Article: CHOKWE BASKETS: Cultural Continuity in Exile.(basket weaving culture of the Chokwe)(excerpt from Chokwe! Art and Initiation Among Chokwe and Related Peoples )

Cultural Continuity in Exile

Chokwe women of Angola who have fled the country's civil wars with their families and settled illegally in Zambian villages along the border still take great pride in the creation of baskets. It's an art form passed down from mother to daughter, and the baskets they weave may be used to hold food or to serve as divination instruments. Only postmenopausal women can weave divination baskets, because menstrual blood, considered a pollutant, would hamper the effect of a divination basket. Such details are important to the diviner, for it is his job to follow strict guidelines in maintaining order among people in the village and between ...

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