3.5: Art of Africa and the Pacific Islands
1. Cowrie shells in artworks by both African and Pacific Island peoples often represent:
a. shelter d. food
b. rain e. none of the other answers
c. fertility
2. The artistic traditions of Africa and the Pacific Islands share:
a. a tendency to integrate and respond to the environment
b. a prominence given to mythological beliefs, ancestor worship, and lineage
c. a reliance on traditional methods of construction and decoration
d. all of the previous answers
e. none of the previous answers
3. Because art from Africa and the Pacific Islands follows traditional methods, it:
a. tends to look the same over long periods of time
b. changes frequently with each new generation of artists
c. never develops a distinctive stylistic appearance
d. is always made from wood
e. none of the other answers
4. Terra-cotta heads with prominent holes in the pupils, nostrils, mouth, and ears were made by the
________ culture of ________.
a. Nok . . . Nigeria d. Akan . . . Ghana
b. Yoruba . . . Nigeria e. Maori . . . New Zealand
c. Fon . . . Benin
5. Over time, the Nok sculptures of human figures have:
a. remained exactly as they looked when they were first made
b. had parts broken off many of them
c. all been smashed to bits and cannot be put back together
d. ceased to exist
e. none of the other answers
6. Twin figures were traditionally made by the Yoruba of western Nigeria:
a. because twins were almost never born
b. instead of planting a tree
c. to create confusion for kidnappers
d. when a twin died at birth or in infancy
e. none of the previous answers
7. The medium of the Yoruba twin figure (3.5.3) is ________.
a. stone d. wood
b. bronze e. all of the other answers
c. terracotta
8. Sacred Yombe objects are called minkisi nkondi. The singular nkisi means ________.
a. little man d. magic tree
b. sacred medicine e. divine person
c. hungry beast
9. A ________ would activate a nkisi Mangaaka by ________.
a. king . . . setting it on fire
b. ritual specialist . . . driving metal objects into it
c. dog . . . peeing on it
d. child . . . breaking it
e. none of the other answers
10. Consider the Head from Rafin Kura by the Nok culture (3.5.2), Yoruba twin figure (3.5.3), and
Yombe nkisi Mangaaka (3.5.4). All three of these sculptures are figurative representations of the
human form, but also contain some geometric stylizations. Discuss the stylized aspects of each of
these figures. Why has the artist chosen to depict these aspects in this way? Are there any areas of
pattern, or abstraction, on the sculptures?
11. Abstract designs and patterns can convey information that is as important, recognizable, and
specific as both representational and narrative imagery.
12. Kente cloth is now worn by non-royal members of the Asante and Akan groups as well as people
living entirely outside of Ghana.
Match the kente cloth color with its meaning:
a. royalty, wealth, and spiritual purity
b. growth and good health
c. strong political and spiritual feelings
d. holy and precious
13. yellow
14. gold
15. green
16. red
17. African masks, such as the Kanaga mask made by the Dogon of Mali (3.5.6), are most “alive” in
museum cases.
18. African masks are most meaningful to the groups that made them:
a. when they are being stored between performances
b. when they are displayed on museum walls
c. when they are being used in ceremonial performances or masquerades
d. before they are ever made
e. none of the other answers
19. The cross bars on the Kanaga mask made by the Dogon people of Mali (3.5.6) represent ________.
a. railroad tracks crossing West Africa
b. the upper realm of the sky and the realm of the earth below
c. the branches of two trees that have grown together
d. the alter ego of the performer
e. all of the other answers
20. Kente cloth and Kanaga masks are artworks that are meant to be worn. How does this make their
design and appearance different from artworks that are just looked at? In what ways do wearers of
artworks interact differently with them, compared to viewers?
21. Many of the artworks made in Africa must be activated and serve as reminders of appropriate
behavior and societal expectations. Given this context, compare and contrast the standing male
figure (nkisi Mangaaka) made by the Yombe (3.5.4) and the Kanaga mask made by the Dogon
(3.5.6). How would each of these objects have been “activated?” How would the desired message
have been communicated to viewers? In what ways can this method of communication be seen as
necessary and/or effective?
22. Because they were made of durable materials, such as stone, almost every building ever made on
the continent of Africa survives.
