| This research documents selected art forms and styles of the Moba of northern Togo, concentrating on those forms which are tied to Moba ritual life. The Moba are agriculturalists living in northeastern Ghana and northwestern Togo, West Africa. They belong to the Gur language cluster, a large culture complex whose arts have only recently been examined by art historians. Moba arts do not exhibit the high degree of elaboration characteristic of many previously studied African traditions.;Decorative embellishments reflect ways in which the Moba conceive of themselve as individuals, as male or female, and as members of society. The Moba link surface embellishment with feminine qualities, for women are either the producers or recipients of surface embellishments of beautiful intent. Women receive more elaborate body scarifications of a purely decorative nature, they are responsible for beautifying the compound with incised and painted designs, and objects reserved for their use, such as floor pounders and stools, receive incised decorations.;The aesthetic criteria that emerge in Moba art and ritual are both implicit and explicit. The explicit aesthetic of beauty through surface embellishment is coupled with implicit aesthetic criteria emphasizing the importance of function, of beautifying the individual and his surrounding, and of defining one's social personality. In Moba ritual life, content determines the quality of the performance, and order and sequence form important aesthetic criteria, for without adherence to prescribed stages, the impact of ritual, both functionally and aesthetically, would be diminished. Categories of Moba art and ritual are philosophical extensions of human beings, and become forums for expressing key concepts about the nature of Moba religious beliefs and practices and their social organization.;The research documents the typology, use patterns, and meanings of Moba body decoration, secular and ritual woodcarvings, architecture and ritual space, and initiation and mortuary rituals. The data reveal multilayered aesthetic criteria that express Moba concepts of beauty, the individual, and their world view. The Moba word for beauty, fant, is used in a wide range of contexts, such as architecture, pottery, woodcarving, and body ornamentation, to describe decorative and functional surface embellishments. |
