most misunderstood social group. Constituting endogamous lineages, blacksmiths, potters, leatherworkers, and bards are accorded a special but ambiguous status apart from the rest of Mande society. In an effort to distinguish the misconceptions of outsiders from the ambiguity of the social reality, this book critiques Western perceptions of nyamakalaw that led to the colonial construction of the Mande 'caste' system.Going beyond the colonial model, the contributors explore the dynamic status and identity of the nyamakalaw, the history of this phenomenon in various Mande contexts, and the role of individuals in its development in time and space. From a wide variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, the authors begin to reconstruct the social and cultural history of nyamakalaw. Contributors are Charles S. Bird, David C. Conrad, Barbara E. Frank, Barbara G. Hoffman, Cheick Mahamadou Ch rif Keita, Martha B. Kendall, Robert Launay, Adria LaViolette, Patrick R.McNaughton, Tal Tamari, and Kalilou Tera.
Barbara E. Frank is an associate professor of art history at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is the coeditor of Status and Identity in West Africa: Nyamaka-law of Mande (1995).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780253209290 |
| ISBN 10 | 0253209293 |
| Title | Status and Identity in West Africa |
| Author | David C Conrad |
| Series | African Systems Of Thought |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Indiana University Press |
| Year published | 1995-05-01 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |