THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407220143
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Karen E. Quinones Miller
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
NOT FAR from Baltimore, in Columbia, Md., is the Maryland Museum of African Art - housed in restored 19th century manor.
Founded in 1980, the purpose of the museum is cultivate an better understanding and appreciation of traditional African culture, says its founder Doris H. Ligon.
The logo of the museum is the akua'ba figure, a Ghanian symbol that was worn by pregnant women to guarantee the birth of healthy children.
The 750-square-foot museum includes paintings, sculptures, musicial instruments, household items and textiles.
There is also a wide array of masks, including the 55-pound helmetlike ``nimba,'' which was worn by the Nimba people in Guinea, West Africa, to celebrate bountiful harvests. The men who were required to dance with the heavy, 48-inch-tall masks wore shoulder straps to keep them balanced, and a long raffia cape.
The museum also offers lectures and workshops about African culture and traditional African dance classes, and periodically sponsors trips to the continent of Africa. MEMO: The Maryland Museum of African Art is at 5340 Vantage Point Road,
Historic Oakland at Town Center, Columbia, Md. 21044. Phone: 410
730-7105. by CNB