Ways of the Rivers : Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta

by Anderson, Martha G.; Peek, Philip M.

• ISBN13: 9780930741907
• ISBN10: 0930741900
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr

Summary

The essays assembled in this lavishly illustrated volume are unique in considering issues of cultural convergence and divergence within a single region in Africa. They examine and celebrate the "water-related" ethos and the "warrior" ethos that are present throughout the Delta and explore the influence of its unique environment on beliefs and material culture.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 11
Preface: Cultural Identity in the Multicultural Niger Delta	p. 15
Acknowledgments	p. 22
Notes on Orthography	p. 23
Introduction: Charting a Course	p. 25
Early History, Trade, and Contact
Lower Niger Bronze Industries and the Archaeology of the Niger Delta	p. 39
Exploration, Trade, and Colonization	p. 60
From Middlemen to Missionaries	p. 67
Privilege and Power: Merchant Princes of the Eastern Delta	p. 80
Nanna of Itsekiri, "Merchant Prince of the Niger Delta"	p. 86
Bulletproof: Exploring the Warrior Ethos in Ijo Culture	p. 91
Forms of Ivri	p. 120
The Urhobo	p. 126
Environment and Cultural Confluence
From River Horses to Dancing Sharks: Canoes and Fish in Ijo Art and Ritual	p. 133
Water Spirit Shrines	p. 162
The Isoko as a Delta People	p. 167
Molded Shrine Arts	p. 188
Celebrating Water Spirits: Influence, Confluence, and Difference in Ijebu-Yoruba and Delta Masquerades	p. 193
The Dancing People: Eastern Ijo Masking Traditions	p. 216
Arts and Identity
Everyone to His Quarter: Ethnic Interaction, Emulation, and Change in Itsekiri Visual Culture	p. 223
The Owu/Oworu Masquerade Complex	p. 244
Tricks of the Trade: A Study of Ikakibite (Cloth of the Tortoise) among the Eastern Ijo	p. 251
Maidens, Mothers, Mediums, and Matriarchs: Women of the Niger Delta	p. 268
The Arts of the Ogoni	p. 275
Obolo Arts	p. 302
Fitting Farewells: The Fine Art of Kalabari Funerals	p. 307
Making Waves: The Art of Bruce Onobrakpeya and Sokari Douglas Camp	p. 330
Conclusion: Reflections--Looking Back on our Journey	p. 335
Regattas, Then and Now	p. 340
Crosscurrents and Confluences: Linguistic Clues to Cultural Development	p. 345
Notes to the Text	p. 352
References Cited	p. 356
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