Interior Design

African MaskProducts Relating to 'African Mask'

An African Mask is thought to be one of the most valuable and sought after pieces of art by art collectors around the world. They are priceless in value and are said to hold the keys to connecting the living with the dead. Among African tribes, the masks are believed to be the faces of gods and spirits, and often they are designed with animal and human characteristics.

All face and head ornaments for African rituals and ceremonies fall into one of four categories: the ancestor spirit, the mythological hero, the combination of ancestor and hero, and the animal spirit.

Ceremonies in Africa have substantial traditional and cultural importance. Recent understanding of Aesthetic principles, religious and ceremonial values have given a better insight into the moral values that African artists convey in their art. African mask most times stand for a spirit and it is deeply and sincerely alleged that the spirit of the ancestors possesses the one wearing the mask.

The African Mask of human ancestors or of beings or animals to which a clan or family traces its ancestry are sometimes the object of family pride; when they are considered as the place where the spirit now is living (possessing), the masks may be honored with ceremonies and gifts.

In some cultures it is also suggested that wearing a ceremonial adornment will allow the wearer to take on the characteristics of the mask's specific representations, i.e., a leopard-mask will cause the wearer to have the attributes of a leopard. Dance is commonly involved in the use of the masks.

Rituals which include the use of or the ceremonial values of the African Rituals which include the use of or the ceremonial values of African mask span from childbearing/birth to rites of passage ceremonies (typically involving some form of dance rituals).

Examples of dance rituals involving African mask is:

~ Agricultural festivals
~ Rituals for increase (money, property, children and others)
~ Rituals for rites of passage
~ Ancestor cults
~ Initiations including secret societies
~ Related Ceremonies
~ Fertility rites
The size and style of African mask is varied, portraying animals, human faces and more abstract styles in sizes. Generally, the masks included as part of a full costume and not just a single adornment.
These ceremonial adornments are still made of a variety of materials, including leather, metal, fabric and different types of wood.
The main material was wood because of the large forest and choice of species existing. The carver would seek the assistance of a diviner and perform a purification ceremony and when the first cut was made, he would drink some of the liquid so that he could establish a brotherhood with the tree's spirit. The mask would then be formed from a single piece of wood.
More often than not green timber was used as this was easier to cut. In general the softer woods were used. Occasionally, specific tribes would use ivory or brass to design their masks. During making a mask, the artist seeks to portray a person's psychological and moral characteristics.

Article Published: Sunday 11th March 2007