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This article discusses two recent publications by art historians Susan Gagliardi and Matthew Rarey, which provide unique perspectives on the study of power objects and amulets in West and Central Africa and across the Atlantic world. Gagliardi challenges traditional categorizations of art objects and emphasizes the researcher's positionality in acquiring knowledge, while Rarey focuses on the cultural and historical context of objects and materials. Gagliardi's work explores the gendered participation in male power associations, while Rarey examines the significance of amulets in the lives of enslaved Africans. Both books offer valuable insights into the study of these often misunderstood objects and their cultural and historical significance. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Chérif Keïta; Massa Makan Diabaté; Mande; hermeneutics; multi-modality; orality; dozos; Manding; Mandé; herméneutique; multimodalité; oralité; mandingue EN Chérif Keïta Massa Makan Diabaté Mande hermeneutics multi-modality orality dozos Manding Mandé herméneutique multimodalité oralité mandingue 181 191 11 05/27/21 20200101 NES 200101 Re-Encountering Chérif In October of 2010, standing outside a conference center (Point Sud) in Bamako, Mali, with other participants, I heard a familiar voice from across the grounds. Instead of claiming this perspective as the result of his own scholarly insight, Chérif documents it as the self-conscious position of griots themselves, such as Banzumana Sissoko and, in particular, Massa Makan Diabaté, "who always proclaimed himself to be a griot" (Keïta 1995b: 188). The genius of Chérif's approach to the work of Massa Makan Diabaté lies in Cherif's use of the supposedly "oral" aesthetics of Mande griots - I jaliw i or I jeliw i in the Bamanankan of Mali - as a hermeneutic with which to interpret Diabaté's writing. Chérif has also produced three films about two pivotal couples who played key roles in the genesis of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle: Nokutela and John Dube of South Africa, and William and Ida Belle Wilcox of Northfield, Minnesota (Keïta 2005, 2009b, 2013; see also Hughes & Keïta 2013). [Extracted from the article]