Table of Contents
Red- Life & blood; Gold- Fortune; Blue- Innocence; Green- The earth and Africa as the mother country; Black- The Unity of the people of Africa -show their understandings of one selected African mask – Brainstorm ideas for creating their own personal masks.
What do the designs on African masks mean?
The patterns are combined on masks to represent the prohibitions, rules for proper conduct of life, and requirements of the spirits the masks represent–they are visible forms of the soser of the Lobi.
What are the Colours like on African masks?
African masks come in all different colours, such as red, black, orange, and brown. In most traditional African cultures, the person who wears a ritual mask conceptually loses his or her human life and turns into the spirit represented by the mask itself.
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.
What colors are royalty?
Why is purple considered the color of royalty? The color purple’s ties to kings and queens date back to ancient world, where it was prized for its bold hues and often reserved for the upper crust.
What story can a mask tell?
Masks are used in social ceremonies (weddings, funerals, etc.), seasonal celebrations, and religious events. They are used to tell stories, impart wisdom, and ask for spirit blessings and protections.
How do you make African masks?
STEPS 2Cut eye holes. Start out with an 8½-inch or 10-inch paper plate. 3Make the nose and mouth. Take some strips of newspaper. 4Paint the mask. Paint your mask with a base color, which is typically brown, black, or white. 5Paint the details. 6Add some hair. 7Use the mask.
What were the primary colors used in African masks?
“But throughout much of Africa, the primary colors are red, white and black.
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 does yellow mean in African culture?
Yellow is reserved only to people of high rank in many African nations, because of its close resemblance to gold, which is universally associated with money, quality, and success.
What does Brown mean in African culture?
Brown- Funerals (Akan) Gold- Royalty, Wealth, Status, Serenity, Spiritual Purity (Ghana) Silver- Serenity, Pure Joy, Associated with the Moon (Ashanti)Jun 24, 2016
What is the most popular color in Africa?
In South Africa, silver was the second most popular colour in 2019, followed by grey, blue and red. “This is different to the global preferences, where black was the second most popular colour in 2019, followed by grey, silver and blue,” Mienie said.
Why are African masks made of wood?
The majority of masks and sculptures are made of wood for two reasons: Trees are in plentiful supply in the forest. The carver believes that the tree has a spiritual soul and its wood is the most natural home for the spirit in the mask.
What is African masks used for?
African masks provide a tangible form for invisible spirits, which are personified as human beings, animals, or fantastic composites of both. Spirits—deities, ancestors, and nature spirits (those that inhabit streams, rivers, rocks, and other natural forms)—get involved in the affairs of people, by invitation or not.
What do masks symbolize?
Masks usually represent supernatural beings, ancestors, and fanciful or imagined figures, and they can also be portraits. The localization of a particular spirit in a specific mask must be considered a highly significant reason for its existence.
When was the Baule mask created?
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.
Is it OK to have African masks?
Wearing A Masks Erases Your Previous Identity African tribal masks do not represent real people, dead or alive, or even animals, when they take on the form of animals. Moreover, when an individual wears and African mask, they no longer possess their own personality.
What are the types of African masks?
African Masks Menu Baule Mask. Biombo Mask. Bwa Plank Mask. Dan Mask. Goma Mask. Kota Mask. Kwele Mask. Ligbi Mask.
What is the name of a traditional African mask?
African masks should be seen as part of a ceremonial costume. They are used in religious and social events to represent the spirits of ancestors or to control the good and evil forces in the community.
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.
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.
What are the key features of an African mask?
African mask characteristics The design of most African masks are a symmetrical design. Include patterns The zigzag lines flanking the face signify the “path of the ancestors.” The checkerboard pattern represents ignorance and knowledge, dark and light. Enlarged facial features.
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.
Are African masks worth anything?
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 does the color green mean in African culture?
Green: growth – both spiritual growth, and also relating to the land, harvest, vegetation and crops. Grey: symbolises ash, as well as cleansing and healing rituals. Silver: associated with the moon, as well as peace, purity and joy.
What is the color of African royalty?
Purple is associated with words such as royalty, wisdom, passion and luxury.
