This first section of video, film, and slides are available to educational partners of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' Office of Statewide Partnerships.
Africa Africa-2
Volume 2: Caravans of Gold
57 minutes/color/1984/FI/VHS
Middle school through adult
Series host Basil Davidson traces the routes of the medieval gold trade, which reached from Africa to India, China, and the city-states of Italy. African kings grew rich and powerful as a result. This episode traces the African gold trade from its beginning in the early Middle Ages through its end in late fifteenth century.
African Carving: A Dogon Kanaga Mask AT-19
19 minutes/color/1975/PFI/16mm, VHS
Middle school through adult
This film documents the process that a Dogon carver uses to create a Kanaga mask. The carver must find a proper Tagoda tree from which to make the mask; he must also pray and make offerings to the tree-spirit in order to be allowed to use the sacred wood. The Kanaga mask that he makes is one of the most characteristic emblems of Mali and it will be used in sacred ceremonies of the Dogon people.
African Sculpture from Private Collections PS-29
42 slides / color / script
This kit shows examples of 19th century art from the private collections of Merton Simpson and Peter Pollack. The works illustrate the interrelationship of symbol, function, and style in African art. African sculpture expresses the values and attitudes of the society from which it came, and this fact is developed in the script that accompanies this slide kit.
African Story Journey
20 minutes/color/1991/CF/VHS
Storyteller Diane Ferlatte tells four traditional African stories collected in the Caribbean, the American South, and in Harlem. “Why the Sky Is Far Away” is a creation story from West Africa. “Br’er Goat and Br’er Lion” is a classic brains-versus-brawn tale. “When People Could Fly” is an African American tale about the inner spirit. Langston Hughes’ story “Thank You, Ma’am” completes the volume.
Volume II: The American South AJ-2
22 minutes/color/1991/CF/VHS
Ferlatte tells three traditional African stories that have been preserved in the American South through the oral history shared by slaves. “Br’er Tiger and the Big Wind” teaches a lesson about greed. “The Knee-High Man” explores personal values. In “High John,” slaves travel to heaven to receive a song that brings laughter and lightness to their work.
The Art of the Dogon WA-478
24 minutes/color/1988/AA/VHS
Middle school through adult
The Dogon people of Mali are one of the most artistic cultures of Africa. Residing at the base of the Bandiagara Cliffs, they have for centuries created powerful sculpture for use in rituals and in everyday life. Using items from the Lester Wunderman collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and footage shot in Mali, this film captures the richness of Dogon art and places it within the context of Dogon beliefs. A brief scene depicting an animal sacrifice may make this film unsuitable for some audiences.
The Bambara Kingdom of Segu
19 minutes / color / 1992 / VHS
Middle school through adult
In this program, we learn something of the past of the Bambara, and we can imagine even more from the architecture of their ancient villages. A large and flourishing culture, the Bambarans lived by collecting enslaved Africans and reselling them to North African and Western traders. When the slave trade was abolished, the economy of the Bambara went into decline. As new economic bases emerged, and new Bambara civilization was formed, one that has the artistic vigor of its forebears.
Five African Art Facts WA-481
11 minutes/ color / 1995 / VM / VHS
Elementary school through adult
This film takes the viewer on a dynamic visit to the African art collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Beliefs and values common to many African cultures are presented and explained in conjunction with examples of traditional sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. This film leaves the viewer equipped with basic concepts essential to understanding and appreciating traditional African art. A teachers’ guide for this film is available upon request.
Ga ED-276
4 minutes/color/1983/CS/16mm
Preschool through adult
Using a variety of animation techniques, this film vibrantly portrays animal life through the course of a day and night in an African forest. Set to a lively soundtrack of African instrumental and vocal music, this film provides a colorful foray into the African jungle.
How Samba Became Viceroy
26 minutes / color / 1991 / VHS
Elementary school through adult
This is the story of Samba and the legacy of Secret Wisdom: four braids, each representing one great truth. Captured and brought before the king, Samba resisted telling the secrets until he realized tat the alternative was death. But when he revealed t last secret - that a leader deserves no honor if he is not also a friend to his people - the king understood the message and made Samba his viceroy.
