Preface / Ernst Fuchs -- Foreword / Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff -- 1. In the beginning : the magic of colours -- Rock art in the Sahara -- Painted idols of the Neolithic age -- Cosmetic arts under the pharaohs -- Make-up in classical times -- 2. Ancient America : art for gods, men and spirits -- Fertile women and demanding spirits -- Helpful gods, destructive gods -- Precious textiles and clay idols for the ancestors -- 3. North America : portraits of a great past -- 'Wild' in the West, 'civilized' in the East -- Colour meanings : symbols of success and victory -- Ritual dances on the Missouri -- The painter as historian and chronicler of a dying nation -- The warrior societies of the prairie Indians -- Th portrayal of foreigners : illusion and reality in European thought -- The affluent society of the North-West coast Indians -- The Anasazi and their tradition -- 4. Mythical South America -- Festivals : milestones in life --Ceremonial decoration and ritual painting : the theatre of fantasy -- Filigree costumes made of soft lines, rectangles and stripes -- Birds' wings on his face make him ruler of the air -- Initiation markings -- The delicate engraved style of the Indians on the Ucayali in Peru's Eastern rain forest -- An imperial marriage : prelude to the exploration of the Brazilian interior.
5. The intoxication of colours : the peoples of Oceania -- New Guinea : decoration follows strict conventions -- Ceremonial decorations indicate wealth and position -- Colour symbolism and patterns of face-painting -- Decoration and paint : sacred power for men and plants -- Unmistakable ornaments : symbols of higher beings -- Protective clay : symbol of mourning and death -- New Britain : island of masks -- New Ireland : Malanggan symbols -- Tattooing and inlaid work : art on the Solomons -- Vanuatu : painting shows who you are -- Masters of the tattooist's art : the Polynesians -- Marks of prestige, mourning and obligation -- Moko : decoration, sign of rank and coat of arms -- Lines carved on the skin -- 6. Australia : the secret of the rainbow snake -- Body decoration : an essential component of rituals -- Introduction to the sacred knowledge -- Sacred centres of the dream time : birthplaces of the spirit children -- Wondjina and Mimi spirits : Aboriginal rock paintings.
7. Africa : the diversity of shapes, the power of colours -- Red : the colour of life and death -- White : a link with the supernatural -- Stylization : the human and non-human worlds -- Permanent amulets : the tattoos of Berber women -- The Siyala : decoration and Talisman of female fertility -- The Wodabe bridegrooms' parade : male beauty contest -- Surma stick-fights in Ethiopia : duels as conflict management -- Attributes of recognition among the Mursi and Bumi -- The transient art of the Ethiopian Karo -- Symbols of fulfilment, social values and ideals -- Lifelong markings : testimony to personal experience -- Living sculptures : variations of an ancient theme -- The fantastic 'uniforms' of the Nuba -- Unlimited power of expression -- The rules of colour : a man's career -- Bizarre facial decorations -- Prescribed patterns and shades of colour : women's markings -- Festive Dinka and Surma painting -- The 'pearls' of the Shilluk and the Punu -- The Samburu and the Kikuyu : tradition and change -- Symbol of youth : Masai body decoration -- Marriage and the end of youth -- Royal decorations of the Mangbetu -- 'Dying and growing up' : the Xhosa and the Fingo -- Ife bronze heads -- Yoruba : the body as reflection of inner qualities -- Luluwa : the marks of dignity, hope and vitality -- Painted bodies, painted walls : living art forms among the Loma.
8. A world of symbols : India, Nepal, Indonesia -- Marks on the forehead -- Striving for perfection -- Mehndi beautifies brides -- Pictures of gods -- Children as deities -- Symbolic make-up of the Kathakali Dance Theatre -- The Gond : pictures of the sun and moon -- The art of tattooing in Kutch -- Dots and figurative symbols -- Last representatives of an ancient culture : the Andamanese -- Colour of life, colour of light -- Mentawai : beauty is the souls' delight -- Male and female decoration -- 9. The 'painted face' of China : Peking opera make-up -- The actor as theatre -- Different patterns for different types of character -- The monkey king Sun Wu-kung : a popular symbol in Chinese mythology -- Red face and black beard : general Guan Yu -- 10. Japan : painted skin, decorated bodies -- Geishas : precious flowers on the fringe of society -- Kabuki make-up : colours of heroes and villains -- The female impersonator is the star of kabuki -- Body decoration in prehistoric Japan -- The Ainu women of Hokkaido -- From stigma to ornamentation -- Nihon irezumi : beauty contest and high art -- Tradition in modernity : the photographs of Hideki Fujii -- 11. The Western world today : seeking the source -- Body-paintings as improvisation, polished artistic composition and perfect optical illusion -- Colour brings out the inner person -- Body art : hope of a reconciliation between art and life -- Punks : colourful despair -- Tattooing : the hot needle under the skin -- Conflicting emotions : demonstrators and fans -- Carnival : a short scherzo -- Make-up : part camouflage, part identification -- The microcosm of clowns -- The imaginative power of make-up in the theatre.
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