Abstract Art by African Artists: a curated collection

 A selection of more than 25 modern abstract art pieces from East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa and Central Africa from museums around the world, via Google Arts and Culture.

Merfolk from Around the World (Happy Mermay!)

Merfolk from Around the World from Wolfberry Studio on Vimeo.

Dalanda

Detail from Circuit.

Seydou

Detail from The Djinni's Tune.

Usman

Detail from Cables.

When all that's left of your child is a bit of hair

A recurring theme in folktales from different West African cultures is the mistreated child who sinks into the earth:

The Pineapple Child (from the Ga ethnic group of Ghana):

A hunter had 2 wives. The younger wife was childless, and wanted a child very much. One day, she was on her way to the farm with her husband when they met an old man who asked them what they wished for. They answered, "A child." The old man uprooted a pineapple plant growing nearby and changed it into a baby girl. The younger wife was delighted, but the old man warned them that they must never tell the child that she came from a pineapple.

The younger wife brought the baby home and spent many happy hours with her. The older wife, Adele, hated that her co-wife was so happy. She eavesdropped on the younger wife and learnt about the origin of the baby. Adele's resentment of her co-wife increased as the years went by, watching her rival dote on the growing child.

Bad things happen to men who betray talking animals to the authorities

Similar motifs can be found in stories from around the world, but the differences are just as interesting:

The Chameleon Harpist (from the Fulani of Niger):

While hunting deep in the forest, a hunter came across a chameleon who could sing and play the harp beautifully. The chameleon made the hunter promise not to tell anyone about him. But the hunter was so excited at meeting a talking chameleon that he couldn't help sharing his story with other humans, including the king.

The king sent guardsmen with the hunter to confirm his story. "If there is such a chameleon, I will make you rich. But if there is not such a chameleon, you will pay with your life." When the hunter brought the guards to the chameleon in the deep forest, the chameleon kept silent. So the guards assumed that the hunter had been lying and killed him. After that, the chameleon spoke, "He brought about his own death. I told him not to tell anyone about me, but he had to tell the world because of his greed."¹

The Fiddler Tortoise (from the Ga ethnic group of Ghana):

Animals that attack their own reflections: Tales from Africa, Asia and Europe

From the Avatime ethnic group of Ghana:

A dog got into its master's house when its master went out and left the door open. It took meat from the table. Then it saw its own reflection in the large mirror in the room. Seeing another dog with meat in the mirror, the dog attacked it to get the other dog's meat. The mirror fell on the dog and killed it.¹

From India:

In the Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit from the Panchantara tales, an old rabbit saved itself from becoming the lion's meal by setting the lion against its own reflection in a well.

From Greece:

The Dog and Its Reflection" is one of Aesop's fables.

Notes

1. "The Greedy Dog", West African Folktales, translated and collected by Jack Berry

Portrait of a Jengu

Close up of the Cameroonian water goddess in Jengu.

How NOT to choose a husband: Fairy tales about willful maidens who pursue handsome strangers without parental approval

A recurring theme in supernatural folktales from various ethnic groups in West Africa is an arrogant maiden marrying a good-looking young man who turns out to be a disguised serpent, devil or big cat:

From the Mende ethnic group of Sierra Leone:

There was a young woman Magotu who said that she would only marry the most handsome man in the world. Her parents were worried that she was refusing all her suitors.

A devil, having heard of the matter, disguised himself by borrowing the best features from the handsomest young men. Magotu accepted his proposal and left the village with him. Before long, the devil gave up his borrowed features and showed his true form. A small dog that had followed them along the way encouraged the woman to run away before the devil ate her. The devil pursued them, but the dog and the maiden met a human ally who told them how to shake off their pursuer. They returned to Magotu's village where the elders concluded that "It was not good for a woman to be so particular in the choice of a mate". ¹

From the Fon ethnic group of Benin:

3 video games that make a difference

Cameroon's first African role-play game: Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan, takes inspiration from across the continent to create its fantasy setting.

Game developer Madiba Olivier wanted to break 'the exotic world' image of Africa. It is showcased at Africade, the first art exhibition dedicated solely to African video games.

Never Alone is a collaboration between 8 Alaskan tribal communities and game developer E-line media. The platformer set in the harsh, challenging landscape of Alaska won the Best Debut Game at BAFTA Game Awards.

Eco is an online game where players must collaborate to build a civilization in a world where everything they do affects the environment. Work together through the player-run government and economy without polluting the world and destroying it.

Ever wished that your infant would grow up in less than a day?

During times of personal crisis, parents around the world may have wished that their most helpless dependents could turn into their saviors overnight. 3 folktales from 3 continents illustrate this:

• Seeking the Sun (China)
• Sasabonsam's Match (Ghana)
• The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Russia)

Mythology, Fantasy and Scifi Illustrations Inspired by Sub-Saharan Africa

A collection of images from novels, children's books and animated films. Click to learn more about the artists:

Who is calling you when you sneeze?

