ABSTRACT
It is commonplace that rituals are in a distinct way connected with emotions. Rituals highlight the gravity of political acts and celebrate the solemnity of religious ceremonies; rituals exclaim the joy of feasts and victories and articulate the mourning of loss and defeat. As an intermediary conclusion it can be stated that the African objects and rituals present or enact a distinct form of mimesis. This chapter discusses the questions by exploring a particular case of ritual handling of emotions in post-colonial Africa. Many of the objects are very expressive, showing faces with stark emotions and figures in postures that can be interpreted as terrifying, eccentric, or preposterous. Returning to the initially noted connection between rituals and emotions, the most important argument then is that the African images, objects, and rituals, due to their distinctly mimetic and iconic nature, than embody and control the emotions of intimidation, humiliation, and terror that emanate from the encounter with colonialism and modernity.
