If you search this question, you will find strong opinions on both sides, and very little that explains where the question even comes from. Understanding that history is the first step to answering it honestly. Where the question comes from The idea that African masks are demonic did not originate within the traditional societies that…
Ijele, Agbogho Mmuo, Gelede, Egungun, Ekpo. A working guide to Nigerian masks, who made them and what each masquerade was built to do.
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Most art traditions documented in this book are made for a community, a chief, or a spirit, and once made, they tend to stay put. Lega art belongs to no one until that person…
Uniquely, the Sowei mask is carved by men but worn by women — senior members of the Sande society. Learn why this makes it exceptional in African art.
Before the mask ever touches a face, something else happens first. A man stops eating. He sits alone in a room for days. An elder speaks words over cloth and wood that no outsider is allowed to hear. This is the part most people miss when they picture african ceremonial masks. They imagine the dance,…