The Culture of Angola

The traditional art of Angola is sculpturing and mask making. Also they craft baskets and ceramics.

Figure making is the oldest type of art in Angola. In the beginning the used wood and ivory. Today they use also metal as the base material for their figure making.

In the beginning the designs were inspired in religious believes and they had abstract shapes. After the arrival of European settlers, the artist were exposed to Christianity, which had a strong influence on them.

Music and dance have a primordial importance in the African culture of Angola.

In southwest Angola the typical dance is called Nkili.

Une of the categories of Angola's dance is characterized by the use of masks and the variety of movement using mainly one part of the body.