Adinkra – Wisdom in African Symbols

Adinkra – Sabedoria em símbolos africanos collects the ideograms of the Asante civilization’s written language, from the people living in the territory we now call Ghana. In a philosophical-aesthetic universe based on the human body, animal figures, plants, stars, and other objects, the drawings incorporate, preserve, and transmit aspects of history, philosophy, values, and sociocultural normas from this rich African culture.

The book presents over 80 symbols accompanied by meanings, proverbs, and original symbology. More than an homage to this ancestry, the work helps to create a foundation for a new articulation of Brazilian identity.

As celebrated by writer, composer and singer Nei Lopes in a piece written for this volume: “And, much like the kra is much more than a “soul”, an adinkra is much more than a symbol. Through this beautiful collection, organized and redrawn by Elisa Larkin and Luiz Carlos Gá in this opportune moment, Africa seems to say, to those who belittle and humiliate her after enjoying so much from her, this Acã proverb: ‘If the forest welcomes you, don’t call it a jungle.’”

The edition also features a foreword by Ghana professor, historian and political scientist Anani Dzidzienyo and an essay by researcher and artist Renata Felinto about the adinkra and the non-European paradigms of historicity records.

About the editors
Elisa Larkin Nascimento has a master’s degree in Law and Social Sciences from the State University of New York (SUNY), and a doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of São Paulo (USP), and is the director of the African-Brazilian Research and Study Institute (Ipeafro). She idealized and organized the class “Sankofa: African-Brazilian cultural conscience” at the São Paulo Catholic University (PUC-SP) and the Rio de Janeiro State University (Uerj). She’s the curator of the Abdias Nascimento archive and the author of O sortilégio da cor (2003) and Sankofa: Matrizes africanas da cultura brasileira, 4 vols. (2008-2009).

Luiz Carlos Gá is a visual artist, with a degree in Graphic Design from the Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ) arts school. He taught graphic design at the Senai graphic arts school, at the UFRJ arts school, at the Silva and Souza Integrated College, and at Estácio de Sá University. He’s a part of various African-Brazilian social justice organizations, and is a former president of the Palmares Human Rights Institute (IPDH) executive board.

About the collection
The Encruzilhada collection intends to build a landscape of Brazilian and foreign authors working with contemporary issues such as antiracisms, feminisms and decolonial thoughts. Edited by José Fernando Peixoto de Azevedo, a Doctor of Philosophy and professor at ECA/USP, the collection presents authors who think about the present, attempting to shed a light on how certain processes, as they're faced, understood and transformed, can change historical perception.

Specifications
Title Adinkra – Sabedoria em símbolos africanos
[Adinkra – Wisdom in African Symbols]
Editors Elisa Larkin Nascimento e Luiz Carlos Gá
Collection Crossroads Collection
Editor José Fernando Peixoto de Azevedo
Language Portuguese
Page count 160
ISBN 978-65-5691-076-5
Cover Thiago Lacaz
Format Softcover
Size 14 x 21 cm
Year 2022