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HISTORY
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African Masks
One of the elements of great African Art, whose origins date back several millennia, African masks manifest African history and heritage.
By Will Street
Jul. 25, 2019, 11:30 AM
History and Material
Although is impossible to establish precisely what time African masks first appeared, they are undoubtedly part of a long tradition that stretches back several millennia. Rock paintings have been found in the Tassili N'Ajer massif in south-eastern Algeria, which depict three similar masks and some masked men. It was suggested in 1958 by the scholar, Henri Lhote, that the images of masked men date from ca. 7000 to 5000 BC, which was a period in which there was flora and fauna across the Sahara and populations of people with dark complexions, however, others more recently have argued that images of the mask date from a later period, roughly from 5000 to 1800 BC, when cattle farmers from what is now Ethiopia entered the Sahara.
However, making wooden masks and statues does rely upon being adept in iron-smith to be able to develop the tools necessary to carve the wood. The Iron Age occurred in sub-Saharan Africa from around 500 to 1850 AD, depending on the region and people. Before the Iron Age, only rough and laborious caving would have been possible, and any large scale operation would have been impossible.
Therefore, the arrived-at eventuality is that the majority of masks that constitute museum or private collections are not more than 100 years old. They are usually made out of wood, however there are some made out of bronze, copper and brass.
Concerning the masks made out of wood, whether it be for practical or "magical-religious" reasons, some types of wood are not deemed suitable for making masks or statues. To certain African groups, trees are considered important in their place amongst the forces of the universe. Many types of wood also possess specific ritualistic or symbolic meaning, or are traditionally used in connection with divinities, spirits or ancestors. For example, the South Nigerian Kalabri people associate the emo tree (Rhizophora species) with water spirits, which they depict on their masks.
How a Mask is Made
For a sculptor making a mask, they must first fell a tree, using either an axe, machete or large adze, which is similar to an axe but with a perpendicular blade. Some tribes would undertake an appeasement rite, such as placing an offering by the trunk. For example, the Dan of the Ivory Coast make offerings to their ancestors at the point of cutting down the tree, holding that without their help and support success is impossible.
Certain parts of the tree are used for making the mask and others not. For instance, the Dan do not use the heartwood as it splits easily after the mask is made.
In almost every case, a mask is carved from a single piece of wood, however there are certain groups who have elaborated on the basic shape. The Yoruba, from Nigeria, have made more complex masks, the Boa, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ogoni and Ibibo, from Nigeria, have added facial features while the Cross River peoples, from Nigeria and Cameroon have occasionally made headress masks in the structure of an upper half of a human body, including attached arms.
Painting and Decoration
The majority of African masks are painted. To do so, Africans originally used only vegetable and animal substances, such as river lime or kaolin for white, earth or powder derived from trees for red and liana, charcoal or charred bones for black. The most common pigments were white, red and black. After European colonisation, other colours and types of paint were available.
Colours often had a deeper meaning and were used by tribes differently to convey different meanings. White was often associated with death and spirits and had a positive connotation, black was conversely negative, while red was thematically ambivalent. The use of multiple paints on a mask was not, however, inclusive to all peoples, for example the Dan, Mau, Guro (Ivory Coast), Ibibio (Nigeria) and others use red tree sap or marsh or river silt to develop a dark, glossy finish. Other methods include hanging the mask in smoke, spraying it with chewed up cola nuts or coating the mask with resin.
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In certain circumstances, additions are put on the mask. In the Cross River region, along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, it is common for groups to cover a wooden mask with a skin or hide. It is usually done by stretching a scraped and smooth antelope skin over the headdress and face masks. Rarely, copper and brass can also be added to masks, in earlier times symbolising wealth and power owing to scarcity of the metals at the time. Examples of this technique are found amongst the Marka-Soninke in Mali, to a lesser extent, the Bamana (Mali) and Senufo (Ivory Coast), the Kuba and especially the Salampasu and Lwalu in the D.R. Congo, and certain groups from the Cameroon Grassland have previously done so.
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In other instances, masks are richly laden with accessories, including metal bells and red seeds. The practice of adorning masks with accessories is often not done out of aesthetic motivations but rather religious or so-called magical significance.
Ivory and Metal Masks
Ivory masks are rare and in the past were usually reserved for people in power. The raw material was both costly and difficult to acquire. There are three small Ivory masks remaining from the body of artwork left by the ancient Kingdom of Benin. These were designed to hang around the ruler’s waist or serve as a pectoral decoration.
Conversely, there are many more and more recent examples from the Lega tribe (D.R. Congo), but, as a large mask cannot be made from an elephant’s tusk, the Lega did not wear ivory face masks.
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Metals masks are even more rare and those existing, aside from tourist masks, are predominately made from copper alloys, such as those found amongst Grassland people and sporadically among the Dyula, Senufo, Dan and other West African groups. In the past, there was also bronze masks but ultimately in practice these were mainly made out of brass.
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There are two ways in which metal masks are made. The first involves using a hollowed out stone or a mould dug into the ground. The molten metal is then poured into the mould leaving a shape with a flat back. However, this technique is rarely used in sub-Saharan Africa.
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The second involves using molten beeswax and a mixture of clay and organic material. A basic outline of the shape is first made from the clay and organic material, followed by pouring molten beeswax onto the object and continuing to sculpt. Further clay is then added to the object creating a core of beeswax surrounded by a mantle of clay. A funnel is made at the top and vents to allow gas to escape. The object is then baked so that all the beeswax disappears leaving a mould of clay. The empty space is then filled with molten metal and, once dried, the clay is smashed away.
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There are also few examples, such as among the Congolese Kongo-Dinka, Kata, Ndambu and others and also the Kongo (north-west Angola), Temme (Sierra Leone) and Igala (Nigeria) were copper masks have been made by hammering the copper into shape.
Masks Using Plant-Based Materials
Masks using plant-based materials are less rare than metal or ivory masks, and are usually made out of raffia palm, cotton plant or hemp fibres (either braided or not), tree bark beaten flat, grass, reeds or leaves. They are less represented in Western collections however are widespread in Africa.
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The Diola (Senegal), Dogon (Mali), Pende and Salampasu (both from the D.R. Congo) are known to make masks out of finely bound fibres. The Senufo (Ivory Coast), Chokwe (D.R. Congo and Angola) and Tshimbanda (Zambia) are also known among others to use sheets of bark in the making on their masks. These masks produced also make use of materials such as rattan, resin and feathers.
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Animal materials and plant-based materials are often used in the construction of full body costumes. They can be dance costumes, such as one outfit made by the Chokwe, Lwena and Pende, which is made out of woven raffia, hemp and other plant fibres and cord and rope.
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Other examples of groups creating full body costumes out of plant-based materials include in West Africa and the Cameroon Grassland where groups create full body costumes using woven pieces of cotton, which they decorate with cowries, beads and horns, the Bobo and Bwa in Burkina Faso, who create elaborate costumes for dance performances, using plant-based materials such as leaves, branches and other savannah vegetation, and the Luntu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bwa call their costumes bieni, regarding them as possessing important socio-religious significance.
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In some instances, masks can also be made out of dried calabash, for example amongst the Yoruba (Nigeria) and Shilluk (South Sudan).
Types of Masks
A face masks is either worn over the face or, among certain peoples, obliquely over the forehead. In the case of the Dan, Lega and Lende, smaller masks are worn across the body. For someone wearing a face masks over their face, it is attached in most cases either by woven raffia fibres, fabric or a strap holding it in place or by the wearing biting onto a protrusion in the inside of the mask.
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The principal types of masks are:
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(1) Helmet masks (They cover nearly the entire head)
(2) Helmet crests (They are the same as a helmet mask, just less hollowed out at top.)
(3) Headdress masks (They are worn on top of the head by means of a small braided frame, below which a dense curtain and fibre or other material conceal's the wearer's face.)
(4) Shoulder masks (They consist of a large head and long neck resting on the shoulders of the wearer.)
