Arts d’Afrique, voir l’invisible

Exhibition: Arts d’Afrique, voir l’invisible
Dates: 23 March to 21 August 2011

Opening times: 11-18h, every day except Monday

Place: Musée d’Aquitaine, 20 cours Pasteur, Bordeaux (France)

Entrance fee: 5 €

Webpage: www.bordeaux.fr

About the exhibition:

By bringing together over 200 extraordinary works of art - the biggest ever presented to the public - from major European public and private collections, the Musée d'Aquitaine offers an original reading of African creativity. Its report to the invisible, revealing a unique world view, is essential to understand and discover the wealth of past and present cultures of the African continent.

These objects of extraordinary variety of shapes and functions, including the oldest dating from the 11th century (statue Soninke of Mali) and the production extended to the mid 20th century, are the direct operators of traditional authentic ceremonials, such as initiations (masks nature spirits, some with their ritual costumes), ancestor worship (protective statues, male or female honored on altars), magic or divination (fetishes defense or attack, the body charged with nails and "medicine"), that make them irreplaceable in African thought, as well as masterpieces of universal art.

© Text and image: Musée d’Aquitaine

Birdskin parka

ARTIFACTS AND OBJECTS

Name: Birdskin parka (annuraq)

Origin: Smith Sound, Greenland

Museum: British Museum, London (UK)

Materials: skins of auks

Reference code: AOA 1899-419

Age: end of 19th century

Comments:

This birdskin parka was made by the Inughuit of the Smith Sound area in northern Greenland. It was collected by the American explorer Robert Peary (1856-1920), who visited the area several times between 1891 and 1909 in preparation for his expeditions to the North Pole.

The Inughuit often used the skins of auks or little auks to make parkas. The skins are sewn together into belts, and the belts are then sewn into poncho-like garments. The feather-side of the skin would have been turned to the inside. Birdskin parkas were worn directly on the body as inner parkas by men, women and children, usually under an outer parka of sealskin. After 1910, when Knud Rasmussen opened his trading-post in Thule, birdskin parkas were quickly replaced by European underwear bought in the store.

Birdskin clothes are light, warm and waterproof, but they tear easily. On arrival in the Department of Conservation of the British Museum, the skin of the parka was torn in several places. With ageing, the feathers had become less securely attached to the skin and were easily dislodged. The tears were repaired by adhering patches of a Japanese tissue paper coloured to match, or where possible with goldbeaters' skin, a transparent membrane prepared from ox intestine, which more closely matches the appearance of the skin. The parka was then gently padded with acid-free tissue paper. However, the parka remains fragile, and cannot be exhibited, because this might lead to further damage and loss of feathers.

© Photos and text: British Museum

Belizean fry-jacks

Fry jacks are a staple in Belizean cuisine: delicious golden and crumbly fried dough. They are very similar to the New Orleans beignet, fried bread, and to Latin American sopapillas (alternately spelled sopaipilla), which are made with flour tortillas, and often topped with cinnamon, honey and whipped cream. Sometimes the fry jack is called the beignet without the powdered sugar, since they are typically topped with either honey or jam, or served as a breakfast food with savory accompaniments like beans, bacon and eggs.

Basic fry jacks are made from simple recipes that combine shortening, flour, water, salt and baking powder. The dough is then quickly fried in hot oil, which causes the dough to rise slightly, and produces a crunchy, crispy, golden brown rectangle or triangle. When sopapillas are made, tortillas may be sliced, or they may be fried whole, with the tortilla becoming puffy and crispy as it cooks in the hot oil.

Also Known As: fry bread, beignets, sopapillas, fried dough

Ingredients:

•  750g of sieved flour

•  1 tblsps shortening

•  375ml Water or 1 cup

•  Salt to taste

How to cook it:

Add sifted flour, baking powder and salt together. Fold in the shortening. Add the water gradually until the dough is the right consistency (not sticky but soft) Knead dough and separate into pieces and shape into balls. Roll the balls flat and fry until golden brown. Serve with savoury dishes or with golden syrup.

© Text and image: www.wikipedia.com

Emitaï

Title: Emitaï

Director: Ousmane Sembene

Writer: Ousmane Sembene

Year: 1971

Running time: 103 minutes

Country: Senegal

Plot summary:

As World War II is going on in Europe, a conflict arises between the French and the Diola-speaking tribe of Africa, prompting the village women to organize their men to sit beneath a tree to pray.

Based on a real incident, Emitai dramatizes the tension between West African villagers and French soldiers during the early days of World War II. The Vichy government sends troops to round up young African men to fight as soldiers. The people in a Diola village in Casamance resist, leading to a conflict over rice supplies that escalates into tragedy. The film was considered objectionable in many quarters in France and the final image was censored there. Because the film honestly portrays the complicity of some Africans in their own oppression, it was also banned in Senegal and other parts of Africa.

© Text: IMDB

Traditional chinese medicine

Acupuncture and moxibustion are forms of traditional Chinese medicine widely practised in China and also found in regions of south-east Asia, Europe and the Americas. The theories of acupuncture and moxibustion hold that the human body acts as a small universe connected by channels, and that by physically stimulating these channels the practitioner can promote the human body’s self-regulating functions and bring health to the patient. This stimulation involves the burning of moxa (mugwort) or the insertion of needles into points on these channels, with the aim to restore the body’s balance and prevent and treat disease. In acupuncture, needles are selected according to the individual condition and used to puncture and stimulate the chosen points. Moxibustion is usually divided into direct and indirect moxibustion, in which either moxa cones are placed directly on points or moxa sticks are held and kept at some distance from the body surface to warm the chosen area. Moxa cones and sticks are made of dried mugwort leaves. Acupuncture and moxibustion are taught through verbal instruction and demonstration, transmitted through master-disciple relations or through members of a clan. Currently, acupuncture and moxibustion are also transmitted through formal academic education.

Inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

© Text: UNESCO, Image: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion