{"id":304,"date":"2019-05-05T16:29:48","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T16:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/africana-studies-2251-spring-2019\/?p=304"},"modified":"2019-05-11T11:53:28","modified_gmt":"2019-05-11T11:53:28","slug":"kwere-medical-container","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/africana-studies-2251-spring-2019\/health\/kwere-medical-container\/","title":{"rendered":"Kwere Medical Container"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Kwere Artist,\u00a0Medical Container<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kwere Artist
\nTanzanian<\/p>\n

Medical Container
\n<\/em>Mid- to late 20th<\/sup> century
\nGourd, wood, copper alloy, plant fiber<\/p>\n

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
\nMuseum purchase, 89-6-1<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This container is an exemplary connection between art and health. The container has, first and foremost, functionality\u2013\u2013it holds medicinal oils and herbs for healing. A healer would use such a container to hold medicinal plants, which would be used after the healer performs a psychological diagnosis of the ailment.<\/p>\n

However, the container also depicts a key aspect of Kwere society: the role of women. Kwere healers are traditionally women who would carry such a medical container as this. Additionally, the figure depicted on top of the container is a woman wearing a hairstyle worn during coming-of-age ceremonies. Adulthood for women in Kwere society, as shown by the figurine, is inextricable from the role of healer.<\/p>\n

Alexander Kogan ’20<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bibliography:<\/p>\n

“Kwere.” In\u00a0Cassell’s Peoples, Nations and Cultures<\/em>, edited by John Mackenzie. London: Cassell, 2005. https:\/\/login.ezproxy.bowdoin.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/search.credoreference.com\/content\/entry\/orionpnc\/kwere\/0?institutionId=518.<\/p>\n

This article provides good insight into Kwere culture. Consequently, it is useful in understanding the role of healing and artifacts in the culture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Langwick, Stacey A. Bodies, Politics, and African Healing: The Matter of Maladies in Tanzania<\/em>. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2011.<\/p>\n

This book provides insight and detail in to medicine and healing in Tanzania. This is useful in this context because of Kwere society\u2019s location in Tanzania and the relevance of this particular object.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mahomoodally, M. Fawzi. \u201cTraditional Medicines in Africa: An Appraisal of Ten Potent African Medicinal Plants.\u201d\u00a0In Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine<\/em>, vol. 2013, Article ID 617459, 14 pages, 2013.<\/p>\n

This article on medicinal practices in Africa provides background for what the medicinal container above could be used for. This helps to provide the viewer with context, rather than just looking at the object.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. 2019. \u201cHealing Arts.\u201d Accessed April 23, 2019. https:\/\/africa.si.edu\/exhibitions\/current-exhibitions\/healing-arts\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Visonn\u00e0, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poynor, Herbert M. Cole, Michael D. Harris. A History of Art in Africa<\/em>. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2001.<\/p>\n

This comprehensive book contains sections that describe art from Tanzania and Kwere art in particular. Additionally, the book contains plenty of context about the creation of arts from regions being studied in this exhibition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kwere Artist Tanzanian Medical Container Mid- to late 20th century Gourd, wood, copper alloy, plant fiber Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Museum purchase, 89-6-1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":802,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,76],"tags":[27],"class_list":{"0":"post-304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-health","7":"category-women-health-and-healing","8":"tag-kwere","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nKwere Medical Container - Art & Politics in Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/africana-studies-2251-spring-2019\/health\/kwere-medical-container\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kwere Medical Container - 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