By Arlene McKanic
The maternal figures in “The Majesty of African Motherhood,” an exhibit on display at the Langston Hughes Library in Corona, are mostly young women with babies.
Sculpted of bronze and wood and decorated with paint, raffia and beads, the women are represented in their finery even as they nurse hungry babies — their hair is coifed, they wear their best bangles, necklaces and beads, their beautiful tribal scarring are prominent.
Their facial expressions are invariably serene, which corresponds to the idea of the African mother figure as being “calm, just and giving.” The figures also served as talismans to ensure fertility; in Cameroon, a king couldn’t be seated until one of his wives had given birth.
Some of the more prominent works in the exhibit include a large Bamoum child protector figure from Cameroon. The earth mother holds twins, which are symbols of prosperity and fertility — not bad luck as in some other African societies. Children play beneath her stool and on her head is a gamboling male child, another symbol of protection. There are also a rare Nimba praying maternity figure and a slit drum from the Ivory Coast in the form of a Baule woman.
“My interest in African sculpture is to emphasize the cultural values that the sculpture represents, like family values, community values, the ways we need to operate in the environment, the importance of relationships that are complimentary and not competitive — life-giving and not destructive — and respect for elders and wisdom,” said curator Herman Bigham, who calls himself a preserver, as opposed to a collector, of African art. The exhibit is made up of contributions from Bigham and five other African art preservers.
Like the Ivory Coast slit drum, most of the works in the exhibit weren’t created as art. “As James Brown says, whatever we do is going to be funky,” said Bigham. “Some of the exhibition works could be used for ceremonial purposes. Some might be house posts. Some might be in altars, just like photos of ancestors.”
Bigham began preserving after a trip to the Second World Festival of African Arts and Culture in Nigeria in 1978. He won’t tell what was the first piece he acquired but admits that his tastes and artistic talents have improved over the years. He’s also a builder, which enhances his appreciation of beauty, he said. Though Bigham has been back to Africa four times, he usually gets the work from importers.
“I look for work that expresses the culture and has energy and purpose and functionality,” he said. The African Motherhood exhibit first began at Philadelphia’s Free Library in February 2002 and the response was so great that it went on tour. Bigham hopes to extend the tour into 2005. “But we’re looking for sponsorship, because it’s self funded,” he said.
The Majesty of African Motherhood will be at the Langston Hughes Library, 100-01 Northern Blvd. through June.
