MONDAY DEC. 3 at 9:30 pm - Beckwith/Fisher
American-born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher met in Kenya 35 years ago and began their relationship with the African continent, journeying over 270,000 miles, through 40 countries and recording 150 African cultures.  In this recent Beverly Hills Forum, the authors discussed their latest publication, "Painted Bodies: African Body Painting, Tattoos, and Scarification" (2012).  Another pan-African study, based on 93 ceremonies from 26 countries, is the double volume "African Ceremonies" (1999), which covers the rituals and rites of passage from birth to death and won the United Nations Award for Excellence for its "vision and understanding of the role of cultural traditions in the pursuit of world peace."  Aware that traditional cultures in Africa are fast disappearing, Carol and Angela are working to complete the third volume of their ongoing study of African Ceremonies.