THE FOLLOWING BOOKS CONTINUE TO BE AN ONGOING ARTISTIC AND TRIBAL SOURCE OF LEARNING AND INSPIRATION.

BLACK KINGDOMS, BLACK PEOPLES, The West African Heritage. 1979
Orbis Publishing Limited, London. ISBN 0 85613 303 5
An older book covering the Kingdoms and Peoples of the North and South, Trade, Crafts, Art, Priests and the Spirit World. Probably out of print, but worth finding and reading.

WIND, SAND AND SILENCE, Travels with Africa’s Last Nomads. 1992
Chronicle Books, San Francisco. ISBN 0 8118 0010 5
Fantastic book written as a journal and beautifully photographed by Victor Englebert who chronicles 3 major treks into regions of North and East Africa. Highly recommended.

NOMADS OF NIGER, The people called Wodaabe. 1983
Harry M. Abrams Inc. NY. ISBN 0 8109 0734 8
Beautifully photographed and illustrated by Carol Beckwith. Many Northern Niger hand-drawn traditional designs that inspire.

ART OF THE DOGON, Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection. 1988
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0 87099 508 1
Simple, yet excellent book on Dogon art, religion and origin of the universe.

AFRICA ADORNED, Angela Fisher. 1984
Harry N. Abrams Inc. NY. ISBN 0 8109 1823 4
An amazing book on tribal adorned Africa. A continuing source of tribal and spiritual support for travelers, collectors and artists. One of the best.

SECRECY, African Art that Conceals and Reveals. 1993
The Museum for African Art, NY. ISBN 0 945802 12 9
A collection of essays addressing the politics of secrecy, power, African art.

16 COWRIES, Yoruba Divination from Africa to the New World. William Bascom. 1978 Indiana University Press. ISBN 0 253 35280 0
An introduction to the Yoruba religious belief system, deities, Ifa divination verses and what they convey about Yoruba world view.

FLASH OF THE SPIRIT, African & African-American Art & Philosophy. Robert Farris Thompson. 1984 Random House, NY. ISBN 0 394 72369 4
Discusses Yoruba, Kongo, Fon, Mande and Ejagham art and philosophies that shaped and defined the black Atlantic visual tradition.

ICONS, Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa. 1989
National Museum of African Art, Wash. DC. ISBN 0 87474 320 6
In symbolic art south of the Sahara, this book explores the iconic representation of the couple, the woman and child, the warrior, the rider and the stranger. It offers you a deeper understanding of how these persistent symbols in the art of Africa function in the societies that create them.

TRIBAL ARTS, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia. 2000
Berenice Geoffroy-Schneiter
The Vendome Press, NY. ISBN 0 86565 215 5
Beautiful photographs of sacred Dogon, Bambara and Baule art and masking.

A WORLD OF EARRINGS, Africa, Asia, America. Anne van Cutsem. 2001
Rizzoli International Inc. NY. ISBN 88 8118 973 9
A WORLD OF BRACELETS, Africa, Asia, Oceania. Anne van Cutsem. 2001
Rizzoli International Inc. NY.ISBN 88 8118 973 9

TUAREG JEWELRY, Traditional Patterns and Symbols. Helene E. Hagan, Lucile C. Myers. 2006 Xlibris Corp., www. xlibris.com. ISBN1-4257-0453-0
Introduces the Tuareg and their remarkable silver jewelry and leather artifacts, along with their symbolic representation of their environment and cosmology.

THE ART OF SILVER JEWELRY, From the Minorities of China, the Golden Triangle, Mongolia and Tibet.The Rene van der Star Collection. 2006 Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. NY. ISBN-13: 978-887624-383-7

INDIAN SILVER JEWELRY OF THE SOUTHWEST 1868-1930, Larry Frank, Millard J. Holbrook II. 1990 Schiffer Publishing Ltd. PA. ISBN 0-88740-226-7 Splendidly illustrated book that celebrates the historic silver and turquoise jewelry of the Navajo and Pueblo Indians of North America.

