Funeral, Angola, 1786-87
Caption, Vue de la montagne de Cabende prise au midi, et Deuil du masouc, Andris Poncouta, macaye (View of the Cabinda mountain taken at noon, and Funeral of the masouc, Andris Poncouta, macaye). The author gives a lengthy description of the funeral of an important personage. The Black Congolese bury their dead, but mourn them a long time before burying them; since the funeral is the day the mourning period comes to an end, it is consecrated to rejoicing. Therefore, the burial of a Congolese man isn't a somber affair, and everyone rejoices . . . . The dead man is placed on a bed of honor, and placed in the middle of a large courtyard, under a tent which contains his finest objects . . . . (pp. 141-44). Author was a French Naval officer who was mainly in the Angola region; engravings in his book were made from drawings done from his own observations in 1786-87.
Image Title
Funeral, Angola, 1786-87
RegID
SI-OB-604
Date
1786-1787
Title
Funeral, Angola, 1786-87
Source
Louis de Grandpre, Voyage a la cote occidentale d'Afrique, fait dans les annèes 1786 et 1787 (Paris, 1801), vol. 1, facing p. 143. (Copy in Library Company of Philadelphia)
Language
French
Item sets
Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture
Spatial Coverage
Africa--West Central North--Cabinda
Reproduced In
Louis de Grandpre, Voyage a la cote occidentale d'Afrique, fait dans les annèes 1786 et 1787 (Paris, 1801), vol. 1, facing p. 143.
Researchers
Handler, Jerome; Tuite, Michael; Randall Ericson; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Identifier
LCP-10