New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Few African masks are as immediately recognizable as Kifwebe. The carved concentric lines running across the face, the tall ridged crest rising from the forehead, and the stark geometric planes have made Kifwebe one…
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…
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Almost every well-known African masking tradition is controlled by men. The Sowei mask, worn by the Mende, Temne, Vai, and Gola peoples of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, is the exception that reorders the…
Scarification traditions vary enormously across Africa. This regional breakdown shows how different communities approach body marking and what it signifies.
Used in Poro society initiations across Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali, the Senufo Kpelie is an ancestor-honouring masterpiece.
The Benin Kingdom produced some of the world’s most technically advanced bronze art centuries before European contact. Discover their mask-making legacy.
Tooth filing has been practised across Africa and Southeast Asia as a rite of passage and beauty tradition. This guide explores the cultures behind it.
