African Kings: Portraits of a Disappearing Era [Hardcover]

Daniel Laine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Even today there are close to 100 tribal kings in Africa, vestiges of a former age—their ancient traditions preserved, their wisdom and power still honored. A portal into these worlds of mysterious rites, ancient customs, and fantastic finery, AFRICAN KINGS takes us into the inner circle of 70 of these tribes in the person of their king. Gorgeous formal portraits of each king, in full regalia, are accompanied by brief biographies and historical notes on the tribe and the rituals and history associated with each ruler. AFRICAN KINGS introduces us to a way of life rarely glimpsed, with anthropological roots as deep as any on the earth, as they make the transition into a new millennium. Includes a historical introduction that provides an overview of the king's role in African tribes.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

From 1988 to 1991, Laine photographed 70 African monarchs "whose dynasties marked the history of Africa until the middle of the twentieth century." With hundreds of monarchs to choose from, Laine focused on those who continued to "retain a traditional and spiritual authority that is difficult for the Western mind to comprehend." Laine recalls the difficulties of getting permission for the photographs, the sensitive diplomatic negotiations involved in many cases. A war in Sudan prevented Laine from photographing the king of Shiluk, a descendant of black dynasties that ruled Egypt. Others, including the king of Swaziland, declined to be photographed. With each striking photograph, Laine provides a brief biography and historical notes about the tribe and its rituals. Among those photographed are Chukumela Nnam Obi II, the Oba of Ogba, Nigeria; El Hadj Sheehu Idris, emir of Zaria, Nigeria; and Goodwill Zwelethini, king of the Zulu, South Africa. The book includes historical background by Pierre Alexandre on the origins and significance of African kingdoms. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

...remarkable glimpse of a vanishing world. --Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "riveting images...the richness and elegance of native dress"
--Los Angeles Times "Powerful." --news.nationalgeographic.com"colorful...dramatic portraits." —Dallas Morning News

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580082246
• ISBN-13: 978-1580082242
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 11.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most amazing chronicle, July 9, 2004

By 

Karen Mercury (Green River, UT United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: African Kings: Portraits of a Disappearing Era (Hardcover)

I adore this book. I do historical research, and originally ordered it from the library; I loved it so much I had to buy my own copy. Then my brother-in-law (from Nigeria) started reading it to our 8 month old niece, so I bought him a copy. I just cannot believe one dude got access to all these kings, and they agreed to pose for him. I look upon it alternately with reverence and with hilarity. There's a hilarious juxtaposition of the old and new, as with the king riding in a "car," and you can gaze forever and still not see all the strange modern objects in the background such as the fridge one king displays so proudly. It's historically accurate that kings would take any European woman's flowered dressing gown and convert it into a robe, and incongruous hats given to them by colonial powers were always revered.

The one thing they all have in common is they are all men with pride.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Royal Africa, May 1, 2004

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: African Kings: Portraits of a Disappearing Era (Hardcover)

This book with its beautiful photographs chronicles the surviving African royalty. The introduction by Pierre Alexandre, Origins Of The African Kingdoms, deals with the early history of Africa, the influence of the colonial occupation on traditional institutions, post-independence Africa and takes a closer look at the Fulani, Yoruba, Akan, Luba and Zulu peoples. The text is enlivened by historical black and white illustrations.

Following this, the next section deals with current royalty in the form of full colour portraits of the monarchs in full royal regalia plus brief biographies and historical notes on the tribes concerned. The kings and queens come from countries and tribes like Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Cameroon, Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.

South Africa is represented by amongst others, King Goodwill Zwelethini of the Zulu (a descendant of the warrior king Shaka) and the famous Rain Queen, Modjadji IV of the Lobedu tribe. It is an interesting and valuable study of the traditions and personalities of a disappearing African culture. This book will be of great value to historians and ethnologists.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping sense of cultural stamina, April 8, 2001

By 

Phnom (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African Kings: Portraits of a Disappearing Era (Hardcover)

I was blown away by this book. Having just returned from a trip to West Africa (Mali) I was on the lookout for something that did not play out cliches, and I found it here. The intense variety of self-presentation seemed to me both to reflect different tribal histories as well as different individuals, chiefs and kings often with refrigerators in the background or flourescent lights overhead, and yet, to my mind, glowing with cultural vitality---even when tired or, on occasion the text tells us, dying. A previous reviewer noted the stiffness, and yet I felt good about that sense of decorum, presentation, bearing, sometimes with a bit of fun along the way. The cover picture, I might say, doesn't offer the best sense of what is inside, for it offers few surprises. The African photos of the great West African photographer Seydou Keita are, I guess, more works of art, but this book gives me a greater sense of something sometimes wild and frequently noble in African culture, and a glorious and unsettling sense of an undeniable aristocracy: I'm glad to have both books.