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Title: The Mande Blacksmiths: Knowledge, Power, and Art in West Africa (Traditional Arts of Africa) by Patrick R. McNaughton ISBN: 0-253-20798-3 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: March, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $32.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)

Rating: 5
Summary: Soul, power and creation in Mali, W. Africa
Comment: Anyone who has any interest in traditional West African society should read this book. McNaughton discusses the roles, image and social context of the blacksmiths of the Mande peoples of West Africa. Blacksmiths are not simply artisans, they are skilled manipulators of supernatural power (called nyama in Bambara. As such they are considered in the same vein as jeliw (bards, praise-singers) and sorcerors. They are also woodworkers, potters, circumcisers, and workers of magic. Specifically located in Mali, this study examines the world of the blacksmiths in relation to local rulers, villagers and visitng foreigners.

McNaughton's work emphasizes an anthropological perspective and he worked with and was finally apprenticed to several blacksmiths in the course of his fieldwork. Even though this is a very scholarly book, and at times very dense, it is well worth the effort required to get through it. Like John Miller Chernoff's "African Rhythms and African Sensibility", this book deserves pride of place among people who are serious about expressive culture in West Africa.

As a primer to the deep knowledge that comes out of the continent, this book presents an extraodinary and powerful introduction. A bonus for musicians and rhythmatists: check out the excerpt where he talks about the way the blacksmiths play drum rhythms on their bellows to accompany their work and the rhythms "played" by the women as they work pounding millet in the compound. Magic.

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