Mali: The Music of Life
60 minutes / color / 1997 / VHS
Middle school through adult
This program features the music of Mali, where every musician is a poet who uses a fusion of traditional style and modern rhythm to tell a story. Traditional instruments are combined with modern counterparts to create songs that praise guests and leaders and urge young people to preserve cultural values and stand up to oppression. Two prominent women singers discuss their careers.
Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World
60 minutes / color / 1992 / FI / VHS
High school through adult
In many tribal cultures, art is woven into the fabric of daily life through rituals, clothing, utilitarian objects. This film explores the way that two cultures, the Wodaabe people of Niger and the Dogon people of Mali, integrate beauty and ceremony into their daily activities. The film ends with a visit to a North American artist who discusses his way of connecting his art to his philosophy of life and death.
Moko Jumbie: The Traditional Stilt Walkers PE-37
15 minutes / color / 1991 / FL / VHS
Elementary school through adult
This unique film explores the art, craft, dance and West African origins of the stilt walkers seen in New York City street festivals and Caribbean Carnival celebrations. Moko Jumbie, which means, “dancing spirits,” are seen as all-powerful figures because of their great height. This film celebrates their vibrancy and mystery through its beautiful footage and rhythmic soundtrack.
Brook, Larry. Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Timbuktu. Minneapolis: Runestone Press, 1999.
This book, which fifth graders can read independently but may have to be read aloud to third grade classes, takes the reader on a journey to Timbuktu. After establishing context with an overview of the geography and indigenous peoples of the region, the book presents Timbuktu’s birth as a cultural and economic capital, and traces its golden age, colonial, and modern periods. Illustrated effectively with photographs, period maps and etchings, and (less effectively) with original illustrations, this book provides an excellent introduction to one of the world’s most captivating cities.
Burns, Khephra. Mansa Musa. New York: Gulliver Books/Harcourt, Inc. 2001.
Mansa Musa brought Mali to its cultural height during his reign in the early 1300’s. His rise and reign are recorded in this excellent book for third through fifth graders. While the account is mostly historical, some portions are dramatized, as explained in an author’s note. This blend of history and legend is in keeping with the kind of history presented by royal Griots. The gorgeous illustrations give young readers a sense of the opulence of West Africa during Middle Ages.
Magnin, Andre. Seydou Keita. New York: Contemporary African Art Collection, 1997.
Until his death earlier this year, Seydou Keita was one of Mali’s great portrait photographers. His black and white images provide a record of modern life in urban Mali that affords a fascinating comparison with life in old Mali. His technique was to have clients come to his studio in Bamako where they could choose clothing and accessories to wear in their portraits. Some chose western dress, while others selected traditional regalia. The portraits collected in this book possess great beauty and humanity and present a varied portrayal of modern Mali.
McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1994.
This book is a very readable overview of the gold-trading kingdoms of West Africa. It explains the origins of unique Malian customs such as silent trading and gives complete and fast-paced accounts of the kings of the three kingdoms. It is illustrated with photographs and very helpful maps. Written for a middle school reading level, this book is beyond the reading ability of most third and fifth grade students, but will give teachers a solid gasp of the history of the region and many interesting details to sprinkle into lessons on West Africa.
Merrill, Yvonne Y. Hands-On Africa: Art Activities for All Ages. New York: KITS, 2000.
This practical guide gives young artists step-by-step instructions and materials recommendations for making Malian crafts such as Dogon masks, containers that would be used by the nomadic Tuareg, mud cloth, good luck charms, and a Chi Wara headdress. In addition to showing how to achieve the “look” of various handcrafts, this book briefly and effectively explains how and why these objects are used in Mali. This is an excellent resource for classroom teachers and art resource teachers.
Winter, Jeanette. My Baby. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.
Mudcloth or bogolan is one of Mali’s most renowned textile arts. Its beauty and expressive power are the focuses of Jeanette Winter’s charming picture book My Baby. The book begins as young Nakunte Diarra (a real-life bogolan artist who lives and works in Mali today) watches her mother design a bogolan. The little girl learns the basic techniques for producing mudcloth and by and by is allowed to try her hand at larger designs. As she grows up, she creates bogolan for weddings and funerals; thus, the fabric she makes links her to the rituals of her community. The book features gorgeous full-color illustrations. Black-and-white borders frame each page and suggest the designs and colors of bogolan while accentuating the pictures’ vibrant colors.
