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Klappentext The vibrant culture of the Jola people of Senegal's Casamance region is epitomized by the colorful rituals of the male initiation ceremony, which occurs once in a generation. In The Wild Bull and the Sacred Forest: Form, Meaning, and Change in Senegambian Initiation Masks, Dr. Peter Mark makes an in-depth examination of the masks worn by a select few initiates in this ritual, which illuminates Jola culture and its underlying religious and social structures. Based on research gathered from numerous field trips to West Africa and unpublished archival materials, Dr. Mark presents a subtle interpretation of horned masquerades, their complex symbolism, and the metaphysical concepts to which they allude. In tracing the cultural interaction and changing identity of the people of the Casamance, he convincingly demonstrates a new and dynamic approach to the study of art and ethnic identity, which is viewed as a continuous process rather than a fixed entity. Integrating art historical and anthropological methods, The Wild Bull and the Sacred Forest provides a detailed and innovative view of a Senegalese culture as it has evolved over two centuries. Zusammenfassung This study of the cattle-horned initiation masks of southern Senegal and the Gambia weaves together art history! history! and cultural anthropology to give a detailed view of Casamance cultures! as they have interacted and changed over the past two centuries. Inhaltsverzeichnis Foreword; List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: method and subject; 2. Ethnographic background; 3. Bukut initiation; 4. History and provenance of the Ejumba mask; 5. Iconography of the horned mask; 6. Mandinka or Jola? Art and culture as regional processes; 7. Islam and Casamance masking traditions; 8. Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography.
