In Step with the Times: Mapiko Masquerades of Mozambique - Couverture souple

Israel, Paolo

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0821420887 ISBN 13 : 9780821420881

Editeur : Ohio University Press, 2014

Synopsis

The helmet-shaped mapiko masks of Mozam-bique have garnered admiration from African art scholars and collectors alike, due to their striking aesthetics and their grotesque allure. This book restores to mapiko its historic and artistic context, charting in detail the transformations of this masquerading tradition throughout the twentieth century.

Based on field research spanning seven years, this study shows how mapiko has undergone continuous reinvention by visionary individuals, has diversified into genres with broad generational appeal, and has enacted historical events and political engagements. This dense history of creativity and change has been sustained by a culture of competition deeply ingrained within the logic of ritual itself. The desire to outshine rivals on the dance ground drives performers to search for the new, the astonishing, and the topical. It is this spirit of rivalry and one-upmanship that keeps mapiko attuned to the times that it traverses.

In Step with the Times is illustrated with vibrant photographs of mapiko masks and performances. It marks the most radical attempt to date to historicize an African performative tradition.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Paolo Israel is a senior lecturer in history at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. He has written extensively about Mozambican expressive cultures, political ethnicity, and witchcraft.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Ohio University Press
• Date d'édition: 2014
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0821420887
• ISBN 13: 9780821420881
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 296
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible