Africa
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Vista de la sala de África
Going up to the first floor, you can enter the fascinating diversity of a continent whose cultural richness we are still beginning to discover, a region of the world in which over a thousand different cultural groups coexist in two large geographical areas: the North, where the imprint of Islam has profoundly determined its cultural development, and the equatorial and tropical regions of the centre and south of the continent.
Prestige, beauty and protection
As in all cultures, clothes in African cultures also reflect social status, ideological systems and the geographical medium in which people live. Certain ornaments are associated with the social prestige of their wearer, or act as a protective element from various evils, as is the case of Moroccan jewellery. Although we find African clothes attractive because of their exoticism, we shouldn't forget that they are full of symbolic meanings.
Drums and community games
African cultures are pure rhythm, the rhythm of life. Almost all of them have a varied repertoire of rites marking the stages of the life cycle, in which music and dance play a fundamental role. Instruments like the ones we have on exhibition are used to accompany the songs, which are cultural heritage transmitters. Games vary from zone to zone, but the most widespread in all Equatorial Africa is akong, songo or awelé. This game reproduces the social life of any village: the rows of the game board correspond to the two parallel rows of huts in which many of them are arranged.
Animism and monotheism
In many cultures of Equatorial Africa, like Guinea, animist religion dedicated to ancestors is reflected in the production of figurative sculptures. The museum's collection of Fang culture byeris (relic guardians) is very important in this context. But animals and many natural phenomena also have a soul. The Pende culture in the Congo pays tribute to them in their dances and rites of passage in which the dancers are transformed by impressive clothes and masks. This is undoubtedly one of the museum's most interesting corners, which you mustn't miss.
Portable homes
Until a short time ago, many African societies were nomadic or at least moved between different settlements according to the change of season, migration of different animal species, and the greater or lesser abundance of basic survival resources. So in African homes, portable, multi-purpose objects predominate. As well as their utilitarian value, many of these objects conceal social and symbolic meanings. For example, chairs and spoons were symbols of prestige, which could only be used by the most important people in each group or family.
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Pendientes (L-jorsa) recogidos en Jebala, norte de Marruecos, por Manuel Martínez de la Escalera a principios del siglo XX. MNA CE3708 y CE3709
Going up to the first floor, you can enter the fascinating diversity of a continent whose cultural richness we are still beginning to discover, a region of the world in which over a thousand different cultural groups coexist in two large geographical areas: the North, where the imprint of Islam has profoundly determined its cultural development, and the equatorial and tropical regions of the centre and south of the continent.
Prestige, beauty and protection
As in all cultures, clothes in African cultures also reflect social status, ideological systems and the geographical medium in which people live. Certain ornaments are associated with the social prestige of their wearer, or act as a protective element from various evils, as is the case of Moroccan jewellery. Although we find African clothes attractive because of their exoticism, we shouldn't forget that they are full of symbolic meanings.
Drums and community games
African cultures are pure rhythm, the rhythm of life. Almost all of them have a varied repertoire of rites marking the stages of the life cycle, in which music and dance play a fundamental role. Instruments like the ones we have on exhibition are used to accompany the songs, which are cultural heritage transmitters. Games vary from zone to zone, but the most widespread in all Equatorial Africa is akong, songo or awelé. This game reproduces the social life of any village: the rows of the game board correspond to the two parallel rows of huts in which many of them are arranged.
Animism and monotheism
In many cultures of Equatorial Africa, like Guinea, animist religion dedicated to ancestors is reflected in the production of figurative sculptures. The museum's collection of Fang culture byeris (relic guardians) is very important in this context. But animals and many natural phenomena also have a soul. The Pende culture in the Congo pays tribute to them in their dances and rites of passage in which the dancers are transformed by impressive clothes and masks. This is undoubtedly one of the museum's most interesting corners, which you mustn't miss.
Portable homes
Until a short time ago, many African societies were nomadic or at least moved between different settlements according to the change of season, migration of different animal species, and the greater or lesser abundance of basic survival resources. So in African homes, portable, multi-purpose objects predominate. As well as their utilitarian value, many of these objects conceal social and symbolic meanings. For example, chairs and spoons were symbols of prestige, which could only be used by the most important people in each group or family.
