African culture holds rituals and customs very highly, among these rituals were masquerades. The masquerade is commonly mistaken for secular or entertainment purposes, but for African culture the masquerade was used for spiritual or ancestral representations and is an important element in African culture. For many African cultures, the masquerade was performed mainly by men which excluded masks representing different aspects of their culture and is a very expressive form not only through the different characteristics and artistic visions of the masks, but also through the dances and stories that the dancers portray. . The Senufo, Dogon and Kuba are three of the African cultures that have been shown to practice masquerades. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe Senufo people live more precisely in West Africa, in the Western Sudan region. The current area is now known as Ivory Coast. The Senufo were part of the African culture to use masquerades and were known for creating masks. Men always performed Senufo Masquerades. Senufo men danced many masks under the guise of Poro, which was used for social and initiation practices. It took men an average of 20 years to complete the Poro. According to the Smithsonian Museum of Africa Art, the Senufo people began making metal masks by first observing the nearby Diula people. They often represented ancestors, spirits, creatures and powers of the forest. Maskers used large creature masks that usually compiled features of humans, antelope, crocodiles, warthogs, and hyenas. Most likely they used these strong and aggressive creatures in their mask to fight evil spirits, witchcraft, witchcraft and wandering spirits. The main features of these masks were horns and an open jaw with sharp teeth. They were important to protect people with their strong forms and medicines. The Senufo belief in masquerade was to fight evil spirits with their powerful forms. Masquerades not only served as protectors but also as funeral practices. When a person died, masquerade performers were seen dancing with masks to help the deceased leave the village. Since death was also seen as a rite of passage, it was also part of the Poro because masks play an important role in the funeral. In Senufo culture, if an important person passes by, it is common to see various masked groups, including women. The feminine mask often represents graceful or more beautiful characteristics than the more masculine ones. The usual female one has small faces and various extensions. Men who wear this mask are often seen in knitted bodysuits and swap fabrics to portray their beauty. Female characters are sometimes depicted as the wives of the masked male characters. The mask makers of the Senufo people were held in great importance because masquerades were used in such culturally important purposes as combating the invisible forces of nature, the spiritual world, honoring the illnesses of ancestors, and funerals. The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the Central Plateau region of Mali, West Africa, south of the Niger Bight, near the city of Bandiagara. Dogon masquerades consist of representing stories and characters of creation. What is fascinating about the Dogon culture is that they recognize women as the first maskers because it is believed that women were the first to imitate masked spirits. Although it was believed that women were firstmaskers, are excluded from participating in masquerades. The role was therefore assigned to men. A specific mask called Satimbe was created to represent all women and means "sister in the head". The Satimbe mask is made of wood, fiber and a brightly pigmented costume. These masks are square in shape, with a figure placed above the mask, representing the woman. They have narrow rectangular eye openings. The figure representing the females is usually a singing element and is usually much larger than the mask itself. Characteristics of the female figure are prominent cone-shaped breasts and bent arms. Masks appear at funerals to chase away the spirits of the dead from the bush village. Satimbe is seen among other spiritual characters in an annual ceremony called Checkers. In this ceremony the mask helps honor the lives of the deceased who have passed on from the last Lady. Masquerades are believed to help guide the souls of the deceased to the land of the dead, while ancestors may help the living by promoting agriculture. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art one of the common masks commonly seen in the Checkers ceremony is the Kanaga mask. The Metropolitan Museum of Art mentions that in 1935 a French anthropologist named Marcel Griaule witnessed a Dama ritual in which twenty-nine out of a total of seventy-four masks were of the Kanaga type. The Kanaga mask is usually made of wood, fiber and leather. Usually when wearing the mask the individual's head is covered by a similar hood with a woven fiber fringe at the end. The person is also usually seen wearing a vest with black, red and white embroidered clothing. The Khan Academy describes the mask as follows: “Kanaga masks depict the face as a rectangular box with deeply carved channels for the eyes. Double-barred cross with short vertical elements protruding from the ends of the horizontal bars. This abstract form has been interpreted on two levels: literally, as a representation of a bird and, on a more esoteric level, as a symbol of God's creative force and the arrangement of the universe. In this last interpretation, the upper crossbar represents the sky and the lower one the earth”. The Khan academy also states that more than eighty different types of masks have been documented in Dama ceremonies representing figures such as hunters, warriors, healers, women, and people from neighboring ethnic groups. The Kuba people are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The masks of the Kuba people are heavily inspired by creation legends and royal ancestors. Although the Kuba are diverse in ethnic group, they all fall under one king. The three masques of the Kuba king's court are shown there, Mwashamboy, Bwoom and Ngady. The three masks each represent the ancestors. The Mwashamboy is said to represent the founding ancestor known as the woot. Mwashamboy is also said to represent the king's political power and supernatural abilities. Bwoom is characterized by the protruding forehead and is also known as the helmeted mask and is said to symbolize natives with royalty, the Bwoom mask is also the brother and contender of Mwashamboy. The materials commonly used for Bwoom are as follows: wood, copper, cowrie, beads, cloth. Ngady represents prima donnas and all women. Tears on the cheeks characterize the Ngady mask. Ngady's sad story is that she was forced to commit incest with her father, woot, to create a new life, hence the tears on her cheeks. It also represents the pain and struggle of childbirth in women. The Ngady mask is not only characterized by its tears but also by beads, geometric patterns and shells used to createthe unique mask. The three characters are