Ancestors

Lesson 14: Negotiating Gender: Powerful Mother: Ere Gelede, Nigeria

Summary and Objectives

Through a study of gelede masquerades of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria students explore art as a powerful medium for commentary on issues of concern to the community. Students will discuss gender roles among the Yoruba and in their own communities. Creative writing activities provide opportunities for students to compose praise poetry and to explore the expressiveness of proverbial speech. Students will

  • Explore gelede masquerades of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria and gain understanding of the power of art as it comments on social, political, and historical issues.
  • Discuss the limits and freedoms of gender in both their own communities and in Africa. Students write homages to women they respect.
  • Engage in creative writing activities to explore the power of proverbial speech, as related to masquerade traditions.
  • Practice skills of visual literacy as they analyze gelede mask types.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 3: Art and Power

Lesson 13: Negotiating Gender: Portrayal of a Hunter: Ere Egungun Olode, Nigeria

Summary and Objectives

In this lesson students explore the use of egungun masks in rituals devoted to honoring ancestors, as practiced by Yoruba peoples from Nigeria and Benin. They discuss family rituals that celebrate their own ancestors, construct special dress ensembles to honor them, employ poetry as a way to memorialize loved ones, and discuss contrasts between cultures, as inspired by the experiences of Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. Students will

  • Consider traditions of respect and honor for elder relatives and ancestors and compare these to practices of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria.
  • Explore egungun masquerades of the Yoruba peoples of West Africa and its diasporas through discussion, artmaking activities, and creative writing.
  • Use the writing of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka to reflect on the challenges of growing up in two cultures. 

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 3: Art and Power

Lesson 9: Proclaiming Heritage: Canoes, Carvings, and the Austronesian World

Summary and Objectives

Students’ study of selected objects from Austronesia (Philippines, Indonesia, Polynesia and beyond) provides opportunities to examine the roles that art plays in communicating peoples’ heritage and history. Activities encompass object study to investigate visual symbolism, work with maps and migration patterns to understand how geography and movement shapes family and community traditions, and creative writing to explore the importance of ancestry in communities’ values and belief systems. Students will

  • Gain a deeper understanding of the communicative role of the arts through a study of Austronesian arts.
  • Use maps to discuss reasons for immigration and its impact on the cultural traditions of Austronesian peoples.
  • Explore their own and Austronesian origin stories and belief systems through poetry writing.
  • Analyze visual symbolism to understand the importance of ancestry in Austronesian culture.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 2: Art and Knowledge