L'Art comme Ecriture en Afrique noire (Art as Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa)

Etienne Lock (1)

1 IRHiS - Institut de Recherches Historiques du Septentrion (IRHiS) - UMR 8529

“Art as writing in sub-Saharan Africa” takes issue with the widespread assumption that Sub-Saharan African culture is a predominantly oral culture, and points to the existence of a written tradition in Africa, contained within artistic creations, for example, the animal hieroglyphics of Abomey kingdom (Benin), and the graphic symbols of the peoples of the Niger loop. This tradition is not easily accessible and is therefore often overlooked, which allows the assumption that traditional African culture was literate. Writing is part of traditional African art.

Mots clés: Tradition orale; Tradition écrite; Symbole; Signe graphique; Afrique sub-saharienne; Art

Domaines: Histoire

Etienne Lock. L'Art comme Ecriture en Afrique noire (Art as Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa). Journal of Oriental and African Studies, 2013, 22, pp.259-269. ⟨hal-01081563⟩