> Cyber Museum > What is a Mask   In Africa, masks have been worn in ceremonies praying for good harvest, coming-of-age celebrations (entrance ceremonies), funerals, ancestor worshipping, rites to heal diseases, wars, naming ceremonies for new-born babies, weddings, etc. African masks mostly resemble man and animals. The horn of an antelope is the symbol of tribes as well as of man. Chiwara mask of the Bambara tribe in Mali is made after an antelope and used in abundance ritual praying for good harvest. Lizard mask, symbolizing life, is used in war ceremonies or funerals. Kanaga, a kind of bird, symbolizes life, and its mask is used in ceremonies related to the origin of the universe and abundance ritual. Rhinoceros hornbill mask is used in abundance ritual. Scorpion mask, symbolizing the future, is used in coming-of-age celebrations, naming ceremonies, memorial services like funerals, etc. Butterfly mask is used in abundance ritual. Masks with the claws of a scorpion and the horn of an antelope on the top are used in circumcision. Several tribes in Sudan in the western Africa use masks in their performance of abundance ritual. Chiwara masks of the Bambara tribes in Mali are most interesting aesthetically. They are carved from wood after an antelope and covered with fabric. These tribes believe that antelopes teach how to do farming. Thus they made pairs and skipped around the field, wearing antelope masks, in order to pray for abundance after sowing seed. Mammiwata, a mask play handed down in several countries in Africa, is related to the goddess of water, which is related to sexual act and abundance. The Yoruba tribe in Nigeria performed a mask play called Egungun during an offering ceremony for 'Orisa Oko,' the god of agricultural land.   Many medical artists in Africa wore masks to make their services look supernatural. The Pende tribe in Zaire in Africa uses a wooden mask, which is itself beneficial to health and happiness, in order to heal diseases.   There are many cases found in Africa that masks are regarded as the souls of ancestors. The region speaking Igbo in Nigeria calls their mask play <Mmonwu>, which simply means a general visible soul or simply a spirit. The Mmonwu mask play is performed in coming-of-age celebrations, funerals, etc. and masks appearing in Mmonwu are regarded as the revived souls of deceased persons. This is the same in Gule Wamkulu, a mask play of the Chewa tribe in Malawi. Gule Wamkulu is performed in coming-of-age celebrations, funerals, etc., in which masks are regarded as the souls of ancestors. Gule Wamkulu is a memorial dance to restore the peace of deceased persons' souls and to appease them. Masks used by natives in Liberio and Guinea in the west coast of the Republic of Liberia in their coming-of-age celebrations and masks called Makisi used by the Mbunda tribe in Gambia in their coming-of-age celebrations are all regarded as ancestors' souls. The Dogon tribe inhabiting high lands of Sudan in East Africa has snake masks, which came from their myth that men are transformed into snakes in their old age.   The warriors of the Kono tribe in West Africa told fortunes with masks before going to war.   In Africa, masks are frequently used in funerals. The Bakota tribe in Congo in Africa fixed a stylized mask upon the bag wrapping the body of a dead person. <Mmonwu>, a mask play in the region speaking Igbo in Nigeria, is performed in funerals and coming-of-age celebrations. When a man dies, the first action of Mmonwu, namely, the person who wears the mask, is to kick the dead person's right foot with his left foot and the dead person's left foot with his right foot. Such an action is believed to keep the dead person from falling down on his way to the world of the dead. In addition, Mmonwu delivers a eulogy on the dead person. After burial, a mask play is performed. <Gule Wamkulu>, a mask play in Malawi, is also performed in funerals, coming-of-age celebrations, etc.   In an ancestor worshipping ceremony, the families perform their own ritual in front of many statues shaped like ancestors installed in a specially prepared tent.   In Africa, the presiders of coming-of-age celebrations often wears a mask. Those who educate or circumcise men reaching their adulthood in coming-of-age celebrations wear a masks. <Egungun> of the Yoruba tribe, <Okumkpa> of the Afikpo tribe and <Mmonwu> of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, <Tyi Wara> of the Bamana tribe in Mali, etc. are all related to ancestor worshipping and are performed in funerals, coming-of-age celebrations, etc. <Nyau> of the Chewa tribe in Gambia and Malawi is performed in coming-of-age celebrations and funerals. Mask plays such as <Do> in Mali and <Makisi> of the Mbunda tribe in Gambia are performed in coming-of-age celebrations. In the Temne region in Sierra Leone, Rabai, a coming-of-age celebration, is held once a year, in which circumcision is carried out on boys aged between 6 and 22. In the event, Aubethiyeli who circumcises occasionally wears a mask. Makisi, a mask play of the Mbunda tribe in Gambia, was originally performed in coming-of-age celebrations and funeral like most of other mask dances of West African tribes. The men's society of Mbunda is divided into two groups, one of which is for uncircumcised men and the other for circumcised, and only those in the latter group make Makisi and dance. The purposes of 22 Makisis (masks and dancers) describe ancestors' Mbunda society during the coming-of-age celebration. The passage from a boy to an adult is characterized culturally by mask dance Makisi and physically by circumcision. The purpose of Makisi is dual. It teaches young people who go through the coming-of-age celebration the importance of ancestors' customs and respect for ancestors. After they finish the long and painful coming-of-age celebration, young people of the Pende tribe in western and central Zaire appears in a gorgeous mask representing their new role as adults. Later, the mask is thrown away and replaced with a small ivory replica that is a charm against misfortune and the symbol of adulthood.   African totem masks are mainly made of wood and they are generally shaped of deer, antelope, gorilla, elephant and leopard with a long sleek imposing face. Alarinjo, a mask play of traditional travelling troupes of the Yoruba in Nigeria, is composed of ritual dance and social dance. In the ritual dance appear masks of mythological figures and totem animals such as elephant, lion, leopard, snake, monkey and crocodile. While mask plays dealing with social issues are comic, totem mask plays are tragic.   Many mask dances and mask plays have been handed down in African countries. Among them, <Egungun> of the Yoruba tribe, <Okumkpa> of the Afikpo tribe and <Mmonwu> of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, <Tyi Wara> of the Bamana tribe in Mali, etc. are all related to ancestor worshipping and are performed in funerals, coming-of-age celebrations, etc. <Dama> of the Dogon tribe in Mali is performed in funerals and commemorative ceremonies, <Nyau> of the Chewa tribe in Gambia and Malawi is performed in coming-of-age celebrations and funerals. Mask plays such as <Do> in Mali and <Makisi> of the Mbunda tribe in Gambia are performed in coming-of-age celebrations. <Mammiwata> is a mask play related to the goddess of water, which is related to sexual act and abundance. The mask dance is widely spread throughout countries in Africa. Besides, there are numerous mask dances in Africa including <Gelede> of the Yoruba tribe, <Ekong> of the Annang tribe, <Kwag-hir> of the Tiv tribe and <Ode-lay> in Sierra Leone.