important in Kuba culture and masquerades because they often recreated and dramatized creation stories, often used in royal initiation ceremonies. The three characters mentioned, Mwashamboy Bwoom and Ngady, are usually depicted in a ceremonial dance in which the male characters Mwashamboy and Bwoom fight over the female character and female ancestor Ngady. Mwashamboy fights to maintain his royal rank and his wife, while Bwoom fights for the power of the throne and Ngady's love. The three prominent characters of Kuba culture are also used in Kuba festivals. There are many types of masks in Kuba society. Each mask has its own importance and represents different aspect of Kuba society. The Kuba culture values ​​their mask so much that children are not allowed to see the mask of greatest importance. Another significant mask for the Kuba culture is the pwoom itok mask, the main characteristics of the mask are the shape of the eyes, the centers of which are cones surrounded by holes through which the individual can see. Common features of the itok pwoom mask are also the colors and prominent feathers. The mask is to be worn by a dancer who would represent a wise old man. The wearing of the pwoom itok mask is a recognition of the wisdom of older ancestors and elders which can be passed on to younger generations through acts of ceremonial dance. Men who dance in boys' initiation ceremonies and burial sites usually wear masks, which is why the pwoom itok mask serves as an important part of Kuba society. Much of African culture and history is displayed or performed through masquerades. The most interesting is the belief that through masquerades one could interact with the spiritual world and fight or ward off evil spirits. Each different society had its own unique beliefs and representations of masquerades. The importance of masquerades and masks is also constantly demonstrated through important ceremonies such as funerals, initiations and representation of the history of cultures. Masks were also used as a means to honor the dead, the living, in religions as well as to personify the gods. They love the mask and the history they carry with them that men could only wear many masks and pass them down from generation to generation. Each mask tells a different story or symbolizes an important part of African culture through art and dance. Masquerades have truly stood the test of time and have shown their significance in African culture through many different forms and ways. African culture holds very high rituals and customs, among these rituals were masquerades. The masquerade is commonly mistaken for secular or entertainment purposes, but for African culture the masquerade was used for spiritual or ancestral representations and is an important element in African culture. For many African cultures, the masquerade was performed mainly by men which excluded masks representing different aspects of their culture and is a very expressive form not only through the different characteristics and artistic visions of the masks, but also through the dances and stories that the dancers portray. . The Senufo, Dogon and Kuba are three of the African cultures that have been shown to practice masquerades. The Senufo people live more precisely in West Africa, in the Western Sudan region. The current area is now known as Ivory Coast. The Senufo were part of the African culture to use masquerades and were known for creating masks. Men always performed Senufo Masquerades. The Senufo menmany masks danced under the guise of Poro, who was used for social and initiation practices. It took men an average of 20 years to complete the Poro. According to the Smithsonian Museum of Africa Art, the Senufo people began making metal masks by first observing the nearby Diula people. They often represented ancestors, spirits, creatures and powers of the forest. Maskers used large creature masks that usually compiled features of humans, antelope, crocodiles, warthogs, and hyenas. Most likely they used these strong and aggressive creatures in their mask to fight evil spirits, witchcraft, witchcraft and wandering spirits. The main features of these masks were horns and an open jaw with sharp teeth. They were important to protect people with their strong forms and medicines. The Senufo belief in masquerade was to fight evil spirits with their powerful forms. Masquerades not only served as protectors but also as funeral practices. When a person died, masquerade performers were seen dancing with masks to help the deceased leave the village. Because even death was seen as a rite of passage of which Poro was part because masks have a great role in funerals. In Senufo culture, if an important person passes by, it is common to see various masked groups, including women. The feminine mask often represents graceful or more beautiful characteristics than the more masculine ones. The usual female one has small faces and various extensions. Men who wear this mask are often seen in knitted bodysuits and swap fabrics to portray their beauty. Female characters are sometimes depicted as the wives of the masked male characters. The mask makers of the Senufo people were held in great importance because masquerades were used in such culturally important purposes as combating the invisible forces of nature, the spiritual world, honoring the illnesses of ancestors, and funerals. The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the Central Plateau region of Mali, West Africa, south of the Niger Bight, near the city of Bandiagara. Dogon masquerades consist of representing stories and characters of creation. What is fascinating about the Dogon culture is that they recognize women as the first maskers because it is believed that women were the first to imitate masked spirits. Although women were believed to be the primary masquerades, they are excluded from participating in masquerades. The role was therefore assigned to men. A specific mask called Satimbe was created to represent all women and means "sister in the head". The Satimbe mask is made of wood, fiber and a brightly pigmented costume. These masks are square in shape, with a figure placed above the mask, representing the woman. They have narrow rectangular openings for the eyes. The figure representing the females is usually a singing element and is usually much larger than the mask itself. Characteristics of the female figure are prominent cone-shaped breasts and bent arms. Masks appear at funerals to chase away the spirits of the dead from the bush village. Satimbe is seen among other spiritual characters in an annual ceremony called Checkers. In this ceremony the mask helps honor the lives of the deceased who have passed on from the last Lady. Masquerades are believed to help guide the souls of the deceased to the land of the dead, while ancestors may help the living by promoting agriculture. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art one of the common masks commonly seen in the Checkers ceremony is the Kanaga mask. The Metropolitan Museum of Art mentions that in 1935 an anthropologist,.