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"What
is "masking" as the term is used in African American Literature? We wear the mask that
grins
and lies, Why should the world
be
overwise, We smile, but, O
great
Christ, our cries For information on
Paul Dunbar,
see the and Call and Response |
Passport Masks: the protagonist in The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley discovers three passport masks in the basement of the family house. "Passport masks, as the name goes, are specific types of masks which were developed with long distance trade in Africa, during the pre-colonial period, along the UBANGUI-GUINEA-CHAD CRESCENT. There were two categories of passport masks - royal passport masks, and commoners passport masks. The passport masks one would find today have undergone a lot of evolution, especially during the colonial period and post colonial period, when they no longer served the purpose of facilitating the long distance trade they were originally meant for. In fact they became decorative masks which were mostly collected by tourists. But some communities still maintained them; especially in the urbanized communities; where it became very popular among the women folk who used the passport masks to advertise their business places and highlight their specialty. Soon these masks were gradually transformed into "voodoo masks", or talismans to promote good sales and to attract customers. Some of these masks were also used to incorporate talismans for protection against danger and ill luck; or even to enhance healing when they were carried or worn under clothing by the sick person, or the person seeking protection from evil spirits and evil omen. This aspect has developed more and more along side the tourist masks. This evolution has also encouraged the creation of new aesthetic forms and colors in passport masks to satisfy the different tastes of tourists, or the wishes and intentions of persons wishing to use them as voodoo media for healing; protection, attraction of good luck, etc. These masks have maintained their original material for production, which is principally terra cotta, for the most part, and wood, to a lesser extent. Today, one finds more and more passport masks in terra cotta than in wood." From "Passport masks, long distance trade, and cultural exchanges in Africa," lecture by Fongot Kinni, founder and director of the African Arts/Handicraft and Environmental Management Institute’s anthropology and art museum in Cameroon. Kinni is also an anthropology instructor and lecturer at the University of Buea in Cameroon. Tennesee Tech. University, Centerstage, Sept 18, 2003, http://www.tntech.edu/Centerstage/pdf/Kinni%20Outline.pdf For Images, see: For information and pictures of African Masks, see: The Art of
the African Mask (University of Virginia) African
Masks (commercial site) Artyfactory
(an artist workshop site) with a section about Masks
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