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Chiwara masks are categorized in three ways: horizontal, vertical, or abstract. In addition, Chiwara can be either male or female. Female Chiwara masks are denoted by the presence of a baby antelope and straight horns. Male Chiwara masks have bent horns and a phallus. The sex of a Chiwara mask is much clearer on horizontal and vertical masks ...
The wire frames on the headgear are embellished using coloured beads, sequins, confetti, etc., to evoke the image of the imposing gods and goddesses, grotesque demons, or specific animals which the masks portray. [9] Some of the headdresses weigh up to five kilograms. [7] For popular Chhau characters, there exist standardised visual conventions.
All Bobo masks serve as a means of contact between human beings and these deities; some represent the deities themselves while others, called bolo masks, depict animals and people. Bolo masks such as this one are usually danced for entertainment. The art of Burkina Faso is the product of a rich cultural history.
Animals are common subjects in African masks. Animal masks typically embody the spirit of animals, so that the mask-wearer becomes a medium to speak to animals themselves (e.g. to ask wild beasts to stay away from the village); in many cases, nevertheless, an animal is also (sometimes mainly) a symbol of specific virtues.
The masks are used in dances, where the dancer may "open" the mask via a series of strings in order to reveal a second figure, usually a "human" mask concealed within an animal exterior. Transformation masks are constructed from several sections, the outer sections come together to form the animal or mythological form, which then split to the ...
Mask from Gabon Two Chiwara c. late 19th early 20th centuries, Art Institute of Chicago.Female (left) and male, vertical styles. Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas.
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Masks used in theatrical performances and dances varied widely: from depictions of the various animals of the Mesoamerican world, to images of old men and women generally for comedic relief, to designs that made fun of neighboring ethnic groups. [2] Mask from Teotihuacan at the Art Institute of Chicago.