Publisher's Synopsis
This reference provides scholars with a current source for the names of specific African ethnic groups. The text is a comprehensive index of more than 2,500 names of ethnic groups taken from numerous sources including linguistic and ethnographic surveys of Africa, as well as from more than 100 major books and catalogues of African art. Its emphasis is on the art of sub-Saharan Africa, with the term art interpreted broadly to include ornamental design, architecture, textiles, and body adornment, in addition to the more traditional arts of masks and sculpture. Daniel Biebuyck introduces researchers to the wealth and variety of these groups and the proliferation of terms which have been applied to them over the centuries. In addition to compiling alternate names and orthographies for various countries, cultures, and political and ritual entities, the index provides AAT and LCSH preferred terms, cites references and further sources of information for each main entry, and serves as a bibliography to current literature on African art.
