The Ijaw are a large ethnic group of about 14 million people in the delta region of Nigeria, West Africa. Traditional religious practices center around “Water spirits” in the Niger river, and around tribute to ancestors. Although the Ijaw are now practicing Catholicism, Anglicanism and Pentecostal , they also have elaborate traditional religious practices of their own. Veneration of ancestors plays a central role in Ijaw traditional religion, while water spirits, known as Owuamapu figure prominently in the Ijaw pantheon. In addition, the Ijaw practice a form of divination called Igbadai, in which recently deceased individuals are interrogated on the causes of their death. Ijaw religious beliefs hold that water spirits are like humans in having personal strengths and…
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The basic Guatemalan mask
Q: Will you share this mask with your viewers? It’s an old Guatemalan mask, probably from late XIXth or early XXth century. This is suggested by the beautiful dark patina on the back with smooth edges, a kind of patina typical of old dense hardwood, here probably cedar. So different from the back of artificially aged recent masks. Another characteristic is the aspect of shelves of the carving of the back, found on very old masks only. It was probably a female character, suggested by the holes for earrings. Nevertheless, the same face could be used as male character, as it has been recently confirmed to me by Don Nery…
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Pende African buffalo mask
There are several Pende masks on MasksoftheWorld.com. This is the most famous one. It is extremely wide. With big, dramatic eyes on an abstracted design that is perfectly symmetrical. You will never forget it. This is the kind of African art that stunned Europe in the 1800’s. Sharing both a masquerade and an architectural function, the panya ngombe mask of the Eastern or Kasai Pende signifies a wild buffalo, yet in performance it is the mask that collects offerings at the end of initiation festivities. Versions of this mask known as kenene decorate the lintel on a paramount chief’s dwelling.
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Typical African masks bought by beginners
Q: I fell in love with masks (especially from Africa) after travelling through South Africa. Then I started to buy and collect some. This is my very first mask, which I bought at an auction. I have no idea which country or region it belongs to, or if it could be something authentic or not. Maybe you have an answer for me. Best regards, Katja 1820 A: There are many wood carvers in Africa because it is so hard to find descent paying jobs. Every year those people make hundreds of thousands of tribal masks and other carvings for tourists and collectors. Sometimes the masks are as good as the…
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Olmec carved stone mask
The Olmec, whose heartland was located in present-day Mexico from 1200-400 B.C., excelled in creating fine greenstone sculptures. From the middle of the 11th century B.C. to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century, green and blue colored stones were esteemed across Mesoamerica for their exceptional luster and translucency. The Olmec especially valued the bluish color of this jadeite mask. Jadeite, a rare variety of greenstone, occurs naturally in very few places around the world. 1819 Despite the concave depression, this mask was not made to be worn on the face, at least not by the living. Unlike the earlobes, which feature small holes, neither the eyes nor the mouth…
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Tecun Uman mask from Guatemala
Q: I bought this mask about 13 years ago from a small antique store for $120 and realized it was Guatemalan but was confused about parrots and it being the white man and also wondered how old it might be and what it might be worth roughly. It is 10 1/2 ” by 7″ in size. Jenny, 1817 A: This colorful mask was made for The Dance of the Conquest, which has been used in Guatemalan culture to tell the legend of Pedro de Alvarado’s conquest of the indigenous people’s of Guatemala and the defeat of the last Mayan chief, Tecún Umán. In accordance with traditional styling Tecun is depicted…
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Amazon Indian dance mask
Q: Wondering about the origin and use of this mask. Tara, 1816 A: There are still small tribal groups in remote parts of the Amazon Basin. This piece comes from the the Wayana-Aparal tribe who are located close to the mouth of the great river. The mask is called a Tamoko. Its skirt actually flows all the way to the ground, covering the dancer’s entire body. It is made by hand in the rain forest with many different natural materials. Your Tamoko appears to have been used in culture and could be of value to serious collectors and museums. Of course, I can’t be sure with just one photo…
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Authentic African Ekpo mask?
Most of the African masks you see on the market today are quickly-made fakes. They always look old and worn. Some are carefully-made reproductions which can be very convincing. Marketing masks is a huge business in Africa. If you’re like me, you want your African mask collection to be authentic. The problem is that I would have to pay at least a few thousand dollars each. But I started about 50 years ago, so I have a few. I have another way of getting an authentic African masks. Search for masks that look like no Caucasian tourist or collector would want them. Pictured here is probably an old and well…
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Javanese Pentul mask
Q: Inherited from my parents, it was on the wall in their house as long as I can remember. Perhaps 1949. It is 13 x 16 x 8 cm and made of a single piece of wood. Kika, 1814 A: The complete performance involving the Pentul mask is a battle ceremony with at least two troupes battling in the village square. Pentul dances originate from pre-Hindu culture (before the sixth century AD) and survived in Java, throughout the Hindu Buddha period, the Islamic period, and Dutch colonialism. To this day Pentul trance dances are still performed to celebrate harvest thanksgivings, circumcisions, weddings, or even the Indonesian independence day. Because the…
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Pende pumbu mask
This cap mask comes from the Central Pende people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Said to be from the mid to late 20th century art, it is part of the Krannert Art Museum’s collection. It is unusual. For comparison I’m attaching two familiar Pende masks– the black and white sickness mask, and the wonderful bull buffalo. Masquerading enjoyed an extraordinary resurgence in the Central Pende region in the early twentieth century, in part because so many other routes to male prestige had been blocked. In the 1930s, during the Pende rebellion, masquerade performance constituted a form of resistance to Belgian colonial rule. Pende masquerade performance remains vital to…
