African Tribal Art, Culture, Mask Uses And Meanings
African Art And Mask History, Desription, Significance and Uses by the different societies of the various tribes In Africa.
Ashanti - According to African legend, the bearer of a fertility doll will give birth to a beautiful child 24 inches tall....
Baga - Baga artists are well known for Bansonyi masks (Serpent headdress that embodies the snake spirit Mantsho-na-tsol). masks...
Bamilieke - Masks are used during the harvesting season, some for expeditions of war or to honour the Fon....
Bamoun - The sculptures goal is to commemorate and celebrate the ancestors of the present Fon....
Baule - There are two forms of masks namely animal and human and or both. It's not uncommon for human masks to have animal attributes...
Bete - Gla society wear the Nyaba face mask mainly during funeral processions...
Bobo Tribe -
Chokwe - The most powerful and important mask is known as chikunga. Highly charged with power and considered sacred....
Dan - Masks are unique carved by initiated members of the male Poro society. The masks serve to protect...
Dogon - Kananga masks form geometric patterns. These masks represent the first human beings and are normally....
Fang Tribe - Masks are used by secret societies. Members of this male society wear the Ngil masks during the initiation....
Goli - Common features of the Kplekple disc shaped facemasks include antelope shaped horns, round eyes....
Guro Tribe - These mask represents the spirit of Gu, the wife of Zamble a supernatural being. Gu is often depicted as......
Igbo - Masks are used in a many rituals or celebrations. Namely: social satires, sacred rituals (for ancestors and invocation of the gods), initiation, second burials, and public festivals.
Punu - The white face represents the soul of an ancestor. The beautiful hairstyle is a common feature among the Punu women.....
Kuba - Ngaady A Mwaash mask symbolize the daughter of the great God Woot. Bwoom mask represent the son of the Great God Woot and the Mwaash aMbooy .....
Kwele - Masks of this tribe are used during initiation ceremonies and or at the end of a mourning period.....
Songye - The grooved pattern on the face is a common characteristic of a female Kifwebe mask.....
Teke - The teke, (disk-shaped face mask) comes from the Ogowe region in the Congo It is used to confirm the social and political....
Tikar bronze - First the artist moulds his work in wax, providing an outlet for the melted metal in a kind of extension...
Toma - Common characteristics of the Toma masks are the flat forehead, at times decorated with cowry shell and or metal plates,
Yoruba - Mask bearers appearing at funerals and are believed to embody the spirit of the deceased person. These maskers...