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Juego akong, adscrito a la cultura yoruba y procedente de las costas de la actual Nigeria. Recogido por Luis Sorela en su expedición al golfo de Guinea en 1887. MNA CE930
Going up to the first floor, you can enter the fascinating diversity of a continent whose cultural richness we are still beginning to discover, a region of the world in which over a thousand different cultural groups coexist in two large geographical areas: the North, where the imprint of Islam has profoundly determined its cultural development, and the equatorial and tropical regions of the centre and south of the continent.
Prestige, beauty and protection
As in all cultures, clothes in African cultures also reflect social status, ideological systems and the geographical medium in which people live. Certain ornaments are associated with the social prestige of their wearer, or act as a protective element from various evils, as is the case of Moroccan jewellery. Although we find African clothes attractive because of their exoticism, we shouldn't forget that they are full of symbolic meanings.
Drums and community games
African cultures are pure rhythm, the rhythm of life. Almost all of them have a varied repertoire of rites marking the stages of the life cycle, in which music and dance play a fundamental role. Instruments like the ones we have on exhibition are used to accompany the songs, which are cultural heritage transmitters. Games vary from zone to zone, but the most widespread in all Equatorial Africa is akong, songo or awelé. This game reproduces the social life of any village: the rows of the game board correspond to the two parallel rows of huts in which many of them are arranged.
Animism and monotheism
In many cultures of Equatorial Africa, like Guinea, animist religion dedicated to ancestors is reflected in the production of figurative sculptures. The museum's collection of Fang culture byeris (relic guardians) is very important in this context. But animals and many natural phenomena also have a soul. The Pende culture in the Congo pays tribute to them in their dances and rites of passage in which the dancers are transformed by impressive clothes and masks. This is undoubtedly one of the museum's most interesting corners, which you mustn't miss.
Portable homes
Until a short time ago, many African societies were nomadic or at least moved between different settlements according to the change of season, migration of different animal species, and the greater or lesser abundance of basic survival resources. So in African homes, portable, multi-purpose objects predominate. As well as their utilitarian value, many of these objects conceal social and symbolic meanings. For example, chairs and spoons were symbols of prestige, which could only be used by the most important people in each group or family.
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Figura que representa a un enmascarado con un yelmo kponyugo, de la sociedad Poro. Procede de Costa de Marfil. Adscrito a la cultura senufo. Adquirida en 1998. MNA CE20050
Going up to the first floor, you can enter the fascinating diversity of a continent whose cultural richness we are still beginning to discover, a region of the world in which over a thousand different cultural groups coexist in two large geographical areas: the North, where the imprint of Islam has profoundly determined its cultural development, and the equatorial and tropical regions of the centre and south of the continent.
Prestige, beauty and protection
As in all cultures, clothes in African cultures also reflect social status, ideological systems and the geographical medium in which people live. Certain ornaments are associated with the social prestige of their wearer, or act as a protective element from various evils, as is the case of Moroccan jewellery. Although we find African clothes attractive because of their exoticism, we shouldn't forget that they are full of symbolic meanings.
Drums and community games
African cultures are pure rhythm, the rhythm of life. Almost all of them have a varied repertoire of rites marking the stages of the life cycle, in which music and dance play a fundamental role. Instruments like the ones we have on exhibition are used to accompany the songs, which are cultural heritage transmitters. Games vary from zone to zone, but the most widespread in all Equatorial Africa is akong, songo or awelé. This game reproduces the social life of any village: the rows of the game board correspond to the two parallel rows of huts in which many of them are arranged.
Animism and monotheism
In many cultures of Equatorial Africa, like Guinea, animist religion dedicated to ancestors is reflected in the production of figurative sculptures. The museum's collection of Fang culture byeris (relic guardians) is very important in this context. But animals and many natural phenomena also have a soul. The Pende culture in the Congo pays tribute to them in their dances and rites of passage in which the dancers are transformed by impressive clothes and masks. This is undoubtedly one of the museum's most interesting corners, which you mustn't miss.
Portable homes
Until a short time ago, many African societies were nomadic or at least moved between different settlements according to the change of season, migration of different animal species, and the greater or lesser abundance of basic survival resources. So in African homes, portable, multi-purpose objects predominate. As well as their utilitarian value, many of these objects conceal social and symbolic meanings. For example, chairs and spoons were symbols of prestige, which could only be used by the most important people in each group or family.
