Why are African mask artists held in high regard?

Why are African mask artists held in high regard?

Generally in Africa, the masks are held to be of great spiritual power, and it’s considered taboo for anyone other than specially trained persons or chosen ones to wear or possess certain masks.

What is the purpose of masks in African society?

Masks serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies with varied purposes like ensuring a good harvest, addressing tribal needs in time of peace or war, or conveying spiritual presences in initiation rituals or burial ceremonies. Some masks represent the spirits of deceased ancestors.

What is the role of the African tribal artist?

The artist holds a respected position in African tribal society. It is his job to provide the various masks and sculptures for use in ritual ceremonies. His work is valued for its spiritual, rather than its aesthetic qualities.

What are the functions of a mask?

Many masks are primarily associated with ceremonies that have religious and social significance or are concerned with funerary customs, fertility rites, or the curing of sickness. Other masks are used on festive occasions or to portray characters in a dramatic performance and in reenactments of mythological events.

Why did so much detail go into African art?

Many African cultures emphasize the importance of ancestors as intermediaries between the living, the gods, and the supreme creator, and art is seen as a way to contact these spirits of ancestors.

What type of art is African masks?

African masks are more often than not part of a unified experience, so while we may see them as sculptural forms they can also be considered as a form of performance art and understanding their function within this event is essential to appreciating their cultural, symbolic and aesthetic significance.

Why are masks so important in African culture?

A mask is a covering for the face or the head. In many cultures, masks are an important part of traditional rituals. For thousands of years, African peoples have used masks in ceremonies. Every African mask is unique. In many African groups, masks are worn by dancers. Masked dancers often participate in ceremonies that include songs and prayers.

How many types of masks are there in Africa?

The number of types of African masks probably reaches into the hundreds, primarily among the cultures of West and Central Africa. Below is a sampling of ten types of masks, their uses and the cultures with which they are associated.

What happens to the person who wears the mask?

In most traditional African cultures, the person who wears a ritual mask conceptually loses his or her human life and turns into the spirit represented by the mask itself.

Where are ceremonial masks found in the world?

Ritual and ceremonial masks are an essential feature of the traditional culture of the peoples of a part of Sub-Saharan Africa, e.g. roughly between the Sahara and the Kalahari Desert.