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The Dan Mask of West Africa: Purpose, Symbolism, and Regional Variations
Found among the Dan people of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, these masks are among the most expressive in African art history.
Where African Masks Are Traditionally Kept and Why
An African mask was never meant to exist everywhere. In traditional African societies, masks were carefully placed, moved, and stored according to clear cultural rules. These rules were not arbitrary. They reflected deep understandings of space, function, timing, and social order. This article explains where African masks were traditionally kept, why those locations mattered, and…
Goli Mask of the Baule: The Masquerade Cycle of the Ivory Coast
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Most African masking traditions center on a single dominant mask type. Goli, performed by the Baule people of central Ivory Coast, is built differently: it is a sequence of paired masks, performed in order…
Secrets of African Masks: Women in Masking Traditions, and How to Tell If Your Mask Is Activated
There are secrets about African masks you have never heard anywhere, and I am going to expose a few of them here. I want to talk about women in masking traditions. Are there cultures where women are allowed to put on masks? Which cultures are those? If you are really into this kind of thing,…
