Lucas Maher Audio Guide Essay #1 Intro to African Arts Professor.Probst 3/3/11 Mende Sowei Helmet Mask Type of Object: Helmet mask Ethnic Group: Mende Country of Origin: Sierra Leone, Liberia Materials: wood, pigment Approximate Age: mid 20th century Dimensions: 19 inches H. x 14 x 19.5 inches W. One of the most prominent and intriguing works of art that came out West Africa were the wooden Sowei helmet masks. These masks were beautiful and compelling merely as works of art but they also had important cultural, ritualistic and historic significance. The Sowei masks were only worn by the most important and senior female tribe members during the initiation ceremony of young girls into adulthood. These masks were an essential …show more content…
While the young girls were sequestered during their initiation ceremonies the elder tribes women came our dressed in their masks and announced the completion of certain phases of the ceremony. The masked elder women also appeared and asked for food and offerings during the ceremonies. At the end of the initiation ceremony a masked elder woman would escort each girl, now a marriageable woman back to the tribe. While the Sowei masks were used predominately for the initiation ceremony there were also other occasions where the might have been used. The mask may have been used in legal disputes and funerals. It is believed that the “spirit” of the masks spoke through dance. The Sowei mask “channeled” the spirits of past female ancestors and embodied the persona of ngafa a strong mystical power or spirit. The spirit of the mask took the qualities of the ordinary woman, exaggerated and dramatized them into an idealized sense of female beauty, calm, serenity and order. The masks combined with the dance allowed these elder women to display to their entire village the essential qualities of female beauty, virtue and wisdom. The spirit spoke not through words but through the language of dance, referring to moral and social doctrines of beauty, serenity, dignity, control, order, and balance. Dance movements exaggerate the powers of ordinary women and dramatized the ideals of feminine beauty. It was extremely
always been known for the risky and powerful movements which are often why dancers retire from the company. The dancer’s movements were often very intense and emotive, such as the “throws” across the stage in which the dancers would, almost violently, launch themselves across the stage in different forms (leaps, falls and flips to name a few). Another section where the movements were emotive is where the dancers were thrusting their hips in different positions to perhaps show sexuality in “self”.
Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.
The theme of masks is a significant theme throughout the book through the book. In all war people use
After giving a brief introduction to her subject, Desmond quickly begins her analysis on the piece Radha choreographed by Ruth St. Denis. She states that St. Denis was one of the mothers of modern dance in America despite how her works are not as well remembered as others including Martha Graham’s. She depicts Radha by describing the dancing quality, patterns in choreography, lighting, set, and costume in detail. Desmond also recounts the social issues that are reflected in the piece including gender roles and race. The author’s main point in writing “Dancing Out the Difference: Cultural Imperialism and Ruth St. Denis’s Radha of 1906” was to introduce St. Denis and share her detailed analysis of St. Denis’ Radha.
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.
This mask holds back all the sorrow, protects you from being further destroyed by others words or actions, and covers up the real extreme problems people are facing such as suicide and drug overdose. Both texts use these “masks” metaphorically to show how the people protect themselves.
They aimed at establishing dance as a medium in its own right and at exploring its independent capacities for expression. Their highest goal was a reconciliation of the division between soul and body, or between the individual and the cosmos.
Masks gave life to various mythological, primitive, bird and animal figures which the tribal members claimed as their ancestors from long ago and were to believe to invoke supernatural powers. These mythical beings gave way for privileges and special powers to individual tribal families and helped to form a family's crest, song or dance. The family would then personify distinct mythological figures as part of their heritage. The animals and mythological creatures represented in the masks and a host of other carvings derive from the Northwest Coast's rich oral tradition and celebrate the mythological origins and inherited privileges of high-ranking families (Gardners, 864). The majority of the masks displayed intricate and mastered use of line in their smooth concave and convex curves, with crisp sharp lines used to bring focus on a specific feature of the mask. The features usually being brought to the forefront were delineated nostrils, eyes and lips that were accentuated by deep cut carving and the use of contrasting color which helped to add form and realism to the mask. Geometric and organic lines were used to contrast between the parallel lines which would help create to enhance the features of the mask. The paint colors typically used by the
What are masks? One usually thinks it is an object the individual puts on and takes off.
Furthermore, Masks is another great example used by Sam Gill. He clearly reveals that often times we misinterpret the meaning of mask: that they only hold a space on a shelf among others like itself, otherwise known as a collection. However, masks hold a bigger significance than that. To the Natives, masks are living and when masked performances take place, the deities are present. To view mask as art alone is to minimize the actual beauty and value behind the entire mask and its' function. There is a reason for its existence and it's not just to be creative and productive. Typically, we consider masks as objects that hide or conceal something. In the Native Americans' case, this is the furthest from the truth. Performing a mask in a ritual is
In We Wear the Mask, the author’s purpose is to push the reader to feel something about the way things were in his perspective.
Good afternoon Abdulaziz, I believe we wrote about the same topic. I found this topic very amusing, didn't you? The fact that they believed in a society that heals people is very interesting. Having people healing you instead of paying for insurance is pretty nice! I liked how you included, "The Bear Society". I did not quite understand their role until I read your post. Basically, when they fail to heal people, the False Society jumps in and takes control. You did not mention how they earn the mask, it's the best part! I will explain it to you. A man would stroll into the woods until he gets provoked by a spirit. The spirit would then guide the man to create this mask that is a representation of that spirit! Since the masks are representations
Dance was not a new element in the theatre realm. It had been used for years as a way of interpretation of feelings of a character that the writer or director wanted the audience to feel visually. Through movement, expression of those feelings was portrayed and helped the audience to somewhat
The movements were very specific and showed the story of the dance. The partners used many movements that contained many body
Dance is said to have existed prior to the invention of written languages, and was perhaps an essential aspect of storytelling for the passing of knowledge and information from generation to generation. And it has been, since time immemorial, a part of every culture and religion as a means of self and collective expression.