African Hero (original) (raw)

The Tragic Hero of the Modern Period—The African Concept

There is an underlying cultural dimension in modern tragedy, in that the tragic hero differs from culture to culture in modern society. In the light of this, it is appropriate to point out that whereas the modern tragic hero in the Western culture is an anti-hero as portrayed in " The tragic hero of the modern period—The European Concept " , in cultures such as, in Asia and Africa, the tragic hero still maintains some traits of the Greek heroic figure. This paper therefore fulfils an identified need to study the concept of this period's tragedy and shows the appendages of the traits of the Greek Classical tragic hero in the modern period of the African concept. The study provides extracts from Achebe's Things fall Apart as the main text, Achebe's Morning Yet on Creation Day, Achebe's Arrow of God and Rotimi's Kurunmi as supporting texts to present the African concept of the tragic hero.

Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures

African Arts, 2012

amiliarity with inspirational leaders from Africa is largely limited to those who came to international prominence for their contemporary accomplishments, such as Nelson Mandela, or as heroic figures, like Kwame Nkrumah, engaged in struggles against European colonialism. Our inability to name and envision specific African leaders from earlier times is an accident of history. Prior to colonialism, regional histories were transmitted orally from one generation to the next. Such traditions are by definition continually evolving representations narrated by individuals who provide accounts of the past as they are handed down and modified in light of their contemporary perspective. Related sculptural genres developed within many of these contexts, giving concrete and enduring form to some of the protagonists of those accounts. "Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures" examines the visual translation of specific subjects into sculptural forms from eight culturally distinct centers across western and central Africa: the kingdoms of Ife and Benin, both in Nigeria; Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire's Akan chiefdoms; the Bangwa and Kom chiefdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields; Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) Chokwe chiefdoms; and the DRC's Luluwa, Kuba, and Hemba chiefdoms. Each of these is the focus of a section of the exhibition. Since 1998, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has organized a series of special exhibitions that have examined the African art corpus in relation to major themes important to its understanding and appreciation. In "Masterhand: Individuality and Creativity Among Yoruba Sculptors" (1998), issues of authorship were addressed through a series of works attributed to different workshops. The artistic process underlying various sculptural genres from their commissioning by a patron through various phases of execution was examined. Ultimately the array of distinctive talents that have been responsible for shaping Yoruba sculpture over the last century was evoked through their creations as well as the praise poems that paid tribute to the achievements of individual authors and reflected their standing in Yoruba society. "Art and Oracle: Spirit Voices of Africa" (2000) explored the many complex systems of divination developed to further quests for divine insight into the human condition across sub-Saharan Africa and the integral role played by works of art at various stages. Creations central to twenty-eight distinct systems included the instruments deployed by ritual specialists as well as those prescribed to their clients. "Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary" (2007/8) assembled works relating to reliquary ensembles from fourteen distinct cultural traditions concentrated in the equatorial region extending from southern Cameroon through Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of "Heroic AfricAns: LegendAry LeAders, iconic scuLptures" wAs orgAnized by tHe MetropoLitAn MuseuM of Art, wHere it wAs presented froM sep-teMber 20, 2011 tHrougH JAnuAry 29, 2012. After its new york sHowing it Moves to its second venue, tHe MuseuM rietberg in zuricH, froM februAry 26 tHrougH June 3, 2012. tHe exHibition is MAde possibLe in pArt by tHe Andrew w. MeLLon foundAtion, tHe ceiL & MicHAeL e. puLitzer foundAtion, inc. And tHe nAtionAL endowMent for tHe Arts.

More than just warriors: Mythical and archetypal images of the hero in Swahili literature

2019

Since ancient time until today, the image of the hero has influenced literary works universally. The “hero” becomes mythical only after his death, and through forms of remembrance that can be realized in other literary productions in which his figure is re-create and transmitted through fictitious characters. The central focus of my paper is to examine, within archetypal theories on myth and “hero”, the great figures of two Swahili warriors, namelyLiongo Fumo, one of the greatest warrior-hero figures of the Swahili oral tradition, and the chief Mkwawa of the Hehe people, who fought against the German rule in the former Tanganyka, whose deeds have been reinvented and described in modern written literature. Both Liongo Fumo and Mkwawa have acquired the status of mythical warriors, and as other East African heroes, they inspired poets and writers becoming symbols of bravery and national consciousness to which the historical and cultural memory of old and new generations refer. Desp...

African Superheroes Blog Series: Introduction – What is an African superhero?

Africa in Words , 2018

This is the first of a series of posts on African superheroes, guest edited by Tessa Pijnaker, PhD student in African Studies and Anthropology at the University of Birmingham. In this first post she introduces us to African superheroes and the scope of this series. Look out for more on African superheroes on AiW over coming months.