INTERACTIVE
Take a look at some of the photos from the book

Web posted on: Monday, December 06, 1999 11:45:11 AM EST

By Jamie Allen
CNN Interactive Senior Writer

(CNN) -- Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher first met in Kenya in 1978. Both photographers and students of African culture, they quickly found that they shared a common goal.

"When we first met, we shared a dream," recalls Beckwith. "We decided that one day we would like to do a comprehensive study of the most powerful ceremonies that occurred across the African continent, spanning the life cycle from birth to death. We were aware these ceremonies were fast disappearing and we felt an urgency to record them before it was too late. And we've been working toward that for the last ten years in order to prepare our double-volume book."

That book, "African Ceremonies," was published this year by Harry Abrams, and is a collection of over 800 photographs documenting the spectacular rituals and celebrations that color the African continent. The book is meant to teach cultures that are both different from and similar to world status quo.

"Ceremonies are like a peak period of each stage of life," says Beckwith. "They mark a transition where people are going to move from one stage to another and will understand the roles and responsibilities expected of them at the next stage."

Beckwith has authored three other books on Africa; Fisher has authored two. They visited 26 countries and recorded over 90 ceremonies for this joint work. Based in London, they spend about eight months a year on the African continent.

Working on an irregular schedule

Beckwith says for this project the hardest part was being in the right place at the right time.

"As you know, ceremonies don't occur on an exact schedule, so there are immense logistical challenges. Some ceremonies occur once every 12 years and they occur according to a cycle of the moon or a readiness of a generation to make a transition from one stage of life to another," she said.

"We really had the challenge of how to be at the right place at the right time, and if we arrived six weeks early, having come in on a mule train or camel back, we learned how to be very patient and wait for the ceremony to begin."

During these times, Beckwith and Fisher say they would get to know the people in the culture, learning their language and living the way they live. It's a lifestyle most people only appreciate through the pages of National Geographic.

The sections of "African Ceremonies" focus on "Birth & Initiation," "Courtship & Marriage," "Royalty & Power," "Seasonal Rites," "Beliefs & Worship," and "Spirits & Ancestors."

"The climax was when the golden stool was brought in, which represents the Ashanti soul and is believed to have descended from heaven 200 years ago," Beckwith explains. "This stool is so precious, it's a throne that no individual can sit on. This was paraded in for the first time in 25 years and was placed on its own throne and presented for one day only to the public."

The ceremony is carried on in the face of sweeping change in social and political environs on the African continent. Beckwith says each visit to African teaches her something about human existence.

"Angela and I feel when we come back to the Western world that we've really lost the important rituals that teach us so many things," she says. "We really hope that our book will rekindle an awareness of these values as we all move into the millennium."