African Wood Carvings And Metal Sculptures example essay topic

398 words
Painting, carving, sculpture, and music which are known as creative expression are means of serving religion and to the artist means of expressing religious connections. Both art and music may serve as a religious function towards one another and show no real difference between the two. Paintings of sub-Saharan Africa started as early as 5000 B.C.E. with the earliest from of art known as rock paintings. Rock paintings were found in the Tass ili Mountains in the central Sahara to the Nile River and in eastern and southern Africa.

Wood carvings such as masks and sculptures such as statues were more familiar among sub-Saharan Africa. Sculptures and carvings represent the gods, spirits, and ancestral figures; Terra-cotta and metal figurines also served a similar purpose. Bronze and iron statues that used the "lost-wax method" were produced by metal workers in Ife what is today known as southern Nigeria. The lost-wax method was melted wax replaced by molten metal. African wood carvings and metal sculptures were a form of "primitive art" which was known as not being appropriate. The art was labeled not appropriate because it was too sophisticated and often done by an employee of the royal court.

African music and dance also serve as religious functions just as sculpture and wood carvings. To sub-Saharan Africans, dance was a way to communicate with the spirits while the movements of the dance represented the spirits coming out of the humans. Many different instruments were used such as drums, xylophones, bells, horns, and stringed instruments such as the harp. While singing along with the musical instruments the person's voice is often put together in story form. Singing was also repeated so the audience was able to participate along with the storyteller.

The music was often used for events such as weddings, funerals, and religious ceremonies; it also served as education helping young children to learn information about the history and social traditions of the community. Music also took place of telling folk legends and religious traditions. Also storytelling was done by the priestly class which was familiar with the use of music instead of writing the story on paper. There is no real difference between art and music; both are just two different forms of creative expression, expressing the religions of sub-Saharan Africa.