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Olla fang, procedente de Guinea Ecuatorial, y recolectada en la expedición del Instituto de Estudios Africanos (IDEA) en 1948. MNA CE11712
Going up to the first floor, you can enter the fascinating diversity of a continent whose cultural richness we are still beginning to discover, a region of the world in which over a thousand different cultural groups coexist in two large geographical areas: the North, where the imprint of Islam has profoundly determined its cultural development, and the equatorial and tropical regions of the centre and south of the continent.
Prestige, beauty and protection
As in all cultures, clothes in African cultures also reflect social status, ideological systems and the geographical medium in which people live. Certain ornaments are associated with the social prestige of their wearer, or act as a protective element from various evils, as is the case of Moroccan jewellery. Although we find African clothes attractive because of their exoticism, we shouldn't forget that they are full of symbolic meanings.
Drums and community games
African cultures are pure rhythm, the rhythm of life. Almost all of them have a varied repertoire of rites marking the stages of the life cycle, in which music and dance play a fundamental role. Instruments like the ones we have on exhibition are used to accompany the songs, which are cultural heritage transmitters. Games vary from zone to zone, but the most widespread in all Equatorial Africa is akong, songo or awelé. This game reproduces the social life of any village: the rows of the game board correspond to the two parallel rows of huts in which many of them are arranged.
Animism and monotheism
In many cultures of Equatorial Africa, like Guinea, animist religion dedicated to ancestors is reflected in the production of figurative sculptures. The museum's collection of Fang culture byeris (relic guardians) is very important in this context. But animals and many natural phenomena also have a soul. The Pende culture in the Congo pays tribute to them in their dances and rites of passage in which the dancers are transformed by impressive clothes and masks. This is undoubtedly one of the museum's most interesting corners, which you mustn't miss.
Portable homes
Until a short time ago, many African societies were nomadic or at least moved between different settlements according to the change of season, migration of different animal species, and the greater or lesser abundance of basic survival resources. So in African homes, portable, multi-purpose objects predominate. As well as their utilitarian value, many of these objects conceal social and symbolic meanings. For example, chairs and spoons were symbols of prestige, which could only be used by the most important people in each group or family.
Going up to the first floor, you can enter the fascinating diversity of a continent whose cultural richness we are still beginning to discover, a region of the world in which over a thousand different cultural groups coexist in two large geographical areas: the North, where the imprint of Islam has profoundly determined its cultural development, and the equatorial and tropical regions of the centre and south of the continent.
Prestige, beauty and protection
As in all cultures, clothes in African cultures also reflect social status, ideological systems and the geographical medium in which people live. Certain ornaments are associated with the social prestige of their wearer, or act as a protective element from various evils, as is the case of Moroccan jewellery. Although we find African clothes attractive because of their exoticism, we shouldn't forget that they are full of symbolic meanings.
Drums and community games
African cultures are pure rhythm, the rhythm of life. Almost all of them have a varied repertoire of rites marking the stages of the life cycle, in which music and dance play a fundamental role. Instruments like the ones we have on exhibition are used to accompany the songs, which are cultural heritage transmitters. Games vary from zone to zone, but the most widespread in all Equatorial Africa is akong, songo or awelé. This game reproduces the social life of any village: the rows of the game board correspond to the two parallel rows of huts in which many of them are arranged.
Animism and monotheism
In many cultures of Equatorial Africa, like Guinea, animist religion dedicated to ancestors is reflected in the production of figurative sculptures. The museum's collection of Fang culture byeris (relic guardians) is very important in this context. But animals and many natural phenomena also have a soul. The Pende culture in the Congo pays tribute to them in their dances and rites of passage in which the dancers are transformed by impressive clothes and masks. This is undoubtedly one of the museum's most interesting corners, which you mustn't miss.
Portable homes
Until a short time ago, many African societies were nomadic or at least moved between different settlements according to the change of season, migration of different animal species, and the greater or lesser abundance of basic survival resources. So in African homes, portable, multi-purpose objects predominate. As well as their utilitarian value, many of these objects conceal social and symbolic meanings. For example, chairs and spoons were symbols of prestige, which could only be used by the most important people in each group or family.