New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Nearly every tradition documented in this book channels its art through a mask worn in performance. The Fanti, an Akan people living along Ghana’s Gulf of Guinea coast and adjacent inland areas, are one…
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → A number of the peoples documented in this book built their masking traditions around a king, a court, or at minimum a centralized chief whose authority the masks helped enforce. The Ngbandi, roughly 120,000…
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Several masking traditions documented in this book carry a clear, unbroken line from sacred origin to present-day use. The Duma, or Aduma, boatmen of Gabon’s Ogooue River, present a harder case: their masks are…
The Makonde people of Tanzania and Mozambique create elaborate helmet masks used in male initiation ceremonies. Discover the symbolism of the Lipiko tradition.
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Most masking traditions documented in this book ask a dancer to carry weight, but the Kurumba of northern Burkina Faso built theirs around a headdress that, by the book’s own account, seems physically impossible…
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → I have had to answer the question, why do African masks have horns? Is it a sign of evil or good. In this article, I will discuss the depths of African masks and what…