Past Exhibits

The Harvest Spirit of Dryness

The Spirit of Dryness exhibit will highlight artifacts from Sub-Saharan African cultures that focus on the dry season, autumn, and economic stagnation. It will explore the end of planting session as it relates to the world’s current economic meltdown. In the African worldview, it is believed that every problem is spirit related; in that sense, the current financial crisis is also a spiritual predicament.

The people of the world have let down their guard, have followed ego, wandering, in search of happiness and materialism, and have sunk into dissipation. Worse, we have committed crimes against nature, our maker, through the abuse of natural resources. We have refused to look inward; we have parted ways with the spirit of Chineke-creator. For this purpose, the Creator has begun to both purify us and test our faith in order to draw us nearer to himself. Now he leads us through the paths of dryness and desertion.

We try to fix our problems and our spirits by pumping money into the economy. We lack silence and stillness, and therefore, the feel of God; for this reason, we will not achieve the comfort and refreshment we so expected. We will feel fear, trouble, and loneliness, as we continue to salvage the world in a human – and not a divine – order. Then, we labor to no purpose, and all efforts to restore the world’s economy seem in vain. Our imaginations are governed by monetary power, and our minds are void of good.

But the state of dryness is very profitable if we use it to surrender to God, if we recognize this opportunity, and suffer the long-haul with patience. The Chineke spirit shields himself in the veil of dryness so that we may not know what miracles he works on us: seducing us to seek God, repent our old ways, and welcome change through humility.

The Spirit of Dryness reminds us about turnover and change, the death of a season, and the necessity of death for rebirth and renewal. It brings peace to what is left behind, the husk of the fruitful season. It returns precious relics back to the earth, bridging death and rebirth for the greatest good of all: life.

In this exhibit we will witness the power of death, fear, and hope. We may retrieve the power to let go, and connect to the source that created us in order to regain our lives and our economic vitality. All over the world, we feel the session of dryness, the spirit of fall, harmattan, and the hope of what is to come when we completely surrender.

The Role of Women in Africa

This exhibition was selected from the private collection of Joyce and Eliot Sterling of Needham, MA. It featured masks, figures, dolls, utensils and gold weights. The objects illustrated qualities that embody mysteries, strengths, (both good and bad), purity and danger, political and economic powers, and roles in ritual responsibilities of African women.

The exhibit included items from nineteen African countries representing more than thirty cultures. The objects were are made of different materials including wood, raffia, rope, metal, cloth, terra cotta, gourd, resin, animal hide, straw, and hair. They were decorated with feathers, paint, kaolin, beads, cowry shells, string and wire.

The museum complemented the exhibition with examples of traditional female shrines, a fertility shrine and a divination shrine. The shrines were for educational purposes, but they are also functional.

Joyce and Eliot Sterling are serving on the Board of Directors here at the Museum, and they are also members of the Friends of African and Oceanic Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Before and After the Amistad

This exhibit contained masks, artifacts, and audio-visual elements documenting the history of the peoples affected by the Amistad, culminating in the reconstructed ship's commemorative visit to Portland. Focused on understanding and healing the psychological legacy of this difficult passage, community members honored ancestral spirits with a masquerade procession to the bay. Educational programming included an exploration of West African maritime activities, and Museum members participated in the construction of two canoes made in a manner traditional to Sierra Leone.

Housing Spirits in Bronze

This exhibit examined leadership roles through the symbols and functionality of sacred objects in a royal setting. The exhibition reconstructed portions of the palace of the Oba of Benin to examine the purpose of ancestral shrines to the Edo people. Audio-visual components showcased the traditional technique of making lost-wax bronzes, and the ceremonies involved in harnessing the spirits and energies for which they are intended.

Symbols of Power and Authority

This exhibit featured Museum objects and artifacts containing special powers and forces. Its aim was to bring visitors close to some of the objects and regalia those traditional rulers, spiritual leaders and other African men and women used to invoke their power and authority. The masks at the Museum have many different functions. These masks are used for initiations, rites of passage, funerals, agricultural ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, harvest festivals, and veneration to ancestors. Not everybody can wear a mask. African culture teaches that it is a privilege to wear a mask. Masks are used not only to enforce the laws of the land but also to exemplify good moral behavior.

Role of Ancestors and Vessels of Healing

This exhibition explored the essence of the oracle of religion. The aim of the exhibition was to better understand African traditions and medicine in religion, and dispel popular misconceptions about cultural practices. The exhibition consisted of several ancestral shrines and many implements used in healing rituals. Chosen to teach the museum visitor about the origins of cultural history and truths, these artifacts were displayed in a functional setting in accordance with their original purposes.

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