Why do African tribes wear masks? For African tribes, the power of the African mask lies in its creation. Masks are created for a reason such as to insure fertile crops and asking for the rain, the more important the reason to a society, the more powerful the mask. Why are African tribal masks
Traditional African masks
Traditional African masks are one of the elements of great African art that have most evidently influenced Europe and Western art in general; in the 20th century, artistic movements such as cubism, fauvism and expressionism have often taken inspiration from the vast and diverse herita…
Why do African tribes wear masks?
Why did African tribes wear masks? During celebrations, initiations, crop harvesting, war preparation, peace and trouble times, African masks are worn by a chosen or initiated dancer. African masks often represent a spirit and it is strongly believed that the spirit of the ancestors possesses the wearer. Click to see full answer.
Why did the African people wear the African mask?
The traditional African mask is worn during celebrations, dances and festivities and ritual ceremonies commemorating social and religious events. They play a very significant spiritual and functional role in the community and often there is no distinction between social recreation and ritual celebration.
What are traditional African masks made of?
Masks have been an important part of traditional animist beliefs in many African cultures for thousand of years. Made of leaves, straw, wood and textile, the masks symbolise the worship of ancestors and spirits. They play an important role during commemorations of rites and the cycle of life.
What is the meaning behind African masks?
The artistry of African masks is self evident but, for the people who create them, they have a much deeper meaning than surface beauty. In general, the mask form is a physical mechanism to initiate transformation whereby the wearer takes on a new entity, allowing him to have influence on the spirits to whom he is appealing to or offering thanks.
Why are African masks stylized?
Masks are highly stylized because African cultures distinguish between outer look of something and its essence. These masks are made to represent an abstract subject, which explains stylization.
What animals are represented by masks?
The most common animals that are represented with masks are buffalo, hyena, hawk, crocodile and antelope. Antelope is one of the most widely used animal masks. It symbolizes agriculture and is worn to enable better crops.
What does a mask represent?
Mask representing values can also be of human shape. Mask representing calmness and patience has half-closed eyes, 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.
What does a mask with a large chin represent?
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.
What is a mask dance?
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.
What is a female mask?
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 or as subjects to whom respects are paid.
What are the characteristics of African culture?
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.
