Igede
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the Benue State of central Nigeria, the Igede peoples live in farming villages of cone-cylinder huts. The Igede speak a language of the Kwa subfamily that is distinct from that of their northern neighbors, the Idoma, with whom the Igede are associated. The Igede are farmers, who also raise small herds of livestock, and traders.
Kanyok
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Kanyok are agricultural peoples who live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along the eastern side of the Luba kingdom with which they were associated politically. The population amounts to about ninety thousand, and they produce a variety of artworks including decorated prestige items and narrative sculptures.
Kuba
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Kuba kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo probably began to develop in the 16th century, when people migrated from the north to settle between the Sankuru, Kasai, and Lulua rivers. The kingdom peaked in the mid-19th century as the trade center for ivory, exported textiles, and other art.
Kongo
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Kongo are a group of related Bantu-speaking peoples—which includes the Yombe, Woyo, Boma, and Mboma— who live in the adjacent areas of the Republic of Congo, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are known for their carved wood power figures that invoke the spirits.
Igbo
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Igbo peoples of Nigeria believe that every piece of art has value, and they are known for the masks and sculpted figures of wood associated with shrine architecture. Although the earliest extant works of Igbo are date to the 10th century, most extant Igbo art was made in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Igbo, who number between seventeen and twenty million, are primarily farmers.
Kota
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Before settling in northeastern Gabon and the bordering areas of the Congo, the Kota peoples–forced by the Fang peoples–migrated across Africa for years.
Grebo
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the tropical rain forests of southeastern Liberia, the Grebo peoples make their living through agriculture, fishing, hunting, and gathering. Rice is the principal crop, but cotton, okra, millet, and sorghum are also grown. The Grebo are ruled by a chief, who lives in absolute isolation. Grebo villages consist of cone cylinder huts grouped in family compounds around a central plaza.
Cham/Mwona
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Adamawa-speaking Cham peoples of northeastern Nigeria inhabit the southern region of the Gongola River Valley. Agriculture and small-scale herding as well as hunting sustain the Cham. Best known for the terracotta vessels that are used to invoke spirits in divination and healing rituals, Cham artists also work in iron and brass, decorate gourds, and create architectural decoration.
Chokwe
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Chokwe peoples have lived as hunters, farmers, and pastoralists between the Kwango and Kasai rivers in northeastern Angola for nearly 400 years. By the 20th century, they expanded their territory into the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and the northwestern part of Zambia. During the 18th and 19th centuries in particular, luxurious art was produced for the courts of chiefs.
Dan
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Dan peoples are part of the Mande linguistic group and live in northeast Liberia and the neighboring areas of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea. Farmers and warriors, the Dan have no central authority; rather, they live in independent villages made up of different clans grouped around a chief.