Tapestry of West Central African Queen

West-Central African Indigenous

West-Central Africa is populated largely by speakers of the Bantu languages. These languages originated in a small population of iron-smelting farmers in what is now Nigeria but had, by the 8th century CE, spread to Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa and southward into the heart of Central Africa. Bantu-speakers now dominate virtually the […]

On Healing in the Afro-Atlantic Religions

Does religion teach us how to avoid suffering, or how to suffer and transcend? The Afro-Atlantic religions are often sought out by those who are suffering, and offer a philosophy of healing the whole person, with less regard for the Western dichotomy of physical and spiritual. This visual guided tour seeks to explore the following key questions: How are the gods and spirits called upon for healing? How do objects for ritual and healing specifically reflect their ambivalent abilities to both hurt and heal?