Yaka Format: Paperback

The Yaka, a tribe in the southwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have for over a century produced figurative statuettes, masks, and other objects which have fascinated Western scholars, collectors, and explorers. This impressive book brings together some of the earliest examples, as well as some of the most visually striking, and explores their uses in installation and initiation ceremonies and curative rituals, examining their relationship to leadership, divination, and sorcery. Colonial influences as well as 'anti-fetish' religious movements are studied for their impact on Yaka traditional art. The book includes eighteen black-and-white illustrations and drawings accompanying the text, sixty-two color plates with commentary, and an annotated bibliography.

Arthur P. Bourgeois is Professor Emeritus in Art History at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois.