African Masks from Cameroon Africa - Essay Example

African Masks from Camroon Africa Order No. 292785 No. of pages: 6 20988 Masks in African culture serve a number of diverse purposes, and areused as symbols of different groups, various practices, and in various forms. Nicholas Argenti in his book, The Intestines of the State: Youth, Violence, and Belated Histories in the Cameroon Grassfields has detailed the historical and modern usage of masks, and stresses on the point how these masks are a reflection and subversion of social functions depending upon how they are used during performances in communal settings. The African masks from the Fungom region of Cameroon, on view in the Art Institute of Chicago, belongs to the early or middle part of the 20th-century. It is crafted out of wood and colored with various pigments, made of naturally occurring substances. The mask measures 33.3 x 26.7 x 20.6 centimeters and is a wooden helmet mask depicting a male human face. Helmet masks are made such that they sit upon the wearers head, unlike other masks which are worn over the face or head. The surface of the mask is smooth and dark brown in color and the only details are the facial features and a crown like carving above the forehead. The face is oval in shape with wide-open rounded eyes framed by well carved eyebrows. The eyes are colored dark brown while the areas surrounding it are highlighted by use of a lighter shade. The nose is flattened slightly with large flared nostrils. A deep line runs from the forehead up to the bottom of the mask. The lips are very distinct, because of their big size and the upper lip has a well marked cleft. The cheeks are bulbous and hang down wards, and are highlighted because of the well polished surface which reflects light off it. Two small ears are placed on either side of the head but are relatively less detailed, with the outer ear and the inner ear made of contrasting light and dark pigments. The top portion of the mask is crowned by a well carved tiara-like embellishment with carved protrusions. The symmetry of the mask is well-defined and the whole effort seems to have been towards maintaining a linear balance. In the Cameroon grasslands the masks used by the numerous secret societies, show the influence of the Yoruba and the tribes of southeast Nigeria. The styles are homogenous, and there is little attention to elaborate detailing or embellishing the mask (http://www.masterpiecedirectory.com/pages/Art-History-African-Art.html) Masks are a very important part of African society and these are seen as the bridge between the world we live in and the supernatural world where dwell the dead ancestors, who protect and take care of those in the living world. Masks are generally crafted out of wood. To the Africans wood is a complex living material which can be molded in a way that it takes on not only the physical characteristics but also the moral attributes of the person who wears it. The pigments used to color the mask are generally charcoal, which provides the black color, vegetable and tree colors which are powdered to give the yellow and other earth colors, while white is obtained by the use of mineral powders such as clay. White symbolizes death and is also the color used to denote their ancestors and thus it has a positive connotation. The main tools used for carving are the azde, for the main features, a chisel for detailing, and the sanding is done using a rough leaf. (http://www.vub.ac.be/BIBLIO/nieuwenhuysen/african-art/african-art-collection-masks.htm) According to Radouane Nasry, a mask marks the transition of the wearer from his present identity to the one which he takes on while wearing the mask. These masks are not so much theatrical as sacred objects, which transforms the wearer into the spirit which imbues this mask. African masks are generally abstract and they do not resemble any person specifically. A very interesting theory about the use of masks is given by the same author, who uses it to put forward the African concept of harmony in nature. Man and nature share a oneness through the nyama, which is the African equivalent of the soul. The nyama can transform itself as well as transfer itself from one being to another, wholly or in part and thus links all animate and inanimate objects found in nature. Masks are one of the chosen places where the nyama likes to reside and so by donning a mask a person adds to his nyama. Masks are integral to many rituals since they embody the supernatural force which guides people and societies, and in my study I shall focus on the Kwifon society of the Cameroon grasslands, who use a wide variety of masks for different ceremonies and occasions. This is a secret society found in the various kingdoms of the grassland, with exclusive male membership. Individuals belonging to only certain families with a specific lineage are invited to become a member of this exclusive community. The society takes upon itself the task of ensuring peace and harmony in the areas where it operates and it has the power to meet out punishment to those found flouting the norms of law. These societies act as a balance to the kings powers and all members are treated as equal. The Fon or king is also placed on an equal footing, and the only way to distinguish between him and other members is a concession given to him to be seated while speaking in the assembly called the Kwifon Ebjin. (Koloss, 1992, p. 36) The Kwifon Society uses a number of masks depending upon the occasion being commemorated while the