Chapter 1 | MAGIC MASKS
Have you ever worn a mask and pretended to be someone else?
African masks were often used during religious dances and ceremonies. During such rituals the person wearing the mask could enter a trance, a kind of dream state. It was believed that in this trance he could make contact with ancestors or change into a nature spirit with supernatural powers. In this way he could protect the tribe from dangers. The masks are very skilled carved from wood, some painted. Unique are the different ways in which the shape of the head, eyes, nose and mouth are made.
Exercise: Draw some of the magic African masks shown in the different pictures and add your own figures to them. You can give the figures names or nicknames like in a game or theater play, maybe names of your classmates or family.
Take a look at details from the drawing of a pupil:
