African Mask
2011
African Masks: Connecting a people to the spiritual world
Now used as visual art pieces and décor items, African masks have a history as exotic as the masks themselves. Each mask is unique in design, shape, and size. Masks each have their own extremely important ceremonial, political, economic and cultural significance. Within these domains, masks connect the wearer or holder to the spiritual world, providing assistance, gain, or power.
Within the cultural domain, the masks are used in initiation ceremonies, in birth rites, worship and funerary ceremonies. When used strictly in the religious realm, the masks protect against evil spirits and play the role of intermediaries between gods and men.
As a last resort, the masks rule in the country’s disputes and times of war. Its decisions are irrevocable, so, within the socio-political domain, the masks provide guidance to policy makers for the management of the community. Finally, they ensure the safety of villagers by organizing police in the villages, and are responsible for providing news to the community, if necessary.
The masks play a role in the economic domain because they ensure the proper manner of sowing seeds and harvesting. They intervene to appease the wrath of the gods during natural disasters, which disrupt agricultural life and threaten the survival of the community.
During celebrations, festivals, and games the masks provide their assistance to men in masked dance, song, and flight. Within the cultural domain, these areas of intervention correspond directly to the important social functions the masks play. Each function, whether in dance or song, requires the appropriate mask. This hierarchy of functions is called the hierarchy of masks.
The traditions of African masks date back centuries, and so today, historians and art collectors alike seek out unique African masks for their studies and collections. They are a great addition to any space, creating a striking conversation piece, with historical and cultural significance.
About the Author
african tribal masks www.afro-masks.com
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