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This book documents the development, functions, adaptations and changes in Mijikenda Art and Material Culture in the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. The author examines the intrinsic link of art and material culture to Mijikenda traditional, social, economic and political institutions. The book further examines how aesthetics, visually and non-visually, articulates status in the Mijikenda society. The study concludes that modernization has had a negative impact on the production, use and perpetuation of the Mijikenda Art and Material Culture. Therefore, Professor Elizabeth Orchardson-Mazrui argues that in line with UNESCO s recognition and protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the Kenyan government should be in the forefront of formulating and implementing policies to protect Mijikenda cultural traditions. This book is a must-read for researchers, students and lecturers concerned with cultural studies.
About the author
Prof. Elizabeth Orchardson-Mazrui holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She lectures in the Department of Art and Design at Kenyatta University, Kenya. She researches in socio-cultural and gender studies. She is a practising visual artist and also writes fiction and poetry.
