There are many forms of art and play in the tribes of the world. Because of the tendency man has to embellish only culturally significant objects, we should easily recognize an investigation into art as a door to understanding tribal world view. It seems universally characteristic of man to go beyond his normal needs in creating his material culture to embellish objects by various means. The ornate carvings on a canoe have no real scientific function. They don't help it float nor propel it through the water, yet the tribe may have ritual and artistic specialists who have learned the intricate chants and methods associated with those carvings.

We need to investigate the type of art. The obvious forms are the paintings and carvings that are used as decoration (with or without any other significance). But beyond that are art-forms that might be overlooked as insignificant...speech (drama, oratory, story telling, poetry), singing, dancing, working with textiles (weaving, sewing, dyeing, embroidery), string games, etc.

The general rule is that the more an object is decorated, the more likely it is to have significance beyond its normal functional purpose. An object that is heavily decorated may occupy a focal point in world view, or may be decorated merely for appearance. The intricately sewn Kuna "mola" is a major form of income for both men and women in that tribe, yet its original function in society was to be part of a Kuna girl's blouse.

In the investigation of art in a tribal society, we need to notice not only the significance of the type of art, but also the artist or craftsman. Especially in very simple societies, every individual will show some form of "creativity" in what he makes and uses. But there are usually some who are more expert than others. Thus in some societies this expertise gives rise to special craftsmen, a special status in that society. These craftsmen or artists should be studied from economic, social, magical, religious, legendary and mythological points of view.

Here are some examples of the significance of art in cultures of the world.

Even though the Arab culture was, to a great extent, based on raiding, fighting and defending your honor, poets were feared more than anyone. They would often put a sly reference to some disgrace or shame a person had suffered into his poem. To have a derogatory poem written about you brought the ultimate shame. It was heard around campfires everywhere. Whole clans were "ruined" by poets. When a poet came to town, they rolled out the red carpet for him.

Everyone in the Tepehuan area makes violins, using wood carved with a knife, glued together with a compound prepared from roots of a certain plant, and held tightly together by wet leather thongs until the glue is firmly set. The bow string is prepared from deer gut or from horsehair. The violin strings are prepared from gut, horsehair, or wire obtained from Mestizos (of mixed European/ Indian descent).

One way to gain status and become an important man among the Pacaas Novas is to compose songs. They make up songs telling about how great a warrior they are.

A missionary executive arrived in West Africa and was told by the local church authorities that they had prepared a three-hour dance in his honor. He didn't know whether to attend or to disapprove of the dance. He finally decided to go. The people acted out, with great skill, the coming of the white man, his difficulties with the language, his trials and tribulations with travel, and lastly the message of the gospel and the transformation of the peoples' lives. What if the missionary implemented this "dance" as a means of teaching?

Ma'anyans consider ceremonial speeches the highest form of art. Highly skilled men deliver these speeches. At a formal betrothal ceremony, the real business can't begin until each speaker has made a humorous speech. The guests love listening to 1-2 hours of this verbal entertainment.

In the center of every Kalapalo village is a small building used to keep hardwood trumpets, /kagutu/, which are played by men. The women are forbidden to see them, with the consequence being mass rape. The /kagutu/ are large, heavy instruments which are usually played three at a time. To play them well requires considerable skill that is only developed through long practice. In the village, several men who have been cured from severe illness through the playing of these trumpets, are made trumpet players, /kagutu opo/. These men are responsible for announcing when the trumpets are to be played, seeing that there are men to play them, keeping the storage house in repair, making payment to both players and specialists, and storing the trumpets in their houses when they can't be played.

Painting pottery is quite an art among the Lagunas, as well as other tribes. About painting pots, one Laguna woman said: "I get my ideas from my thoughts. I think of my thoughts as a person who tells me what to do. I dream about designs, too. Sometimes before I go to bed, I am thinking about how I shall paint the next piece, and then I dream about it. I remember the designs well enough to paint in the morning. That is why my designs are better than those of other women. Some people do not think that pottery is anything, but it means a great deal to me. It is something sacred. I try to paint all my thoughts on my pottery."

One group in Polynesia has an extensive social organization related to the arts. There is a kind of secret society of entertainers and artists, called /arioi/ that men and women can choose to be initiated into. These people make a career of the arts of dancing, music, poetry, and other aesthetic and festive activities. Groups of them travel through the villages or form the escort of the high chiefs. The Arioi reportedly are not permitted to marry and any offspring they have are killed. The "society" has an elaborately graded internal organization with distinctive religious and magical practices. Among this group, there is much sexual freedom, and elaboration of arts with a sexual emphasis.