One of the main characteristics of culture of African peoples is use of masks in rituals and ceremonies.
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 of a form of honouring of a person in a symbolic way.
They are made from wood, pottery, textiles, copper, seashells and even straw and egg shells.
Maker of the masks has a high rank in the village because it is below that he has a contact with a spirit world
and making masks is a craft passed downin the family.
African masks are commonly shaped like a human face of a muzzle of some animal. Masks are highly stylised
because African cultures distinguish between outer look of something and its essence.
These masks are made to represent an abstract subject, which stylisation. Animals are frequent theme of
African art of mask making, they represent the spirit of an animal and one that bears the mask, becomes
that animal himself which allows for communication with that animal, for instance to ask animal to keep
away from the village. In other cases is a symbol of virtue, the most common animals that are represented
with masks are buffalo, hyena, crocodile and antelope. Antelope is one of the most widely used animal masks.
It symbolises agriculture and is worn to enable better crops. Horns represent growth of millet, legs roots
of the plant while ears represent songs that women sing in the harvest time. Masks are sometimes make
with details from different animals and then they represent some virtue. For instance,to represent the power.
masks are made to have antelope horns, crocodile teeth and fangs of a warthog.
Mask representing values can also be of human shoes, mask representing calmness and patience has half-closed
yes, one having small mouth and eyes represents humility while mask that represents wisdom has a wide
bulging forehead. Mask with a large chin represents power and strength.
One more theme for African masks is female face made by ideal of feminine beauty. While masks of some tribes
have breasts and ornamental scars some other have almond shaped eyes, curved eyelashes, thin chin and
ornaments. All considered as attributes of beauty in female for their respective tribes. Wearing of these female
masks is reserved for men in most cases.
Masks that represent ancestors are most commonly shaped as a human skull. They are used in various ceremonies
as witnesses, dead ancestral protectors from which approval is asked for or as subjects to whom respects are
paid.
Mask is worn by a dancer that then becomes "bearer" of the spirit of the mask, a sort of a medium between the
Tribe and a spirit. This trance-like state is accomplished with a specific music and a dance.
Ceremonies as weddings, initiation rites and funerals have a masked dance,
http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-hist ... can-masks/