Interesting similarities in sneeze-related superstitions from Oceania, Africa and Europe:

Country: Solomon Islands

If you sneeze, someone is speaking badly of you, cursing you, or bidding his personal ghost to eat you.

What to do after sneezing: Summon your own personal ghost to counter-attack the person who cursed you.¹

Country: Nigeria

If you sneeze, someone is calling for you, possibly with evil intent.

What to do after sneezing: Tell the sneeze that you are not the only person with your name, in the hope that the sneeze will move on to look for its real target - another individual who has the same name.²

Country: Greece

If you sneeze, someone is talking about you, possibly someone who has cursed you by casting an evil eye on you.

What to do after sneezing: Spit thrice down your chest to ward off the effects of the evil eye. There are also ways to determine the identity of the person who was speaking of you.³

Cables

Available a T-shirt on Printify.
Available as laptop skins, stickers and more on redbubble.com.

11"x 8.5"print available on storenvy.

Character's hairstyle influenced by Peul (Fulani) hairstyles from the Malian period costume movie Yeelen. Clothing inspired by (but not intended to be an authentic representation of) attire of nomadic Fulani.

The Fulani, a widely dispersed ethnic group, are among the many ethnic groups inhabiting the city of Timbuktu.¹ A center of scholarship from the 13th-17th century,² Timbuktu presently has more than 2 dozen libraries of medieval manuscripts.³

Facial tattoos from Africa, Asia and the Americas

Got sidetracked into this topic while doing research for the previous illustration. :-)

Wodaabe woman in Niger (detail from photo taken by Dan Lundberg)
Other African ethnic groups that practice facial tattooing include the Bini (Edo) of Nigeria,¹ the Tsemai of Ethiopia,² and the Amazigh people (Berbers) of North Africa.³

Atayal woman from Taiwan (View image in Digital Museum of Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples)
Other Austronesians that practice the art of facial tattooing include the Kalinga of the Philippines,⁴ the Ukit of Malaysia,⁵ and the Maori of New Zealand.⁶

Mohave woman in the United States (View full size image on Fort Mohave Indian Tribe site)
Other peoples in the Americas who practice facial tattooing include the Kayabi of Brazil,⁷ the Aleuts of the US,⁸ and the Matsés of Peru.⁹

Circuit

Available as stickers, magnets, prints, and more on RedBubble.

Available as a T-shirt on Printify.

Combining influences from Japanese cyborg comics and the metalwork of Fula (Peul) people, and circuit boards I ripped out of (old, non-functioning) computer accessories.

Hairstyle, costume and accessories inspired by (but not claiming to be an authentic representation of) Fulani clothing, facial tattoos and jewelry. The Fulani, a widely dispersed ethnic group, are by no means homogeneous in terms of dress styles. Fashions vary according to geography, as different Fulani communities absorb influences from other ethnic groups around them.

Many thanks to the kind friends who helped with modeling and critique :-)

Cliff houses from Africa, Asia and North America

As you can tell, I am fascinated by similar themes that occur across different cultures :-)

Detail of Wikipedia image by JialangGao

Bandiagara Escarpment
Country: Mali

These cave dwellings and burial chambers were carved by the Tellem people prior to the arrival of the Dogon people in the 14th century. The Dogon ethnic group built villages along the walls of the cliff.

Links:
Bandiagara Escarpment on Wikipedia
Dogon people on Wikipedia

Detail of Wikipedia image by Pfctdayelise

Guyaju
Country: China

Some archaeologists believe that these cave dwellings were built in the 7th-10th centuries by the Xi ethnic group as a refuge from the Liao Dynasty of the Khitan ethnic group.

Links:
Guyaju Ruins on BeinjingJoy.com
Ancient Cliff Dwellings (Guyaju) on thebeijinger.com

Detail of Wikipedia image by Ben FrantzDale

Mesa Verde National Park
Country: United States

Mesa Verde National Park contains a large number of cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Puebloan people, forebears of the modern Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona.

Links:
Mesa Verde National Park on Wikipedia
Who Lived Here on newmexiken.com

The Djinni's Tune

Inspired by, but NOT claiming to be an accurate representation of, the story behind The River Tune from the album Segu Blue by Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba.

According to the album literature, Bassekou Kouyate's ancestor, the griot Jelimusa Wulen Kouyate, met a djinni playing the ngoni on the bank of a branch of the Niger River. The griot asked the djinni for a gift: the instrument and the tune that the djinni was playing.

The supernatural adoptee in West African folklore

Those of you who have been reading the myths behind the last two illustrations probably noticed the similarities (and differences) between the story of the Pineapple Girl and the story of the Calabash Child. Both tales contain a childless couple, a magical child transmuted or transformed from plant material, a villain (or villains) who insults the child's non-human origins while the parents are away, setting off events that disrupt the once happy family. While reading up on these two tales, I came across other West African folktales that have a similar theme.