African Symbols: Personifying
Rich And Mysterious Cultures

Speaking of African symbols and mysterious cultures, of course I mean Africa! Oh Dear! This continent's still shrouded in mystery. So many ideas about beauty, rituals and tribal markings are still hard to understand.

Thousands of tribes have their own rites, myths and symbols.

If you don't belong to one of the many secret societies, most objects are inexplicable. When part of magical ceremonies, African symbols are kept strictly secret, with an explanation of their function difficult or impossible to obtain.

A Brief African Overview

Some Western and Central Africans have countless representations of figures and long-held feelings about mask worship. Powerful kings and instrumental secret societies ruled these people. Some of these tribes have highly inventive script-like symbols.

Magic is still practiced most everywhere and often tied to ancestor worship. Some tribes, like the Dogon of Mali, perform all daily activities according to strict rites and have deep symbolic-religious meanings stemming from the tribe's own view of the world.

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So Many Cultures, So Many Symbols

Conversely, other ethnic groups have forgotten many of their connections to their cultural heritage because Western influence has strongly formatted the structure of their communities.

The dark-skinned tribes of the Sahel zone and Northern Africa have for the most part, remained culturally isolated. This was due to sparse population and living conditions that were so often difficult.

Their picture of the world corresponds to the tribe. Ornaments and art objects are heavily stylized. Here, traditions are closely connected to Islam. In East Africa, we rarely find sculptures or masks.

These are mostly patriarchal communities and the diverse symbolism is found almost exclusively in clothing, ornaments and headdress.

This symbolism corresponds to a profound sense of beauty that leads these tribes to frequently spend all day decorating their bodies. This custom is in stark contrast to an East African's difficult nomadic life and warlike temperament.

Most likely that nomadic way of life precluded the development of representations by figures, since this would only mean more stuff to carry.

Exploring More Of The African Experience

Unfortunately, once again due to a powerful Western influence, most of the cultural heritage of Southern Africa has perished. Understandably, the meaning of many objects remains unknown.

In this part of Africa, another patriarchal society, masks are also difficult to locate. Also, ornaments are used less frequently in this area. Two diametrically opposed social forms marked communal life.

First, there are the leaderless groups such as the San or the !Kung (the peculiar clicking characteristic of the language of the Bushmen), and then there are Africans with old kingdoms such as that of the Zulu.

Summing Up African Symbols

An overriding observation is that the Africans treat their environment with the utmost respect. They tread carefully so as to not incur the wrath of spirits or ancestors.

All "beings" -- including plants and objects -- are treated as "alive," meaning they are inhabited by a certain energy. An example of this energy would be a spirit, which those with knowledge in the healing arts access and use in their trade.

Using African symbols to channel the energy, the African's traditional view is always a spiritual one as opposed to the rational intellectually oriented view of the west. And who's to say they're not right?

• Bingham, Jane (2005). African Art & Culture (World Art & Culture), Illustrated Edition. Heinemann/Raintree. ISBN 1844210448.
• Owusu, Heike (2007). African Symbols. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 1402746229.

I'm very grateful to Jane Bingham and Heike Owusu for inspiring me to create this page on the symbols of Africa.

Looking for a new meaning? Click the "Art For Sale" button on the menu to the left and browse my catalog of art. You just might be surprised to find something symolic there!

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this African symbols page.