I, a Ngwazla Elie, Wouleo Kazla
Journal of Anthropological Film,
01/2022, Letnik:
6, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
“I, a Ngwazala” is a cross-examination of the Ngwazla caste of Mafa society. It gives valuable insight into the lives of blacksmiths and how their culture is currently exposed to rapid ...transformation. This documentary presents Zayadai our key character who although trained as a blacksmith by his father, was able to study. And on the death of his father, he abandoned his studies to practice the profession of blacksmith, a profession passed down from father to son. Helped by his three young brothers, he exercises his art in order to meet the demand of the inhabitants of Djinglia Kongoche and by extension to meet the needs of his wife, his mother and his 11 brothers. Thus it gives access to important transformation processes in the Mafa society. Although the old strict separation of the Ngwazla is still present, but the increased contacts with the outside world and the influences of locally established institutions, such as the modern school system, Christian mission and Islam, are revealing new identities of Ngwazla . The Ngwazla are proud of their identity and are trying to reshape it in line with the rapid societal transformation underway.
This essay explores the role and impact of termites in the social and cultural history of West Africa. It proposes an integrated understanding of a wide range of hitherto symbolically or ...metaphorically understood practices related to the mining of iron and gold, iron production, agriculture, health, wood carving and pottery, as well as to creation myths and the Sunjata epic.
63III. CONVERGENCES ET DIVERGENCES IDENTITAIRESLES FORGERONS DU KASAÏ ET LEURS RITES INITIATIQUESJean HIAMBA OVUNGUISP-Kananga, Université de Lodjajeanrogacien@gmail.comAbstract:THE BLACKSMITHS OF ...KASAÏ AND THEIR RITES OF INITIATIONInitiation is a phenomenon that touches upon the essential question of the human condition. It is therefore not surprising that it occupies a prominent place among blacksmiths. As regards the blacksmiths of Central Africa and particularly the Ankutshu Membele of Kasaï, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, integration into these social class requires, in any case, an initiation. Thus, by initiation, this social class generally designates a set of rites and oral teachings or practices which aim at radically changing the status of the subject to be initiated. Philosophically speaking, initiation is regarded as an ontological mutation of the existential regime, because, at the end of the teaching-learning process, the initiate or the neophyte enjoys a completely different existence than before the initiation.
The article introduces features of iron-working in the north-western Italian Alpine region (specifically, the Valtellina side of the Bergamesque or Orobic Alps) during the Middle Ages by comparing ...historical data and archaeological sources. This will help shed light on the organisation of the production process, starting from iron ore mining, proceeding to examine the transformation phases and culminating in the conversion of the ore into ingots or bars to produce tools for agricultural or wood-cutting activities. The article follows two distinct paths, initially presenting the main stages of iron-working in Valtellina until the second half of the eighteenth century, followed by an analysis of the mining complex of Val Venina where an extremely important metal-working site is situated. Two separate mining zones were identified, the first deep underground and the second an opencast working site. Furthermore, a series of rooms made of dry-stone walling that provided accommodation for the miners have been brought to light, as well as mineral deposits and stables for the animals required to carry out the activities described by Melchiorre Gioia in his volume “Statistica del Dipartimento dell’Adda” and indicated in the land registers of the Lombardy-Veneto regions carried out in 1815 and 1863.
This article presents a new discovery, based on a text published in a local newspaper in Split, Dalmatia in late 1892, which confirms the hypothesis of multiple versions of Edison and Dickson's early ...Kinetoscope films, in particular, in regards to the Blacksmiths subject. Furthermore, it elucidates the relationship between Edison and announcements of initial moving image shows in Dalmatia and the region, to demonstrate how the inventor's name and fame were frequently associated with the invention of moving image technology. While establishing transnational and transatlantic connections via print and visual media, the article provides further impetus for early cinema scholars to look beyond established figures and narratives, and consider the development of moving images in interstitial spaces around the world such as the Balkans.
PDF
