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…
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 → Several masking traditions documented in this book give masked performers real social authority, the power to enforce a rule, collect a debt, or settle a dispute. The Eket, an Ibibio subgroup of farmers numbering…
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → Many peoples documented in this book take their names from a place, an ancestor, or an occupation. The Mbala of the southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo take theirs from a color: tukula, the…
New: the 2nd edition of Within Carved Lines: The Secret Meanings of African Masks is out now. Get the book → A number of masking traditions documented in this book use color to mark rank, age, or spiritual category. The Lumbo of southern and southwestern Gabon went further, building an entire moral division into a…
