Importance Of African Masks In Africa

Many Mesoamerican Indian groups in Mexico used and continue to use masks in their culture today. One of these Mesoamerican Indian groups includes the Hñahñu Indian people, also known as the Otomí Indians. Due to a loss of the unwritten customs and traditions that failed to continue by word of mouth, many mask-making origins have been lost. Researchers make assumptions with the little information they have obtained from researching the Otomíes and other close indigenous groups. The Otomí Indians associate many rituals with masks. Religious ceremonies and carnival celebrations often include masks. Masks were also often combined with storytelling, music, and rhythm (Bell). The masking rituals contain many religious and cultural aspects. The Otomí have a highly diverse history filled with cultural traditions in which masks are used to represent symbols or spirits. Masking traditions display the needs, beliefs, values and desire of a culture.

Masks have held countless uses and meanings throughout history. Masks have been used in plays, like those of Shakespeare, traditional dances, social gatherings, even as a form of casual or corporal punishment. Although masks have several different uses in different cultural situations, the meaning of the masks is generally the same. Masks are used to conceal an appearance and assume the identity of another. Metaphorically, masks can be used to hide feelings, to protect oneself, and to block out the outside world. Many of these examples are shown in Art Speigelman 's Maus.

There are numerous types of masks that come from the West African region, each represent a specific personality trait. Masks from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Gambia, and Sierra Leone all symbolize the various characteristics that can found in people. To find a mask that best fit my personality, I researched the various amount of masks that can be found in Ghana. Birds have been an important part in ancient animist cultures, whose tribal people believed that birds had spirits and played special roles in many aspects of life. Several African masks depict a bird on or above a human forehead, signifying a range of personalities from courage to intelligence. One of these masks is the Sonu Bird

Nothing is more real than the mask we choose to show each other who we are. In a coming-to-age novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles depicts the common rivalry between young adolescents, where masks are used often. Gene is a student at an elite boarding school, Devon, when he meets Finny. As his jealousy grows towards Finny, it leads to an awful life-changing decision. When they are planning on a double jump, Gene bounces on the limb causing Finny to suffer from a horrible fall. Finny later finds out about the truth and runs away in fury, which caused him to break his leg again. As he was receiving a surgery for his injury, Finny died. Gene’s transformation involves the changes of his mask and shadow, which results in his later acceptance of

The mask is part of the ceremony known as "the Dance of the Goats” or La Danza de los Chivos. The mask on masksoftheworld.com is from Chilpancingo, State of Guerrero, Mexico. However, the traditional Dance of the Goats began in Zitlala, State of Guerrero, Mexico. The villagers created the dance after the Mexican Revolution in 1910. After the war, an epidemic took place

Masks were sometimes created for the purpose of being used in a ceremonies by a priest. The mask would be a certain deity and the priest would be dressed in costume to play out that character. By portraying the deity the priest would be

Aztec masks were used as ornaments, and were sometimes worn as part of a ritual, or in death as a death mask. They usually represented one god or another, and the Aztecs did have countless gods. Like the artistry and materials, the Aztecs worshipped gods collected from a variety of cultures. A common type of mask would have snakes on it, a representation of the god Quetzalcoatl or perhaps Tlaloc. The masks generally then were used for worship of the gods, whether by being displayed in a temple or worn by a priest.

What are masks? One usually thinks it is an object the individual puts on and takes off.

For this essay, I decided to analyze the art collections of the Fowler Museum at UCLA, more specifically in the Jerome LioMel Joss Gallery. The Jermone LioMel Gallery contains the arts works of Africa, and the Pacific Islands so I will be analyzing arts from the two areas from Papua New Guinea and Nigeria. These arts pieces are the Veranda posts (opo), and the ornament for a sacred flute.

Science tells us that humans are animals, and as animals we are subject to factors such as survival of the fittest, and natural selection. Although some may coin us as “humane,” different and set apart from the savagery of animals, we still retain our primal side, even if it is deeply rooted within us. Humanity has come a long way from the grumbling of cavemen; however, it is the constrictions of society that keep us civilized and sane. In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, boys are stranded on an island without civilizations blinding restrictions. With the absence of adults to keep the boys under control, and serve punishments for violations of moral taboos residing from the old life, the true nature of humanity gradually begins

A great example of an African mask is Bayaka Mask. This mask is used for a form of rite. When a boy reaches puberty he is circumcised. After this is done, the boy is removed from the village for one year of seclusion from women. During this time, the boy is taught to hunt and protect by fellow men from the village. To end the one year confinement, a ceremony is held when the boy and his teachers return in the Bayaka Masks. Sculptures are another form of African Art that is very important to its history.

The artist’s name is Benin and he is from Nigeria. He lived in the 16th century. To produce this mask he used ivory, iron and copper. The mask’s height is 9 3/9 in (23.8 cm).

Masks are one of the most spiritually important art forms developed in Africa. Among the masks many uses were; communicating with spirits and ancestors, serving as teaching aids in gender specific initiation ceremonies, tools for maintaining order, enhancements for reenacted stories and myths, symbols of rank and power, and a record for past leaders. I will be focussing on masks from the first three categories. The masks, which are all Helmet style masks from West and Central Africa, illustrate how artists from different tribes approached symbolism and visual storytelling. They also show what was considered ideally beautiful for each clan.

     Masks were created to be placed over the face, on the top of the head, or even over the head. Most masks represent spirits of ancestors (Fetzer 106). Some villages make masks with full costumes and use them with music to dance in ritual performances. They used masks for social control,

naturalistic shapes were combined to represent a recognizable human face. As part of the daily ritualistic routine, families would often present offerings to cult figures, full-body images kept in homes as insurance of protection. The decorative arts, especially in textiles and in the ornamentation of everyday tools, were a vital art in nearly all African cultures. Wood was one of the most frequently used materials—often embellished by clay, shells, beads, ivory, metal, feathers, and shredded raffia.