Young or old, their devotion and obedience were almost superhuman. Luckily, as described in the Mahabharata, the gods looked kindly on them. After all, these young men had earned the right to happiness.

    Textiles, sculptures, masks, costumes, and a variety of implements and musical instruments are lavishly illustrated and interpreted from the aesthetic that in Africa, 'icon' and 'act' are one, that African art can best be understood in the context of dance.The work is divided into three sections:(1) a list of highly abstract concepts such as 'ephebism' and 'coolness' which Thompson contends underlie African aesthetics;(2) an extended analysis of the significance of sculptures standing, sitting, riding, kneeling, supporting, and balancing; and(3) descriptions of six different dance events combining masks, poetry, music, and religious ritual, and their effects on their audiences.Representing scholarship and writing at its best, the work is a major contribution to the study of the arts as they are conceived, combined, and criticized by Africans.