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- Title
African Art and Persuasion: The Rhetoric of the Bera Among the Dagaaba of Ghana.
- Authors
Naaeke, Anthony
- Abstract
This paper contends that the bera among the Dagaaba of Ghana is a non-discursive visual object acting as an active persuasive interlocutor within the subjective consciousness or conscience of a would-be thief standing face-to-face with an object (such as a mango fruit) that is desired for its capacity to satisfy hunger or pleasure. By describing the bera as African art and a persuasive agent meant to protect property from would-be thieves, I will explain the relevance of the bera to the Dagaaba and the rhetorical and pastoral implications of a village catechist hanging a bera on his mango tree. In doing so, I will demonstrate that the bera is art, situated rhetoric, and a symbol of cultural moral values among the Dagaaba. This paper will, therefore, contribute to the literary corpus on Dagaaba culture and respond to the appeal of Susan Vogel, who in an article, ‘Whither African Art? Emerging Scholarship at the End of an Age’, calls for analytical research on African art.
- Subjects
GHANAIAN art; DAGAABA (African people); KOKOBERRA language; CONNOTATION (Linguistics); SYMBOLISM; AFRICAN art; VOGEL, Susan
- Publication
Journal of Dagaare Studies, 2006, Vol 6, p21
- ISSN
1608-0130
- Publication type
Article