The creation and history of the African mask is one steeped in meaning and tradition. For thousands of years, rituals and ceremonies was and to a lesser extent is still an integral part of African life. Rich with symbolic meaning, the African mask was treasured for its spiritual quality, as opposed to its aesthetic appearance.
During celebrations, initiations, crop harvesting, war preparation, peace and trouble times, African Masks are worn by a chosen or initiated dancer. It can be worn in three different ways: vertically covering the face, as helmets, encasing the entire head, and as crest, resting upon the head, which was commonly covered by material as part of the disguise.
Various styles of African Masks
The Role of Masks in Rituals
Ritual ceremonies generally depict deities, spirits of ancestors, mythological beings, good and or evil, the dead, animal spirits, and other beings believed to have power over humanity. During the mask ceremony the dancer goes into deep trance, and during this state of mind he "communicate" with his ancestors. A wise man or translator sometimes accompanies the wearer of the mask during the ritual. The dancer brings forth messages of wisdom from his ancestors. Often the messages are grunted utterances and the translator will accurately decipher the meaning of the message.
Traditional African Masks: everything you should know part 1
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Unique Styles of African Masks
The remarkable thing about the African mask is that each culture has created a unique version to represent the spirit of its tribe. People living in different parts of African would produce art unique to their own culture.
Goma African Mask
The Goma African mask was produced by people living near Lake Tanganyika, which is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This style of mask is elongated, with a dome at the top of the face.
Gabon's Punu Tribe Mask
This style of African mask captures what is considered a beautiful female face by Gabon’s Punu tribe. This style features hair pulled up high on top of the head, with eyes carved in a shape that reminds one of an Asian woman.
Ivory Coast Celebratory Mask
This celebratory African mask comes from the Ivory Coast. It features an elongated shape with wings on the side. The mouth is carved in the shape of a rectangle.
Baule People Mask
The Baule people carve African masks to be worn while dancing during harvest festivals. The mask’s round shape is a reminder of the Sun, the source of all life.
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Baule Mask
Ju-Ju and Embellishments
What are those leather pouches around that warrior’s arm? Those sacks tied around a young woman’s waist? A ju-ju, or “supernatural object,” is a type of West African charm attributed with magical powers. To some, ju-ju making is a form of witchcraft, but as part of everyday life even for urban and well-educated West Africans, it is a more serious tradition rooted deeply in many cultures.
While some African cultures still believe in the spiritual nature of items such as cowrie shells, most ju-jus are intentionally crafted objects blessed with incantations or containing inserted Arabic scripts. The most common crafters of ju-jus are marabouts, who place the scripts inside a necklace, bracelet, ring or other pouch and sew it shut tightly.
While many West Africans employ the marabout to make healing ju-jus, there are many other types of ju-jus. Scripts can be written with the hope of certain marriage arrangements, agricultural harvests, business transactions and even bad omens upon enemies.
In addition to the very real practice of wearing ju-jus, many African masks and African sculptures are adorned with these curious embellishments. Most figures and sculptures of West African warriors, for example, will include different types of ju-jus hanging around the neck, as an armband or even at the waist. Although more rare, there are types of African masks where ju-jus will grace the forehead or ears of the figure.
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African mask with Ju-Ju Adornments
Colonialism's Impact
The gradual effects of parceled out territories to Colonial governments, and the ensuing damage to traditional economies followed by the displacement of huge quantities of people, by colonialism, resulted in economies and food production systems being wrecked.
