Focusing on the Mandombe alphabet and the life-story of its inventor, David Wabeladio Payi, Ramon Sarró combines biography, art, and religion to explore the connections between religious imagination and innovation in Kongo culture. He offers a unique case study of the search for cultural and epistemological independence in the global south.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
List of figures; List of maps; List of Glyphs; Acknowledgments; Part I. Introduction: 1. A writing lesson (in Luanda); Part II. Biography: 2. N'kamba: the road to revelation; 3. Kinshasa: the road to the university; 4. The eagle and the silk-cotton tree: my road with Wabeladio; Part III. Writing, Art, and Kongo Culture: 5. The road to the alphabet: the basics of Mandombe; 6. On the Kongo road writing and entrapping culture; 7. The road to art: the basics of Kimbanbula; 8. A different road: reading Wabeladio's 'Method of Discovery'; Part IV. Discussion: 9. How to make words with bricks: some final thoughts on creativity; Bibliography; Index.
