Secret Sculptures of Komo: Art and Power in Bamana (Bambara) Initiation Associations, Patrick R. McNaughton's 1979 monograph from the Institute for the Study of Human Issues, is the dedicated academic study of the Komo initiation association among the Bamana, its masks and its graded esoteric teaching. Its strength is that it is a dedicated study of this specific initiation association rather than a general survey touching on it in passing. Its limit is that an initiation society's esoteric teaching is by design withheld from outsiders even from a careful researcher, so any outside account of it, including this one, is necessarily partial.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Patrick R. McNaughton's Secret Sculptures of Komo: Art and Power in Bamana (Bambara) Initiation Associations, Institute for the Study of Human Issues, 1979, the top tier reflecting a dedicated academic monograph on this specific initiation association rather than a general survey touching on it in passing. Its limit is structural rather than editorial: an initiation society's esoteric teaching is by design withheld from outsiders, so even this careful study is necessarily partial. NotesThe dedicated academic study of the Komo initiation association among the Bamana (Bambara), its masks and its graded esoteric teaching.
Citation
AuthorPatrick R. McNaughton
PublisherInstitute for the Study of Human Issues
Publication Year1979
Source TypeMonograph
Claims Backed By This Source (16 claims)
This source backs 16 claims across the atlas. As facts: 13 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Sacred Art & Iconography, 6 claims: 4 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
- Religions, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.