Bamana: The Art of Existence in Mali  provides a comprehensive examination of the Bamana peoples of West Africa. Westerners have long thought African society is governed by ancestry and ethnicity. But in fact we come to recognize that more profound characteristics pertaining to philosophy and ethics are stronger influences as revealed by this study of the Bamana way of life. Through the learned secretly guarded knowledge of proper, prescribed behavior the Bamana appease forces of nature or spirits to ensure their beneficence toward the human community (and its continuity). At appropriate milestones in their lives they acquire this essential, guarded knowledge through study and initiation into associations differentiated by gender, age, or power. The masks and objects are visible manifestations created to communicate with these forces or to teach ideals and correct behavior.

Exhibition catalogue edited and written by Jean-Paul Colleyn with contributions: The Sogow: Imagining a Moral Universe through Sogo bo Masquarades by Mary Jo Arnoldi, Dialectics of Aesthetic Form in Bamana Art by James T. Brink, Islamic Ritual and Practice in Bamana Segou - the 19th Century “Citadel of Paganism” by Rene A. Bravmann, Pilgrim Fajigi and Basiw from Mecca: Islam and Traditional Religion in the Former French Sudan by David C. Conrad, Art of the Jo Society by Kate Ezra, More Than Objects: Bamana Artistry in Iron, Wood, Clay, Leather and Cloth by Barbara E. Frank, The Jo and the Gwan by Salia Malé, The “Power Associations,” Introduction, and The Komo by Patrick McNaughton. Field photographs by Catherine De Clippel. Published by the Museum for African Art and Snoeck, Ducaju, and Zoon, Ghent, September 2001. 262 pp. English: Cloth: ISBN 90-5349-359-X. Paper: ISBN 0-945802-32-3. LCCN 2001091515. German: Cloth: ISBN 90-5349-360-3. Paper: ISBN 3-907077-00-8.