Quick Answer: What are three types of masks created in Africa?

The three types are face masks, helmet masks, and body and belly masks.

What are the different types of African masks?


What were African masks made from?

African masks are primarily carved from wood but can also be made of terracotta, glazed pottery, bronze, brass, copper, ivory or leather.

What are the 6 types of African masks?

The more you know about African masks, the more you will come to appreciate their cultural and symbolic significance.

  • Common Types Of African Masks. …
  • Examples of African mask. …
  • Baule masks. …
  • Biombo masks. …
  • Bwa masks. …
  • Dan masks. …
  • Goma masks. …
  • Kota masks.


What forms do African masks often depict?

Animal forms

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Masks are often made to resemble people, animals and other objects that people identify with. Many African masks represent animals. Some African communities believe that the animal masks can help them communicate with the spirits who live in forests or open savannah.

How can you tell if an African mask is real?





What cultures use masks?

10 Fascinating Cultural Masks from Around the World

  2. Mexican Day of the Dead Masks. …
  3. Chinese New Year Masks. …
  4. Brazilian Carnival Masks. …
  5. Filipino Dinagyang Masks. …
  6. African Festima Masks. …
  7. Bahamian Junkanoo Masks. …
  8. Austrian Krampusnacht Festival Masks.


Why did Africans make mask?

Africa possesses a long tradition of masking and it is believed that masks were integral to their culture long before the first century B.C. The wide variety of uses for masks, which included rituals of myth, creation, and hero worship, as well as fertility rituals for increase, agricultural festivities, funerals or …

Why are African masks scary?

Masks representing harmful spirits were often used to keep a required balance of power. … Masks have also be used to discipline women, children, and criminals. For example, in Africa, a mother might paint a scary face on the bottom of a water gourd to make sure the child followed her directions.

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Why are African masks made?


What do the colors on African masks mean?


What are the key features of an African mask?

Characteristics of African Masks

Most patterns tend to be geometrical and symmetrical and are presented as a form of coded information. Parallel, zigzag, cruciform, curved and spiral lines, representing scarification marks or tattoos, are frequently used to adorn the planes of the mask face.

What is an African passport mask?

Mbole Passport Masks 1-4, DRC

The Dan people carried small masks (less than 20 cm high) which are sometimes called “passport” masks. They are sewn onto a piece of cloth and kept in a leather pouch and possibly worn in the small of the back. They are miniature copies of a family mask and sometimes received libations.

Who wears African masks?

In many cultures, masks are an important part of traditional rituals. For thousands of years, African peoples have used masks in ceremonies. Every African mask is unique. In many African groups, masks are worn by dancers.

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What does the mask represent?


Are African masks still used today?

In contemporary Africa, masks are no longer as commonly used for tribal ceremonies though they still represent one of the continent’s most vibrant contributions to the arts.

Hai Afrika!