23. The Great Mosque at Djenné in Mali is:
a. not a mosque at all
b. the largest mud-brick building in the world
c. no longer standing
d. designed to look like a porcupine
e. underground
24. There are ________ placed on the spires of the Great Mosque at Djenné in Mali.
a. torches d. wind socks
b. ostrich eggs e. none of the other answers
c. water glasses
25. The parts of Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa that remain are made of:
a. mud-brick d. gold
b. wood e. reinforced concrete
c. stone
26. According to the Shona, sculptures at the Great Zimbabwe represent birds (3.5.9), which they
consider to be:
a. the most desired meal d. the key to a good night’s sleep
b. the indicators of the truth e. the best pets to own
c. the messengers of the spirits
Match the term with its definition:
a. a ritual object used in ceremonies to assist the deceased in their journey into the spiritual realm
b. a bearded, standing figure, which served as a reservoir for magical properties
c. a tower on a mosque, used to call the faithful to prayer
d. a woven fabric traditionally worn only by royalty and state officials
27. nkisi Mangaaka
28. kente
29. Kanaga mask
30. minaret
31. The objects made by the Pacific Island cultures often have both ________.
a. practical usefulness and sacred significance
b. medical and political power
c. landscapes and sea monsters depicted on them
d. purple and gold on them
e. all of the other answers
32. The tattooed facial designs of the Maori were so distinctive and specific to an individual that at
times they have been used as a form of legal signature.
33. “Mimis” in Australian rock art represent:
a. kangaroos d. spirits
b. houses e. bus drivers
c. grandmothers
34. Figures in Australian rock art are only ever depicted in outline.
35. The most prized feather cloaks made by Hawaiians are ________ in color.
a. red d. indigo
b. yellow e. white
c. blue
36. Hawaiian feather cloaks could be:
a. passed from generation to generation
b. collected by enemies as war trophies
c. presented as political gifts
d. all of the previous answers
e. none of the previous answers
37. What is the importance of the construction method for Hawaiian feather cloaks?
a. knots reflect metaphorical binding between humans and gods
b. hanging a textile in a tree is a sign of good luck
c. working underwater was difficult and made them more valuable
d. digital printing is a quick and efficient process
e. the construction method used to make the cloaks is not important
38. The moai of Easter Island represent:
a. animals at the top of the food chain
b. abstract designs based on the sea
c. deified ancestors who were chiefs
d. hieroglyphic texts with important historical information
e. none of the other answers
39. The Easter Island moai figures are identical, with no unique individual features.
40. Choose two or three artworks from this chapter that represent ancestors or relate to families and
lineage. In each case, describe how the artwork represents a particular ancestor, or group of
ancestors, and why this might be important to the artist or community who made it. Why might
depicting ancestors in art be especially important to cultures who have no formal, written
language?
41. The Abelam of Papua New Guinea hold festivals in which:
a. mummies are carried into the streets
b. water is collected for several months at a time
c. yams wear masks
d. dangerous spirits are called to dinner
e. none of the other answers
42. For the Abelam of Papua New Guinea, the person who grows the largest yams:
a. gets to eat whatever he or she wants for an entire year
b. achieves higher social status and secures prosperity for the village
c. wins a vacation to the destination of his or her choice
d. is required to dance in the town center on festival night
e. none of the other answers
43. The cult houses of the Abelam of Papua New Guinea are used as part of the initiation cycle for
male members of the community. These ceremonies take place over the course of ________.
a. twenty to thirty years
b. one calendar year
c. one day from sunrise to sunset
d. the same hour as the one when the initiate was born
e. none of the other answers
44. The cult houses of the Abelam of Papua New Guinea are designed to:
a. self-destruct at sunset
b. impress initiates with the power and complexity of their culture’s deities and traditions
c. be so confusing that they would weed out unprepared initiates
d. look like they are under water
e. mimic the spring located at the place where humans were believed to originate
Match the term with its definition:
a. the practice of tattooing or permanently marking the skin
b. feather cloaks used for physical and divine protection during war
c. monolithic stone sculptures found throughout Polynesia, especially huge figures made from
volcanic rock
d. one of the spirits who taught humans to hunt and paint during an early era of the “Dreaming”
e. a massive structure consisting of a single block of stone
45. monolith
46. ta moko
47. Mimi
48. ahu’ula
49. moai