Peoples, deities and the objects they made: notes on the cultures behind the collection.
Dzi beads, pronounced “zee,” are among the most mysterious and treasured objects in the Tibetan cultural world. Cylindrical or barrel-shaped stones, typically dark brown or black with striking ivory-white patterns of stripes,…
The Ewe pronounced “Ev-ay,” are a West African people who live around the Volta delta of southeastern Ghana and across the international border in southern Togo. According to their own oral histories,…
The Ewe, pronounced “Ev-ay,” are a Gbe-speaking people of West Africa whose homeland today spans southeastern Ghana, southern Togo, and southwestern Benin. Numbering roughly seven million across the region, they trace their…
The Miao, known beyond China as the Hmong, are believed to be among the earliest indigenous peoples of China. Over many centuries, repeated conflicts with expanding Han Chinese populations pushed them southwest…
Among the Akan peoples of Ghana, kente cloth is known as nwentoma, which translates simply as “woven cloth.” The name kente itself derives from kenten, the Asante word for basket, a reference…
The Ashanti, also written Asante, are an Akan-speaking people of the central forest belt of present-day Ghana. They emerged from a cluster of small Akan chiefdoms in the late seventeenth century, when…
The Kaka people — also known as the Yamba — inhabit the remote highland forests of central and northwest Cameroon, in a mountain range in the Northwest Province, just south of the…
The Kaka people, more properly known as the Yamba, are a highland people of northwestern Cameroon whose history stretches back through centuries of migration, survival, and cultural endurance. The name "Kaka" was…
Among the most beautiful and meaningful objects produced by the Dayak peoples of Borneo is the beaded baby carrier, known as ba’ among the Kenyah, ben’ing aban among the Kayan, and by…
The Dayak are the Indigenous peoples of the island of Borneo, the third largest island in the world, today divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Numbering several million across more than two…
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