Wisniewski, David. Sundiata: Lion King of Mali. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
This rich interpretation of the story of Sundiata Keita, Mali’s first king, gives young readers a sense of the unique culture of the trading kingdoms of West Africa. Born to free his people in accordance with a prophecy, Sundiata must first overcome serious personal and political obstacles before he can rule the new empire. He is aided in the quest by his Griot, Balla Fasseke Kouyate. Sundiata’s story resonates with the themes of the heroic journey. Teachers will probably want to read this gripping story to classes, but the attractive illustrations will prompt students to re-read it independently. Maps and historical notes supplement the story without interrupting the narrative. Highly recommended.
Kouyate, Djimo. Khabila. Washington, D.C.: Memory of African Culture, 2000.
Kouyate, the 149th descendent of King Sundiata Keita’s royal griot, keeps the tradition of sung/spoken history alive in this dynamic recording. The first track features a brief English-language explanation of the West African reverence for preserving family lineages. In the remaining six selections, Kouyate sings in the Mande language and accompanies himself on the kora, a calabash-bodied harp that is a traditional instrument of the West African Griot. Sidemen sit in on guitar and balafon.
Mali to Memphis: An African - American Odyssey. New York: Putumayo World Music, 1999.
This compilation of songs by various artists explores the intriguing connection between the musical traditions of West Africa and the Mississippi Delta blues sound, a musical form developed in large part by Americans of West African descent. Tracks by popular Malian artists such as Boubacar Traore and Habib Koite are juxtaposed with numbers by Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. The result is as evocative portrait of two musical cultures that are miles apart but closely linked in sound and spirit.
Toure, Ali Farka. Radio Mali. New York: Nonesuch Records (a Warner Music Company), 1999.
This compilation of performances originally created for Mali’s national broadcasting network in the 1970’s showcases the rich vocal and string traditions of Mali’s traditional and contemporary music scene. Most tracks feature Toure’s vocals accompanied by his own guitar work. Other virtuoso musicians occasionally join him on ngoni and balafon. The lyrics, translated in the extensive liner notes, tend to focus on modern political issues, but the sound is pure, traditional Malian music.
Five African Art Facts. Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1996.
VHS, 11 minutes.
Join Shelby, the guide, as she greets young visitors to the African art collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Listen as she explains the fascinating secrets of the Ga Wree-Wree Mask and how the Yoruba Eshu Staff was used. As we view examples of African art, we also discover more about the beliefs and cultural values of the people who created them. This video introduces viewers in grades 3-6 to general concepts helpful in understanding and appreciating traditional African art. A teachers’ guide for this program is provided upon request.
Mali: The Music of Life. Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1997.
VHS. 60 minutes.
This 60-minute program takes the viewer from rural villages to urban nightclubs in pursuit of Mali’s musical rhythms, melodies, and themes. The history of Mali’s sound from the Griots and praise singers up through the modern era is mixed in with the personal reflections of some of Mali’s most famous contemporary stars. A nearly constant soundtrack of glorious music enhances beautiful footage of Mali’s landscapes and cityscapes. In French and Mande with English subtitles. The subtitles make this a choice for middle and high school students. Teachers of music and French will find this video particularly useful.
Wonders of the African World. “The Road to Timbuktu.” PBS Home Video, 1999.
VHS. 60 minutes.
Harvard African American studies professor Henry Louis Gates starts in Bamako and slowly makes his way along the Niger River to the fabled city of Timbuktu. Along the way, he meets working Griots who sing for money, salt traders in the modern marketplace of Mopti, modern gold miners, and Fulani women who continue the ancient custom of wearing the family’s wealth in the form of lavish gold jewelry. This video features beautiful footage of old Saharan trade routes and contemporary travel along the unpredictable Niger River. One very brief scene in a visit to the Dogon people contains material that is not appropriate for young viewers, so teachers will want to preview before using this in the classroom.
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