Research Catalog
The forge and the funeral : the smith in Kapsiki/Higi culture / Walter E.A. van Beek.
- Title
- The forge and the funeral : the smith in Kapsiki/Higi culture / Walter E.A. van Beek.
- Author
- Beek, W. E. A. van
- Publication
- East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, c2015.
Items in the Library & Off-site
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Request in advance | DT571.K36 B442 2015 | Off-site |
Details
- Description
- xiv, 404 pages : illustrations, maps; 23 cm.
- Summary
- Throughout Africa one craft among many stands out: that of the blacksmith. In many African cultures, smiths occupy a significant position, not just as artisans engaging in a difficult craft but also as special people. Often they perform other crafts, as well, and make up a somewhat separate group inside society. The Forge and the Funeral describes the position of the smith in the culture of the Kapsiki/Higi of northern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria. Situated in the Mandara Mountains and straddling the border of these two countries, Kapsiki culture forms a specific and highly relevant example of the phenomenon of the smith in Africa. As an endogamous group of about 5 percent of the population, Kapsiki smiths perform an impressive array of crafts and specializations, combining magico-religious functions with metalwork, in particular as funeral directors, as well as with music and healing. The Forge and the Funeral gives an intimate description and analysis of this group, based upon the author's four decades-long involvement with the Kapsiki/Higi. Description and analysis are set within the more general scholarly debates about the dynamics of professional closure - including the notions of caste and guild - and also consider the deep history of iron and brass in Africa.
- Series Statement
- African history and culture
- Uniform Title
- Project Muse UPCC books
- African history and culture.
- Subject
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-388) and index.
- Processing Action (note)
- committed to retain
- Contents
- Preface -- Language and orthography -- Smith, skill, and the senses -- An African enigma -- The internal other -- Hot iron and cool pots -- Yellow wildness -- Of whistling birds and talking crabs -- Smith and ritual -- Masters of healing -- A sense of justice -- The smell of death -- Music and the silence of the smith -- The smith and the power of things -- Notes -- Glossary of kapsiki terms -- Glossary of paksiki plant names -- Bibliography -- Index.
- ISBN
- 1611861667
- 9781611861662
- 1609174534
- 9781609174538
- 9781609174538 (canceled/invalid)
- LCCN
- ^^2015930097
- OCLC
- 908991027
- SCSB-12193509
- Owning Institutions
- Harvard Library