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The Forge and the Funeral: The Smith in Kapsiki/Higi Culture (African History and Culture)

Amazon.com Price:  $26.01 (as of 05/05/2019 19:24 PST- Details)

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Description

Throughout Africa one craft among many stands out: that of the blacksmith. In many African cultures, smiths occupy a significant position, not just as artisans engaging in a difficult craft but also as special people. Incessantly they perform other crafts, as well, and make up a slightly separate group inside society. The Forge and the Funeral describes the position of the smith within the culture of the Kapsiki/Higi of northern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria. Located within the Mandara Mountains and straddling the border of these two countries, Kapsiki culture forms a specific and highly relevant example of the phenomenon of the smith in Africa. As an endogamous group of about 5 percent of the population, Kapsiki smiths perform an impressive array of crafts and specializations, combining magico-religious functions with metalwork, in particular as funeral directors, in addition to with music and healing. The Forge and the Funeral gives an intimate description and analysis of this group, based upon the writer’s four decades–long involvement with the Kapsiki/Higi. Description and analysis are set inside the more general scholarly debates in regards to the dynamics of professional closure—including the notions of caste and guild—and in addition believe the deep history of iron and brass in Africa.

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