public image is seen in the form of the mabuh mask, which can be either human or animal in form. Theyre generally used to mark the funeral of dignitaries of the organization or during the act of punishing wrong doers. The dead are commemorated using the nkock mask which instills fear among all the people of the Cameroon grasslands because of its dangerous attributes and is fashioned as a huge headdress made of cloth. The person who wears the nkock is held back by ropes by his accompanying medicine men, so as to restrain his wildness. Masks called agah can be bought by people for a fee, thus ensuring that a person who owns this is a very wealthy man. Bamum masks consist of human males with highly defined features. Masks are generally worn angled on top of the head and a cloth hides the face of the person wearing the mask. (Koloss, 1992, p. 37) Masks are used by different groups of people to convey contradictory statements. According to Argenti, mask performances by villagers and those in the palace are radically different. Palace masks constantly refer to historical relations with powerful allies in order to reinforce their subjugation of the common people while masks used in the villages dwell on their exploitation by the powers in residence. In the book Argenti writes, that certain mask performances like the Oku depict the history of the nation, where once again it becomes an act of competing claims. The chiefs of the tribes of another powerful people use this to reinforce their position in the hierarchy of society, while those who have been left out of the power structure, especially the youth, put on the mask as a tool to push for a place in society and the community. Palace masks like the Mabu, play upon the xenophobia of the people, especially the youth. (pp. 63-65).  To the Western sensibilities, an African mask is an artistic projection of the person making it as well as the one who wears it, but to the native people the mask “does not include art in the western sense of the word" (Vogel, 1997, 17) To them it is a manifestation of various emotions, ranging from fear, anger, courage to respect as may be the case for which it is designed. The mask is not in animate, but it is in fact an extension of the person who wears it while performing certain discernible and set movements, thereby projecting his personality. Very often the mask has being demonized as an instrument for practicing witchcraft when in fact it is meant to promote harmony among people and certain masks have the specific purpose of revealing the work of witches.( Nasry, Radouane ) Masks are not merely cultural artifacts from a bygone era, but are used even to this day in African society, to convey various social, political and religious sentiments. They are a link to the past as well as a symbol of the antiquity of the African cultures which they represent. It would be a fallacy to consider them as just exotic objects of art since they serve a greater social function than has been attributed to them. For example in the Chokwe region, the metal iron is utilized to for different objects that were used in honor and worship of the spirits and deities and to decorate the headdresses and masks. (William J. Dewey and Allen F. Roberts, 1993) Masks are one of the indigenous and artistic practices of the people of Africa, and though ancient are very relevant even in the contemporary world of today. Masks of different kinds are used by different people during the different festivals, performances, rituals, ceremonies and masquerades. It is through the different masks people get to know the rich artistic repertoire that prevails in Africa and among the African people. A lot can be learned of their culture through these masks. Historians and researchers have made a lot of investigation of Africa’s artistic prowess with special focus on the artistic abilities, their usage of masks at different times and their depictions in order to give us a much better understanding of the African, culture, anthropology, customs and religion. In the African culture, masks have received greater attention than other objects that have a wider utilitarian function. References African Masks http://www.vub.ac.be/BIBLIO/nieuwenhuysen/african-art/african-art-collection-masks.htm Chokwe Bellows: Iron Smelting www.cte.ku.edu/gallery/visibleknowledge/salami/best/01/IronSmelting.htm - 2009-03-03 Koloss, Hans-Joachim. “Kwifon and Fon in Oku: On Kingships in the Cameroon Grasslands.” In Kings of Africa, edited by Erna Beumers and Hans-Joachim Koloss, 33-42. Utrecht, Netherlands: foundation Kings of Africa, 1992. Nicolas Argenti. The Intestines of the State: Youth, Violence, and Belated Histories in the Cameroon Grassfields. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. xviii + 362 pp. $70.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-226-02611-4; $28.00 (paper), H-Net Reviews. December, 2008. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=22978 Radouane Nasry, Rites of Passage: Initiation Masks in French Speaking Black Africa. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2001/2/01.02.06.x.html Vogel, Susan. African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997 http://www.masterpiecedirectory.com/pages/Art-History-African-Art.html William J. Dewey and Allen F. Roberts, “Iron, Master of Them All,” The University of Iowa Museum of Art and The Project for Advanced Study of Art and Life in Africa (http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/ceras/iron/) (March 5-July 25, 1993), Read More