Table of Contents
African masks have been made by many cultures on the African continent for thousands of years. They are objects with deep religious or symbolic meaning, often related specifically to their creators and the cultures from which they come. Some masks might represent deceased ancestors or powerful spirits.
What do different African masks represent?
Some masks represent the spirits of deceased ancestors. Others symbolize totem animals, creatures important to a certain family or group. In some cultures, like the Kuba culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, masks represent specific figures in tribal mythology, like a king or a rival to the ruler.
What are the 6 types of African masks?
African Masks Menu Baule Mask. Biombo Mask. Bwa Plank Mask. Dan Mask. Goma Mask. Kota Mask. Kwele Mask. Ligbi Mask.
Are African masks valuable?
Most African masks are fakes. If a mask measures up well to all of these, chances are you will have to pay a lot for it. The good news is that these high-quality pieces will most likely appreciate in value. Fakes, reproductions, tourist junk, and authentic-but-inferior masks are not a good investment.
What are African masks decorated with?
Masks Often Incorporate Natural Materials A Chewa mask of wood decorated with feathers, wool and metal from Malawi. This can include materials derived from animals such as cowrie shells, feathers and ivory as well as animal skins, bones and horns. Sometimes they can be even more unusual, like porcupine quills.
Which type of African mask is worn like a hat?
Helmet crests masks – The helmet crest mask is very much like the helmet masks only that the piece does not cover the face. It is usually worn like a hat.
Why did the Africans make masks?
It is believed that the earliest masks were used in Africa before Paleolithic era. They represent spirits of animals or ancestors, mythological heroes, moral values or a form of honoring of a person in a symbolic way. They are made from wood, pottery, textiles, copper and bronze.
How much light does an African mask plant need?
Exposure. Like many other houseplants, the African Mask Plant needs bright, natural light. This would be medium or moderate light. It doesn’t do well in low light (the leaves will get smaller & the plant won’t grow) but on the other hand, keep it out of direct sun.
What cultures use masks?
They were also widely used among Oceanic peoples of the South Pacific and among American Indians. Masks have served an important role as a means of discipline and have been used to admonish. Common in China, Africa, Oceania, and North America, admonitory masks usually completely cover the features of the wearer.
What are three different forms of African masks?
Lesson Summary Common types of African masks include face masks, which fit over the front of the wearer’s face; helmet masks, which fit over the entire head; and forehead masks, which work like hats that sit horizontally on top of the head with the wearer’s face covered by fabric.
Why are cultural masks worn?
For young people in particular, they can be symbols of fashion, as demonstrated by designer masks on the catwalk at China’s fashion week in 2014 – smog couture. Young people may also use them to avoid attention from other passengers on public transport, signalling a desire to avoid any communication.
What countries still use African masks?
Tribal masks Bwa, Mossi and Nuna of Burkina Faso. Dan of Liberia and Ivory Coast. Dogon and Bamana of Mali. Fang (Punu) and Kota of Gabon. Yorubo, Nubo, Igbo and Edo of Nigeria. Senufo and Grebo, Baule (Guro) and Ligbi (Koulango) of Ivory Coast. Temne, Gola and Sande (Sowei) of Sierra Leone. Bambara of Mali.
When was the Baule mask made?
Portrait Mask (Gba gba) before 1913. Designed as part of a Baule theatrical tradition, known as “Mblo,” that combines dramatic skits and solo dances, this mask is an idealized representation of the prominent member of the community for which it was sculpted.
What is a Goli mask?
The goli kplekple mask is one of several that appear in the Goli spirit dance. It represents a minor spirIt associated with the junior rank of male. dancers who perform before the more important masks appear. In keeping with its low status, this mask is made in a simple disk-shaped design and.
Who wears African masks?
In many African groups, masks are worn by dancers. Masked dancers often participate in ceremonies that include songs and prayers. Different ceremonies honor children’s coming of age, harvests, funerals, and other events. The person who wears the mask knows exactly what he or she must do.
How can you tell if an African mask is real?
Look for wear from forehead, cheeks, chins and noses. The mask should look like it’s been handled. 3. Smell the mask for the hint of smoke odor that may have come from a mask being used near ritual fires or stored in houses heated by wood.
When was the first African mask made?
These famous paintings suggest that masks in Africa have been used for at least 4,000 years (Mack 39). Eric Herold estimates these images to have been created by nomadic herdsmen possibly between 3500 and 1500 B.C. (World 9).
What is the purpose of cultural masks?
Masks from other cultures As the point of contact and medium of communication with others, faces and their artistic representations, whether human, animal or spirit, have been used to express cultural and spiritual beliefs, create identities and transform personalities.
What is African masquerade?
Masquerades are multimedia events that often include not one but several masked dancers embodying various spirits. For example, annual Egungun masquerades bring the ancestors back to town dressed in sumptuous cloths.
What does the mask represent?
The mask symbolizes how blacks must hide who they really are to navigate in white society. Because they are viewed as stereotypes, blacks must pretend to be what white people expect them to be. A mask hides one’s true identity.
What is the oldest mask in the world?
A collection of the world’s oldest masks, dating back to the dawn of civilisation, have gone on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The 9,000-year-old stone masks are thought to have been made to resemble the spirits of dead ancestors. They have round holes for eyes, tiny noses and prominent displays of teeth.
