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Book Cover
E-book
Author Fenton, Jordan, author.

Title Masquerade and money in urban Nigeria : the case of Calabar / Jordan A. Fenton
Published Rochester, NY : University of Rochester Press, 2022
©2022

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Description 1 online resource : color illustrations
Series Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora
Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora.
Contents Introduction, Masquerade as an Artistic Pulse of the City -- "Face No Fear Face:" Unmasking Youths -- "If they Burn it Down, We will Build it Even Larger:" Confrontations of Space -- "People Hear at Night:" Sounds and Secrecy of Nocturnal Performance -- "Idagha Chieftaincy was Nothing like what it is today:" The Spectacle of Public Performance -- "We Call it Change:" An Artistic Profile of Artist Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa -- "Look at it, Touch it, Smell it-this is Nnabo:" Trajectories and Transformations of "Warrior" Societies -- "For this Small Money, I No Go Enter Competition:" Masquerade Competition on a Global Stage -- "I know Myself:" Masquerade as an Artistic Transformation -- Coda: "I Think About my Kids and Feeding Them."
Summary "Driving into urban Calabar, one is struck by two imposing, monumental rectangular columns, operating not unlike ancient triumphal arches, framing the entrance into Nigeria's capital city of the Cross River State. Relief carvings of Calabar's renowned masking characters adorn the monument. The icons, dramatically captured in choreographic poses, freezing the maskers in time, enshrine masquerade as the city's heritage and past identity. Far from being merely "traditional" and relegated to an earlier time, though, the masquerade culture of urban Calabar has a contemporary and global context and is a vital part of the changing patterns of city life. While the topic of cultural change is not necessarily new to African art history and cultural studies, few have attempted to understand why African arts so readily change. This book, the first full-length monograph addressing contemporary Calabar, explains the fluidity and thriving nature of masquerade by analyzing the ways in which masking is steeped in economic transaction and how street performances have become more public and spatially calculated. By unraveling the urban layers of masquerade arts and their performances, this book shows how so-called traditional culture gains new roles or currencies within a contemporary, city-based context"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on January 12, 2022)
Subject Masquerades -- Nigeria -- Calabar
Masquerades -- Economic aspects -- Nigeria -- Calabar
Performing arts -- Social aspects -- Nigeria -- Calabar
HISTORY -- Africa -- West.
Masquerades
Performing arts -- Social aspects
Nigeria -- Calabar
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2021040682
ISBN 9781800104228
1800104227
1800104219
9781800104211