THE HISTORY OF BEADS from 30,000 BC to the Present. Lois Sherr Dubin. 1987
Harry M. Abrams Inc. NY. ISBN 0 8109 0736 4

ARTS & CRAFTS OF MOROCCO, James F. Jereb, Chronicle Books, SF. 1995 ISBN 0-8118-1157-3 A book that documents the spectacular arts and crafts of Morocco and the timeless influences from Moorish Spain, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

NAKUNTE DIARRA, Bogolanfini Artist of the Beledougou. 1993
Indiana University Art Museum.
Excellent pamphlet on master artist, Nakunte Diarra and her craft, researched by Tavy D. Aherne. Includes a wonderful gallery of bogolanfini or "mud cloths," their patterns and meanings. Hats off to Tavy for her research.

THE ART OF AFRICAN TEXTILES, Technology, Tradition and Lurex. 1995
Barbican Art Gallery, London. ISBN 0 85331 6821
Excellent, colorful book with in-depth essays addressing textile design across the African continent.

AFRICAN TEXTILES, John Picton, John Mack. 1989
School of Oriental and African Studies, London. ISBN 0 7141 159 59
One of the best researched books on the subject.

AFRICAN TEXTILES, John Gillow. 2003
Chronicle Books, USA. ISBN 0 8118 4166 9
An illustrated general survey of the textiles of the whole African continent. A great book with good pictures!

INDIGO TEXTILES, Gosta Sandberg. 1989 ISBN 0 9372 74 40 2
INDIGO, From Seed to Dye, Dorothy Miller. 1984
Indigo Press, Santa Cruz, Ca. ISBN 0 9604060 1 8
WEST AFRICAN CLOTH, Kate P. Kent. 1971
Denver Museum of Natural History

MANDE MUSIC, Traditional and modern music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa. 2000
The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0 226 10162 2
Unmatched, comprehensive source on the Mande music culture of Mali, Guinea, Senegal and the Gambia, by Eric Charry. What a worthwhile read!

AFRICAN ALL STARS, The Pop Music of a Continent. 1989
Paladin Grafton Books, England. ISBN 0 586 08781 8
A great primer, the early roots of African music by Chris Stapleton & Chris May.

WORLD MUSIC, The Rough Guide, Chapters 6, 7, 8; West, East, Central and South African Music. 1994
Penguin Books, USA. ISBN 1 85828 017 6
A great introduction to contemporary African music and musicians.

THE RASTAFARIANS, Sounds of Cultural Dissonance. Leonard E. Barrett, Sr. 1988 Beacon Press, Boston, Mass. ISBN 0 8070 1027 8
An easy to read, deep, historical primer about the slave maroon roots of Jamaica and the modern development of Rastafarianism.

BLESS ETHIOPIA, Photography by Kazuyoshi Nomachi. 1998
Odyssey Publications, Hong Kong. ISBN 962 217 518 X
Rich photographic glimpses of Ethiopia, its religion and tribes by a renown Japanese photographer. Inspiring.

THEIR HEADS ARE GREEN, THEIR HANDS ARE BLUE. Scenes from the Non-Christian World. 1957. Ecco Press. N. J.
Great travel essays and cultural observations by one of Morocco’s most famous American residents, Paul Bowles.

PEOPLES OF THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, by Paul and Elaine Lewis. 1984.
Thames and Hudson, Ltd. NY. ISBN 0 500 97314 8
The most comprehensive book on the hill tribes of the Golden Triangle, SE Asia. Contains text and photos on clothing, jewelry, ornaments, village, birth, death and religion. Fascinating!

ANGKOR, An Introduction, by George Coedes. 1963
Oxford University Press, NY. ISBN 0 19 63129 0
Historical and religious treatment of the great temple of Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

NAGA, Cultural Origins in Siam and the West Pacific, by Sumet Jumsai. 1989
Oxford University Press. NY. ISBN 0 19 588949 5
Explores water symbolism in Thai culture, water-based civilization, amphibious and land-based architecture.