(5) Plank masks (They consist of a mask with a plank on top of the mask section.)
(6) Chest or stomach masks (A large wooden slab worn over the chest or stomach.)
(7) Cap masks (They are worn like a wide cap that covers the entire head.)
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The vast majority of masks are single-faced, however in very rare cases there are double faces and some with two heads back to back.
Representations and Styles
The majority of African masks are anthropomorphic, that is, possessing human-like characteristics. However, there are few exceptions that don't represent humans and, equally, some that represent humans fully, such as with the Yoruba, Igbo and Yaka, and those which are anthro-zoomorphic, combining both animal and human representations. The animals represented are usually agile or strong species such as antelope, leopards or lions.
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In theory, each community's or society's masks express a unique style through which a group can identify themselves and distinguish themselves from other groups. However, in practice, neighbouring groups appropriate morphological elements from each other, and even imitation can occur in some instances.
Groups can use different sculptural idioms and therefore make masks in two or three different styles. Similarly, in larger communities or groups of people, corollary styles appear as different people diversify on the basic theme.
Mask styles have not evolved consecutively and therefore cannot be group chronologically, instead they are grouped geographically. However, masks can vary in appearance, styles and themes and thus the overall number of different styles is very great.
There is also the factor of the personal artistic expression of the sculptor within the style of a particular community and thus there can be individual variations with the community. This individuality of sculptors is exemplified by the Efut artist, Askipo Edet Okon (died ca. 1925), who left a crest mask on his masks. His works can be found today in Museum of Mankind in London, the Musée de l'Homme in Paris and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
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The Purpose of Masks in their Local Context
People wearing masks are usually involved in a performance. They are seldom static or silent, and are usually wearing a costume protecting their anonymity, which is rarely shown in a museum collection. The masks are not intended as works of Art, but have specific meaning depending on the community.
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In recent years, many of the masks and performances that were part of religious events have been transformed into secular events. This is has been largely due to the fact younger generations in a community attach less and less importance to traditional beliefs and the coinciding spread of other religions such as Christianity and Islam.
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The occasions where masks were worn were generally:
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(1) Funeral Services.
(2) Rituals for the dead.
(3) Ancestor-honouring or divinity cults.
(4) Fertility and purification rituals.
(5) Divination practices.
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Within the general bracket of divination practices, they were used specifically for reasons such as appeal for successful hunts, harvests and endeavours, praise for political authorities, upholding moral values and purging social tensions. They could also be used for healing sickness, neutralising harmful powers and warding off misfortune.
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Masks were worn in a number of contexts, such as in common life rites such as birth and marriage, and meetings of closed or secret societies, representing a number of spiritual forces such as ancestors, gods, mythical figures, spirts, cultural heroes, impersonal forces, religious leaders and others.
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Masks were viewed as a connection between spiritual matters, such as humanity and the cosmos, life and death and people themselves. Their place in initiation rituals is important as they were viewed as possessing benevolent power to the initiate and harmful power to the non-initiate.
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This is exemplified in the kanaga masks of the Dogon, which shows a symbol that looks like the Cross of Lorraine. To the uninitiated, it represents a bird whereas the initiate sees "Amma", the god of Creation.
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Masks can conversely hold a role in events where individual behaviour is stigmatised, such as among the Pende. Here, it was a way of amusing the community and satirising abuses, yet subtly invoking reprimand on certain individuals.
The religious importance attached to masks has declined dramatically over recent decades, however today they can still have a recreational or heritage function.
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The Influence of African Masks on European Modern Art
In the first decade of the 20th Century, artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris and others were interested by African culture and created a forum in Paris dedicated to the appreciation of what they considered African Art. Fellow artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Emil Nolde did the same in Dresden and Berlin.
The influence of African masks can most notably be seen in the Art of Picasso in his 1912 guitar painting, where his rendering of the form shows the influence of the eyes of a Grebo-Wobe (Ivory Coast, Liberia) African mask, one such as that he had bought in 1908, during his period of African awareness.
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