"Others" and interculturation

The articles this week discussed the idea of “others,” as meaning foreigners and how their presence influenced African cultures. In, “Imaging Otherness in Ivory” by Suzanne Blier, she describes the “others” as being foreigners, namely the Portuguese embarking on new territory and how they are received by the African cultures. The article discusses the reaction and receptivity the arrival of the Portuguese had on the Kongo, Sapi, and Benin cultures during the 15th century.  These African cultures related the Portuguese to their spiritual beliefs of the underworld and the undead. The Kongo interpreted the Portuguese Christian crosses with their own symbol of the crossroads which is the the entrance to the spiritual realm. The Portuguese were often portrayed by the Sapi culture in ivory carvings such as horns and saltcellers. The Benin often depicted their carvings of the Portuguese with mudfish because of the relation it has with Olokun, the god of the sea and the undead.  In, “Mami Wata Shrines” by Henry John Drewal, the article discusses how the shrines were compiled of borrowed Hindu chromoliths and Indian objects, they used these objects to create their own spiritual beliefs and incorporated it into their culture. Both of these articles discuss the relationship between the Portuguese and the African cultures and the influences they had on each other. It is important to understand the "cross-cultural pollination" which occurred as a result of the Portuguese arrival in Africa.