The visual and performing arts in Africa provide unique opportunities not just for the reinforcement of gender differences but also for the subversion or transcendence of those differences to ensure societal harmony. A close reading of the various forms of artistic expression provides valuable data on women's perceived mystical powersprocreation, metaphysical knowledge and intimate communication with the spirit world as well as their social and religious status.
1998 Academic Press
Gender, according to British social anthropologist, Marilyn Strathem, is 'a code for the conceptualisation of difference'. 1 In the predominantly oral cultures of many African societies, this code to differentiate male and female roles is often subtly embedded in the visual and performing arts. In fact, the perceived powers of women may be both symbolically expressed and mystically recharged through aesthetic means in the performance context.
In this essay, I aim to show that our knowledge and understanding of gender and religious issues in Africa may be considerably enriched by focusing on material and expressive culture. Scholars of African religions have been singularly remiss in ignoring the wealth of this domain, perhaps because of a deep-seated aversion to religious images or simple lack of training in decoding the visual. Art historians and anthropologists have produced some fine studies, while not always exploring fully the religious dimension. I have sought to remedy this in my Art and Religion in Africa 2 as well as in a special issue of the Journal of Religion in Africa. 3 Gender issues are integral to the former, but in the present work I draw out several examples for discussion. 4 Women's procreative powers, both feared and revered by men, are frequently treated in a more covert way and secretive way in Africa. So, as the examples in this essay will demonstrate, the decoration or form of art objects may provide, albeit obliquely, a more accurate portrayal of gender relations. However, these art objects must be seen in context, as more recent art historical and anthropological studies have ably shown. 5 The mask, for example, cannot be detached from the ritual event, with the accompanying dance, music, recitation of praise poems, etc. 6 I contend, therefore, that a focus on gender and art has two significant consequences for the study of religion, not least in the African context. 7 First, it leads us to the heart of the matter. For if religion is about power, then so are gender relations. Secondly, a lens focused on gender and artistic expression reminds us that religious phenomena are dynamic and multilayered and need to be studied in their embodied and embedded contexts. This endorses the need to embrace other disciplinary perspectives and renounce the scholarly isolationism and superiority complex that have plagued religious studies in the past.
Since this is a vast topic by any measure, I will look first at representations of women in African art, and the interpretation of female imagery. Particular attention will bc paid to gender differentiation, complementarity, as well as ambiguity. The African context provides some fascinating examples of ritual cross-dressing. Then I shall turn to artistic production. A number of writers have emphasized the way in which the arts in Africa serve to differentiate between the male and female domains. 8 Men maintain control over the sculpting, ironworking, and masking traditions (the 'hard' arts), while the decorative arts, pottery-making and wall painting remain the preserve of women (the 0048-721X/98/040363