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GOSH DANG IT - CRUSTY OLD BOOKS
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RedMask
1139
RedMask
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CloseSo I recently was given two books about Africa. Which is awesome! Free books about my favorite subject; whats not to love? I been reading one that was specifically about masks and at around page 24 I started noticing something wrong. There were some inconsistency with what I'd learned in college. For example it was trying to say that a Bwa plank mask represented the god Dwo. The plank masks represent the ancestors not Dwo. Dwo is represented by a grassy Rafia costume with a conical mouth and a crest made of bird feathers.
So then I checked the date of the book it was made in 1976.
New things are learned about the world all the time so I guess the lesson is always check the publish date of your history book.
Oh well the books still have some use to me atleast from an art perspective.
So then I checked the date of the book it was made in 1976.
New things are learned about the world all the time so I guess the lesson is always check the publish date of your history book.
Oh well the books still have some use to me atleast from an art perspective.
That's great and all but how do you know it's the books that are wrong and not what you were taught? The only real way of knowing is if you talk to someone of African descent who has studied their own histories.
Also... not sure what to discuss here. How to engage on the subject bar the above. I guess... I'd be more inclined to believe the books?
Also... not sure what to discuss here. How to engage on the subject bar the above. I guess... I'd be more inclined to believe the books?
author=LibertyKeep in mind that history is an ongoing research due to cases where information about what went on in the past has become skewed or destroyed. What is known about African culture back in the '70s is nowhere near as conclusive as it probably is now.
Also... not sure what to discuss here. How to engage on the subject bar the above. I guess... I'd be more inclined to believe the books?
So... It could kind of go both ways, I suppose. :x
author=LibertyOr visited a library and consulted more books on the subject to confirm that fact.
The only real way of knowing is if you talk to someone of African descent who has studied their own histories.
I'd trust a book more than what teachers taught me at college though.
Well, keep in mind that just because that is the date in the book, that doesn't mean it hasn't had revisions over the years. Some show the date they were originally published and then revise information and republish.
Like Mirak said, the best way to find out is to look into multiple various sources.
Like Mirak said, the best way to find out is to look into multiple various sources.
suzy_cheesedreams
1480
But... more than a considerable part of college is to study multiple resources to get a comprehensive understanding of a chosen topic... so I'm guessing RedMask noticed the inconsistencies because they had already studied the masks? :/
RedMask
1139
author=suzy_cheesedreams
But... more than a considerable part of college is to study multiple resources to get a comprehensive understanding of a chosen topic... so I'm guessing RedMask noticed the inconsistencies because they had already studied the masks? :/
Indeed.
Another example from the old book is that the mask which is proudly displayed on the front cover is described in this way: A very powerful mask with projections from the face and also from the head (probably a hairdo)
It says PROBABLY a hairdo.
Why is it so uncertain?
I know full well it's a hair style because I can flip open my newer book "The Royal Arts of Africa The Majesty of Form" and see a photograph of a king with that exact same hair as the mask. Same headgear also.
And to go further a famous painting by King Njoya shows a lineage of kings many of whom are wearing that headgear and have that exact same hair style.
So again I ask why is the old book "Masks of Black Africa" so uncertain?
Anyway, what I read from that old book wasn't a complete waste. It had some interesting stuff about philosophy but when it comes to specific facts its not a good source compared to modern books.
Edit: Also that's a very vague description for the mask that's on the cover of the book.
It doesn't explain it's ritual use or even say the name of the mask.
Shinan
4314
I have a book on dinosaurs that I got as a kid and read over and over because obviously dinosaurs are awesome. But most of the stuff in that book is very inaccurate by today's standards.
The nature of science is that stuff changes when new information is available. Another example is the series The Science of Discworld. Popular science books that cover all manner of topics. And in one of them they cover the thing about changing stuff from the ground up when new information comes to light and they provide an example from an earlier book. In an earlier book the described something according to the dominant theory of the day (early 00s) but by the time they had come to a later book information had come to light to make the earlier explanation completely implausible. And that was in like ten years or so. So stuff changes all the time.
The nature of science is that stuff changes when new information is available. Another example is the series The Science of Discworld. Popular science books that cover all manner of topics. And in one of them they cover the thing about changing stuff from the ground up when new information comes to light and they provide an example from an earlier book. In an earlier book the described something according to the dominant theory of the day (early 00s) but by the time they had come to a later book information had come to light to make the earlier explanation completely implausible. And that was in like ten years or so. So stuff changes all the time.
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