Masks are made and widely used in traditional African cultures for many different purposes. The masks are typically worn with full costumes and accessories, and they represent a variety of entities, including deities, supernatural beings such as nature spirits, mythological characters, and ancestors. They are used in both public and private rituals, from ceremonies to initiate … [Read more...] about African Masks and Headdresses: Researched and Conserved by Emalie Neise and Abby Wade
This mask depicts Malintzin, also known as Doña Mariña or La Malinche, a historical figure in the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Malintzin was an Aztec woman who was captured as a child and enslaved by the Maya, who then sold her to Hernán Cortés. With the help of Géronimo de Aguilar, a Spaniard who had learned the Maya language after being shipwrecked, Malintzin served as a … [Read more...] about Masks and Papier-Mâché Angel: Researched and Conserved by Melia Richardson
The objects in this exhibit were made by artists of the Lega culture as items for use in the ceremonial practices of the Bwami society. The Lega people, residing in the dense tropical rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, are an ethnic group that is identifiable by their shared Bantu language of Kilega, common ancestry, and by their voluntary … [Read more...] about Bwami Society Art: Researched by Whitney Mosley
This exhibit includes a variety of 20th century masks from cultures in Western Coastal and Central Africa, including masks of the Ijo, Igbo, Ibibio, and Yoruba cultures from Nigeria, along with masks of the Kuba culture from Democratic Republic of Congo. Artists of these cultures carved the masks from wood and painted them to depict figures with human-like physical … [Read more...] about African Masks and Headdresses: Researched by Katie Kimbrough
Among the common animals that are portrayed in Western African masks is the bush cow, or buffalo, which is believed in cultures such as the Bobo to personify an important deity known as Do, a nature spirit that is believed to be nature’s life force. Bush cow masks are primarily seen in harvest festivals, in entertainment masquerades for tourists, and in ceremonies that … [Read more...] about Bush Cow Mask with Geometric Designs: Researched by Brandellia Hang