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The mask wearer can become a sort of medium that allows for a dialogue between the community and the spirits. Most times, the spirits mentioned are those of the dead, or nature-related. Masked dances are a part of most traditional African ceremonies related to weddings, funerals, initiation rites, and cleansing.
What do African masks symbolize?
African masks are used in rituals and ceremonies. They might serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies to ensure a good harvest, address tribal needs in time of peace or war, or convey spiritual presences in initiation rituals or burial ceremonies. Some masks represent the spirits of deceased ancestors.
Why are African masks created?
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. These masks are made to represent an abstract subject, which explains stylization.
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.
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.
Who invented African masks?
Eric Herold estimates these images to have been created by nomadic herdsmen possibly between 3500 and 1500 B.C. (World 9). However, some scholars believe, as Segy has reported, that masks of animal heads were used by Paleolithic man at least 35,000 years ago (Black 44).
What countries still use traditional 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.
What are West African masks made of?
African masks are made from a range of different materials: wood, bronze, brass, copper, ivory, terra cotta and glazed pottery, raffia and textiles.
What materials are used for African masks?
There are many different materials used to make African masks such as: wood, bronze, brass, copper, ivory, glazed pottery, raffia and textiles.
How did African art start?
The origins of African art lie long before recorded history. African rock art in the Sahara in Niger preserves 6000-year-old carvings. Along with sub-Saharan Africa, the western cultural arts, ancient Egyptian paintings and artifacts, and indigenous southern crafts also contributed greatly to African art.
Are African masks used today?
In contemporary Africa, masks are no longer as commonly used for tribal ceremonies though they still represent one of the continent’s most vibrant contributions to the arts.
What are the characteristics of African masks?
Characteristics of African Masks Most patterns tend to be geometrical and symmetrical and are presented as a form of coded information. Parallel, zigzag, cruciform, curved and spiral lines, representing scarification marks or tattoos, are frequently used to adorn the planes of the mask face.
What is West African dancing?
Traditional West African Dances include Goombey, a harvest dance, Lambaan, a dance of celebration, Sunu, a wedding dance, and Manjani, Jon Don, and Wolosodon. Traditional West African Dance is free, expressive and loaded with history and culture.
Where did mask originated from?
The practice of wearing face-masks to prevent disease can be dated back to the 1910-11 Manchurian epidemic in China. It was Wu Lien-teh, a Cambridge educated Chinese doctor who described the mask as a ’prophylactic apparatus’ that could be worn by all to protect themselves from the plague.
What the most famous mask?
12 of the World’s Most Famous Face Masks 2) Iron Man. Of course, it is not just villains that wear masks and Marvel Comic’s all-fighting Iron Man’s distinctive red and gold mask has become synonymous with Superheroes. 3) Zorro. 4) Batman. 5) The Mask. 6) Predator. 7) Gladiator (Maximus) 8) Hannibal. 9) Scream.
What are African masks called?
Masquerades (African Masks)
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.
How do you make a African mask for kids?
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.
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 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 is the oldest mask?
Billed as “the oldest masks in the world,” a creepy collection of 9,000-year-old stone faces is now on display in Israel. With stilted smiles and large eyeholes, the artifacts are thought to have represented the spirits of dead ancestors and may have been worn during Stone Age ceremonies and rituals, researchers say.
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.
