african masks

A mask is a piece of material or kit worn on the face. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes.

The word mask came via French masque and either Italian maschera or Spanish máscara. Possible ancestors are Latin (not classical) mascus, masca = "ghost", and Arabic maskharah = "jester", "man in masquerade".

The 5000-year-old Mask of Warka is believed to be the oldest surviving mask.^[1]

Ceremonial uses

• In ritual, social and religious functions, where participants wear them to represent spiritual or legendary figures. In some cultures it is also believed that the wearing of a mask will allow the wearer to take on the attributes of that mask's representation; i.e., a leopard-mask will induce the wearer to become leopard-like.
• Masks were widely used in ancient Sri Lanka for devil dance rituals, Although some of the masks are quite large and complex in their structure, most of those traditionally used in the various natima (dance) ceremonies are considered three quarter masks. Strapped to the face, they extend from the middle of the forehead to just below the mouth. This type of lightweight construction makes it easier for the dancer to wear during the often spastic and exaggerated movements executed during a performance which could last up to twelve hours.
• In Mexico and Central America, most towns have both a Christian name and an indigenous name, for example, Santiago Tianguistenco, or Santa Maria Axixitla. All Christian saints have a specific day in the year dedicated to them, and each town typically has a festival on that day, involving a combination of Christian and indigenous tradition. These festivals frequently include parades and street theatre that act out a story. The masks and costumes from these festivals have become collectors items. A mask used in such a festival is known as having been "danzada" or "danced." These hand-made, painted masks are typically made from wood and may use rope, animal horns or teeth, or rubber from tire inner tubes.
• In Africa, specifically West Africa, masks play an important role in traditional ceremonies and theatrical dances. All African masks fall into one of four categories: the ancestor spirit, the mythological hero, the combination of ancestor and hero, and the animal spirit.

To prevent recognition

• Criminals often use masks to avoid recognition when committing crimes. In many jurisdictions, it is an additional criminal offense to wear a mask while committing a crime; it is also often a crime to wear a mask at public assemblies and demonstrations. For instance, in Virginia, it is illegal for anyone over sixteen years of age to wear a mask in a public place.^[2] In some states, it is only illegal to wear a mask if there is intent to commit an illegal act.^[3]
• Occasionally a witness for the prosecution appears in court in a mask to avoid being recognized by associates of the accused.
• Participants in a black bloc at protests usually wear masks, often bandannas, to avoid recognition, and to try to protect against any riot control agents used.

Protective

Protective masks have these functions:

• Providing a supply of breathable air or other oxygen-containing gas.
• Protecting the face against flying objects or dangerous environments, while allowing vision.

Many masks have both functions.
This category merges into the categories of goggles and protective helmets and visors.
Here are included:

• A cloth tied over the mouth and nose as a dust filter.
• Filter masks.
• Surgical masks.
• Gas masks.
• The familiar eyes-and-nose diving mask.
• Breathing masks connected to some industrial breathing sets. These are usually fullface.
• Breathing masks connected to some underwater breathing sets. These are usually fullface. See this link and this link for examples.

• Oxygen masks worn by high-altitude pilots.
• Oxygen masks used as part of medical oxygen resuscitation kit.
• Anaesthetic masks used in surgery in hospitals.
• CPR masks used in Cardiopulminary Resuscitation
• Sport masks such as fencing masks, ice hockey goalkeeper's masks, baseball catcher, and American football
• Ski masks.
• Welder's masks.
• The faceplates of spacesuit helmets.

Of masks that supply breathable air, some also cover the eyes (full-face); and some only cover the mouth and nose, and the wearer must also wear goggles.

Punitive

• A "shameful" mask (Schandmaske in German) is devised for public humiliation; a popular reduced form are donkey ears for a bad ('dumb') pupil or student
• Particularly uncomfortable types, such as an iron mask, are fit as devices for torture or corporal punishment
• Masks were used to alienate and silence prisoners in Australian gaols in the late 19th century. They were made of white cloth and covered the face, leaving only the eyes visible.

Other types

• Bondage masks are worn by some for sexual reasons. They are usually made of leather or rubberserve, and as sexual objectification for the wearer, and often to provide with sensory deprivation (see gimp (sadomasochism)). Some fetishize gas masks for similar reasons. Others, (usually men) participate in female masking, a form of cross-dressing that involves the wearing of womens' clothing and a latex mask that gives a false representation of a female face.

• A "life mask" is a plaster cast of a face, used as a model for making a painting or sculpture.

• A "death mask" is the same but taken from the face of a recently dead person. Death masks were very popular in the Western World during the 18th and 19th century. Both life and death masks can preserve an accurate 3D representation of a face.

• A facial (short for facial mask) is a temporary mask, not solid, used in cosmetics or therapy for skin treatment.

See also

• Balaclava
• Chicken suit
• List of hats and headgear
• Persona

References

1. ^ "Ancient mask recovered in Iraq", CNN, September 23, 2003. Retrieved on 2006-09-10. (in English)
2. ^ Code of Virginia, § 18.2-422
3. ^ , § See Statutes 876.12-876.155

External links

• The Secret of Masks
• International Mask and Carnival Museum of Binche
• The Noh Mask Effect: A Facial Expression Illusion
• Gallery for Offbeat and Decorative Masks
• Noh mask master Shigeharu Nagasawa Noh Masks / 長澤重春能面集　Japan