What do the colors on African masks mean?

Red- Life & blood; Gold- Fortune; Blue- Innocence; Green- The earth and Africa as the mother country; Black- The Unity of the people of Africa -show their understandings of one selected African mask – Brainstorm ideas for creating their own personal masks.

How can you tell if an African mask is real?

Look for wear from forehead, cheeks, chins and noses. The mask should look like it’s been handled. 3. Smell the mask for the hint of smoke odor that may have come from a mask being used near ritual fires or stored in houses heated by wood.

What were the primary colors used in African masks?

“But throughout much of Africa, the primary colors are red, white and black.

What are three different forms of African masks?

Lesson Summary Common types of African masks include face masks, which fit over the front of the wearer’s face; helmet masks, which fit over the entire head; and forehead masks, which work like hats that sit horizontally on top of the head with the wearer’s face covered by fabric.

What does yellow mean in Africa?

Although the meaning of the individual colors used in a country’s flag may differ from country to country; the countries of the flags that make use of the Pan-African colors have similar meaning with green representing the unique nature of the continent having good land for agriculture, red representing the blood, and …

What does the color purple represent in Africa?

Purple is associated with words such as royalty, wisdom, passion and luxury.

Are African masks valuable?

Most African masks are fakes. If a mask measures up well to all of these, chances are you will have to pay a lot for it. The good news is that these high-quality pieces will most likely appreciate in value. Fakes, reproductions, tourist junk, and authentic-but-inferior masks are not a good investment.

What are African masks often inspired by?

As the veneration of defunct ancestors is a fundamental element of most African traditional cultures, it is not surprising that the dead is also a common subject for masks. Masks referring to dead ancestors are most often shaped after a human skull.

What does Brown mean in African culture?

Brown- Funerals (Akan) Gold- Royalty, Wealth, Status, Serenity, Spiritual Purity (Ghana) Silver- Serenity, Pure Joy, Associated with the Moon (Ashanti)

What does the color purple mean in Africa?

It is a colour associated with new life, growth, freshness and healing. You will often see this colour used, as you might escape, in landscape work, but is often used in conjunction with stories about birth, rebirth and fertility. Purple.

What are traditional African masks used for?

Masks serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies with varied purposes like ensuring a good harvest, addressing tribal needs in time of peace or war, or conveying spiritual presences in initiation rituals or burial ceremonies. Some masks represent the spirits of deceased ancestors.

What countries still use African masks?

Tribal masks

• Bwa, Mossi and Nuna of Burkina Faso.
• Dan of Liberia and Ivory Coast.
• Dogon and Bamana of Mali.
• Fang (Punu) and Kota of Gabon.
• Yorubo, Nubo, Igbo and Edo of Nigeria.
• Senufo and Grebo, Baule (Guro) and Ligbi (Koulango) of Ivory Coast.
• Temne, Gola and Sande (Sowei) of Sierra Leone.
• Bambara of Mali.

What do you need to know about African masks?

Our African Mask Lessons will enhance your knowledge and understanding of African tribal masks. Our African Mask Lessons will teach you how to design your own tribal masks and offer free clip art to help with your mask drawings:

What kind of face does a yohure mask have?

The Yohure are noted for their beautifully crafted masks that combine human and animal features. They have elaborate hairstyles which often include horns, elongated faces with a high forehead, arched eyebrows and a low protruding mouth.

How big of a piece of plaster do you need for African mask?

1. Cut your plaster into strips and pieces. We found that if we cut them into strips about 2″ wide, then cut those in half width-wise, this was the size we used most. The long strips seem to just get unwieldy and frustrating for kids to manage. 2″x2″ squares are a good size, too. **Cut more pieces than you think you’ll need!** 2.

Why are yohure masks used in dance rituals?

Yohure masks are used in dance rituals to help villagers come to terms with the death of one of their people. T he Yohure are noted for their beautifully crafted masks that combine human and animal features. They have elaborate hairstyles which often include horns, elongated faces with a high forehead, arched eyebrows and a low protruding mouth.