Staging African Religions in the Early Enlightenment:

Bernard Picart and Jean Frédéric Bernard’s Section on Africa in Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses des peuples idolatres

Abstract

Between 1723 and 1737, the immensely popular Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde was published in Amsterdam under the direction of editor, compiler and author Jean Frédéric Bernard. This multi-volume work offered a comprehensive analysis of the world’s religions, with a particular focus on ceremonies, customs and rituals. It gained widespread acclaim largely due to its rich visual content, primarily the engravings by renowned French artist Bernard Picart. In recent decades, Cérémonies has gained renewed scholarly attention. Several studies have analysed the comparative methodology adopted by both Bernard and Picart. Seen as revolutionary for its attempt to present religious practices objectively and without overt judgment, this methodology has earned the label of a proto-anthropological study of religion. In the section of Cérémonies devoted to African religious practices, a similarly comparative approach is applied, while likewise drawing on a variety of earlier sources. Nevertheless, this section of the book has largely escaped critical analysis. This article seeks to address that gap by asking: To what extent does the Africa section of Cérémonies offer a distinctively nuanced portrayal of African religions in comparison with contemporary European stereotypical depictions? Through the visual analysis of a Khoikhoi mother figure, this article draws on engravings primarily held in the Rijksmuseum collection. It examines the sources on which Bernard and especially Picart relied, among them works by De Marees, De Bry, Kolb, De Hooghe, Dapper and Philips.