Discuss the  regional use of masks, features of masks, purpose of masks……..

A mask [worn on the face] has been used as an object of entertainment, protection, performance and disguise. Additionally, in the ancient communities, masks were used as important objects of practical and ceremonial purposes. Considerable amount of interest has been directed to the use of African masks. This trend has been noticed all the way from famous painters like Picasso [in his famous painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon], and Andre Derain who were intrigued by the tribal masks of Africa and consequently included them in their paintings. The influence that arose from their works has made artists throughout the world to take a keen interest on the abstract patterns and also consider the bold designs that have been used in the construction of African masks (Brooklyn Museum, n.d).
This paper is therefore to going to look into the African masks in detail. Considerably, it is going to consider the forms and functions of the African masks, additionally, it will look into the regional use of the African masks as well as researching on the Features/characteristics of the masks as well as the purpose of the masks.  It is anticipated that at the end of this paper, a proper understanding of African masks will be reached.
Brief History and description of African Masks
African masks have been in existence since the Paleolithic times. They were made form wood, leather, some fabric materials as well as metal. Due to their exquisite nature, African masks have been regarded to be amongst the most sought pieces of art amongst collectors of art. Their cultural significance is considered fundamental and in recent times their aesthetic characteristics and principles coupled with their ceremonial and religious values have helped in exhibiting as well as making the Western worlds understand the moral values and ideas that have been expressed through art by artists of African decent.
Forms and Functions of African Masks
To be able to discern the functions of African masks, a person has got to understand the importance attached of the mask in accordance to he structure as well as the social systems in Africa (Lidsalas, 7). However, understanding the social systems in Africa is a wide topic that cannot be covered exhaustively in this paper. These not withstanding, African masks were used in several functions all which had some significance amongst the different tribes in the African culture as can be illustrated in Janet Rupert’s (2005) ‘The African Mask’.
The masks were believed to portray the god’s as well as the spirit’s faces. Therefore, all the masks used in the traditional rituals in Africa fell into the following distinctive categories:
a). Some were seen to represent the spirits of the ancestors
b). Some were seen to represent heroes who were narrated in African myths
c). Some combined the above two elements and added to the masks animal spirits as well
The characteristics portrayed in the show the importance that Africans attached to their rituals or ceremonies.
The masks used by Africans represented [most of the times] spirits and it was believed that most of the times the person who wore the mask was possessed by his ancestral spirits. During the rituals most of the tribes honored the masks by presenting to them gifts as they attached spiritual importance to the masks.
Apart from the spiritual usage [which really sounds spooky] the masks were also used in dances. Mostly the dances involved rites of passages, initiation into secret societies, festivals of agriculture; entertainment dances [i.e. marriage ceremonies and courting dances].
Most of the masks were styled variedly across the African continent. While some took the form of human faces other portrayed animals faces while others were constructed in different abstract sizes and styles.
Purpose[s] of African Masks

Most of the African masks served a specific purpose. However, most of the masks can be said to have served collective purposes [although different communities had their own masks for the purpose(s)]. In most African communities, they used the masks purposely to protect themselves against witchcraft. Additionally, most of the masks were used by many communities to for religious purposes. The African continent had different communities, therefore it is expected that there were different forms of religions and they all had their own practices. As seen earlier in this paper, Africans used the masks in a belief that they contained spirits [ancestral or divine for that matter] and this explains why the other main purpose of the mask was religious functions. The masks also served the purpose of identifying different societies [within a society] (Anitei, n.d). As noted earlier, the masks were used especially when a person was being initiated into a secret organization in the African culture. In the Senufo culture [the region that includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast] there were secret organizations or associations for both genders. They had the sandago and poro associations which utilized the masks in performance of their induction ceremonies as well as during burial rites (Finley, 29). The masks were also used purposely when a person wanted to loose their own will and their identity by entering a trance state. During such moments, a person would normally cover his whole body or just his face with the appropriate mask and would then be considered to be in direct contact with the spirits that posses the mask [really spooky again]. The masks also served purposely as objects of worship [to mean that some of the communities basically worshipped the masks and hence according the masks a ‘godly’ status].
Regional Use of African Masks
Because of the demographics and size of the African continent, most of the communities were scattered and hence most used different types of masks. What should be appreciated however was the fact throughout the historical period there were no physical [or political boundaries as the ones set currently] boundaries set and therefore migration and interaction was easy. With this in mind, most of the masks that were used served the same purpose. Additionally due to the position of the African continent [it is the only continent crossed by the equator and two other major latitudes] they experience nearly the same climate and therefore most of their rituals mirror each other. The regional use of masks can be used to differ majorly on the form [i.e. shape, color and size]. This can be illustrated by the common usage of the Face mask [which covered the whole face and had some holes in the side]. In most West African regions the Horizontal plank mask was a common type of mask.  In the East African region i.e. amongst the Makonde tribe, the body or belly mask was commonly used. The common future of the masks was the purpose and the function they held. While the varied in characteristics, they all served the same purposes throughout Africa.
Conclusion
It can be appreciated that there is a lot to learn about the African mask especially on its usage so that it can be used properly in western art. Most of the usage of African masks is done in a Bohemia type of culture and does represent a convoluted type of living [my thought however]. What can be drawn is that the African masks do contain an important aspect in today’s understanding of art the African way.

Work Cited

Anitei, Stefan. African Masks: What’s Their Purpose? Softpedia. 29^th October 2007. Web. 4^th May 2012.

Brooklyn Museum. 2008 Calendars – African Masks. Pomegranate Calendar. Web. 2008

Finley, Carol. The Art of African Masks: Exploring Cultural Traditions, Art Around the World. Lerner Publications. Web. 1999.

Janet, Rupert. The African Mask. iUniverse. Web. 2005

Ladislas, Segy. Masks of Black Africa. Courier Dover Publications. Web. 1976.

 

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