{"id":14456,"date":"2019-12-03T03:40:14","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T08:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=14456"},"modified":"2019-12-04T11:01:08","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T16:01:08","slug":"beckwith-fisher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2019\/12\/03\/beckwith-fisher\/","title":{"rendered":"Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher, Photographers Of African Traditions, Speak At Harvard Dec. 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

For four decades, American born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher have journeyed over 300,000 miles across the African continent, travelling through 44 countries to document more than 150 traditional tribal cultures. They photographed with astonishing access, empathy and artistry\u2014as seen in their monumental, two-volume 2018 book, \u201cAfrican Twilight\u201d (Rizzoli)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll speak about \u201cAfrican Twilight: Vanishing Ceremonies of the African Continent\u201d <\/a>at Harvard University\u2019s Center for African Studies Lounge, 1280 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd floor, Cambridge, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, at 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>
Two Hadza hunters of Tanzania overlooking their territory bordering Lake Eyasi. Featured on the slipcase cover of “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent” by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAfrican Twilight\u201d is a companion to their landmark, two-volume 1999 book \u201cAfrican Ceremonies,\u201d a breathtaking photographic study of 93 dazzling ceremonies, rituals and rites of passage from birth to death across 26 countries. \u201cAfrican Twilight\u201d continues this documentary effort. This time they spent 15 years traveling to remote communities to record Maasai warrior initiations in Tanzania, courtship rituals of the Ariaal of Kenya, masquerades of the spirit world in Burkina Faso, royal rituals of the Kuba Kingdom in DR Congo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rituals we saw as well as the costumes, jewelry, and adornments have evolved over just a few decades into unrecognizable forms\u2014or have vanished altogether\u2014as Africans, like most people, move inexorably toward a more urbanized and technology-connected existence,\u201d they write in the book\u2019s introduction.<\/p>\n

\"Carol<\/a>
Carol Beckwith (left) and Angela Fisher painted by the Kara, Omo River, Ethiopia. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beckwith, who began as a painter, was working on her first book, \u201cMaasai\u201d (1980), when her father gave her a balloon ride over the Maasai Mara for her birthday. As they recall in the book\u2019s afterword, \u201cAt one thousand feet [the pilot] Simon looked deeply into Carol\u2019s eyes and said, \u2018There\u2019s something I really want to tell you.\u2019 Carol\u2019s heart beat rapidly. Simon continued, still gazing into her eyes, \u2018I’d really like you to meet my sister…\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A year later, in Nairobi in 1978, Beckwith met that sister, Angela Fisher, at an exhibition of jewelry she had designed. \u201cWe soon realized Simon was right,\u201d they write. \u201cWe were kindred spirits\u2014nomads at heart\u2014and shared a deep passion for the traditional cultures, art forms, and peoples of the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early years, working with the Maasai of East Africa, we had no idea that we were going to spend the rest of our lives crisscrossing the continent, photographing traditional ceremonies and producing books,\u201d they write in the introduction.<\/p>\n

\""The<\/a>
“The kuosi elephant mask is worn by members of the secret society of the Bamileke Fon of Bafoussam. With its elaborate beaded trunk, large elephant ears, and conical hat of ancestral figures, the mask symbolizes the wealth and power of the king.” It appears on the cover of “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” volume 1, by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their publications include \u201cNomads of Niger\u201d (1983), \u201cAfrica Adorned\u201d (1984), \u201cAfrican Ark\u201d (1990), \u201cAfrican Ceremonies\u201d (1999), \u201cPassages\u201d (2000), \u201cFaces of Africa\u201d (2004), \u201cLamu: Kenya\u2019s Enchanted Island\u201d (2009), \u201cDinka\u201d (2010), Painted Bodies\u201d (2012).<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this book some of the most challenging journeys were in the DR Congo, where we lost our guide and translator,\u201d Beckwith and Fisher write in the afterword. \u201cDue to broken bridges, we were forced to leave our vehicle behind and to continue on motor bikes and dugout canoes in order to record the Salampasu ceremonies near the Angolan border. In Somaliland we traveled 300 miles to record a traditional desert wedding. The Somali government insisted that we take two vehicles of armed guards to protect us from al-Shabab terrorists who might cross the border in pursuit of our vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckwith and Fisher say that 40 percent of what have recorded over the last four decades no longer exists.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Africa enters the twenty-first century, we believe the traditional values that bring a sense of well-being and fulfillment should be held on to,\u201d they write in the afterword. \u201cThese would include respect for the wisdom of elders\u2014the benefit of knowledge passed from one generation to another\u2014the importance of the community for support, the value of rites and passages that define and teach us what is expected at each stage of life, and the maintaining of rituals that keep us in balance with nature and our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\""Entertainment<\/a>
“Entertainment masks made of colorful fibers from the village of Gossina, created for amusement, are permitted to leave the village to dance at events, while sacred masks are reserved for important rituals and must remain within the village. Traditionally the masks are made of sisal. Today some of them are dyed with aniline dyes to achieve vibrant colors, adding to the drama of the mask\u2019s performance. The wooden heads represent powerful animals such as the rooster and the crocodile.” This one is depicted on the cover of “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” volume 2, by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The veiled Pokot boys in a remote northwestern Kenya, “are in state of limbo in their transition to manhood. During this period, they travel through the forest in long lines singing songs to the sound of their shakers made of bottle tops and string,” Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher write in “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"In<\/a>
In Nigeria, “Seated on his throne, the Oba [or king] is surrounded by his three wives (right), the Ewaise chief (left), and royal courtiers (far left),” Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher write in “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A traditional Somali wedding: “Dressed in white, the bride leaves her home under the protection of a colorful, handheld canopy and proceeds with female relatives to the aqal, the ritual wedding hut,” Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher write in “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Rendille of northern Kenya\u2019s Kaisut Desert: “Throughout the [Herr Heroon, or bull] ceremony, warriors gather in small groups to perform leaping dances, expressing their unity as a generation. When two warriors leap together the dance is called woyee,” Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher write in “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Performing<\/a>
“Performing the courtship dance, young Kara men [of Ethiopia\u2019s Omo River valley] form long lines and leap high in the air to impress the admiring young women,” Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher write in “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n
\"Rendille<\/a>
Rendille women, of northern Kenya\u2019s Kaisut Desert, gather at the gob, a ceremonial encampment, to prepare for an upcoming ceremony, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher explain in “African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent,” 2018. (Rizzoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For four decades, American born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher have journeyed over 300,000 miles across the African continent, travelling through 44 countries to document more than 150 traditional tribal cultures. They photographed with astonishing access, empathy and artistry\u2014as seen in their monumental, two-volume 2018 book, \u201cAfrican Twilight\u201d (Rizzoli). They\u2019ll speak about \u201cAfrican Twilight: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,107,111,119],"tags":[644,643,29,176,646,645],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14456"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14456"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14476,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14456\/revisions\/14476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}