With western eyes we have a tendency to view a tribal mask as a piece of fantastic sculpture. It is a decorative object to be displayed and loved as a work of art. A piece of art that allows us to touch the world of the other, which we vaguely comprehend. However for the people who produced it, it is a living object that possesses particular powers.

If you have ever before visited a museum or gallery exhibiting ethnic or tribal art you may have asked your self why are these shapes and types utilized? What is this for? What kind of occasions called for these fantastic objects? Why and how was it produced?

As I have studied mask I have realised that there are numerous solutions to these concerns. Each mask has its own tale. Each mask is distinctive. However within that uniqueness there are commonalties. Interestingly the typical aspects cross continental boundaries.

Why is a new mask required?

In the aboriginal traditions the need for a new mask could vary significantly.

It could be

to honour an ancestor

to satisfy a request from the spirit world

for a new initiate

an old mask had served its usefulness

commissioned by a shaman for a particular purpose.

To point out a couple of.

How is the mask commissioned and produced?

As soon as a need for a mask is recognised the commission can be produced. A mask maker will have other roles in the practice of his carving and wood working building skills. In some cultures all produced objects had been given a ritual and sacred element. The carves will know the conventional types however will also have artistic integrity. A new mask will be an expression of his skills, conventional knowledge and the link with the spirit world.

Initial a tree should be chosen. The forest has numerous trees. Which 1 is the true tree to be utilized? The diviner is asked for assist. Using his knowledge of ancient traditions he enters the forest and begins to tune in to the wavelengths of the trees. He is guided towards the perfect tree. He understands this is the 1.

The diviner introduces the tree to the carver. A ritual links the carver and the tree. A cut is produced into the tree. The carver drinks from the sap. He absorbs some of the tree’s spirit, man and the tree become 1.

The initial cuts for the mask are produced into the living wood. The mask is sketched out, roughly hewn in a basic form. As the mask is exposed by the artist it is taken from the tree and finished in a closed workshop or key place in the forest. Frequently a mask is carved in key. To have the mask observed before it is complete breaks its magic, its power. Only when the mask is inhabited by the spirit, animal guide or ancestor is it entire and complete.

The mask has a life. It is not a dead object so long as it is in use. If the mask is not utilized it becomes much less potent as the spirit will leave as it is no longer being called upon for helpful work.

An African elder going to a London museum observed that the masks had been dead. Right here in this museum the masks had misplaced their power as they had misplaced the links to the spirit world. As exhibits the magic had gone from the mask the spirits returned to the spirit world.

The other facet that is always really worth remembering is that the mask is only 1 part of the of the entire impact. A costume is required to support the mask, as is the audio, the drumming, chants and songs, dances and of program the other participants. All combine to invoke the ceremony whether or not it be to celebrate coming of age, harvest or other essential event.

Masks have fantastic power to soak up our attention. Not all masks are produced within a spiritual custom however the basic procedure of disguise takes us, at occasions into an additional mental dimension.

©Ian Bracegirdle 2005 http://www.newsletterjournal.com

http://www.newsletterjournal.com You may use this write-up freely on condition that you consist of this copyright line and URL and that people who subsequently use this write-up adhere to the same circumstances. Thank you for accepting these circumstances.

Ian Bracegirdle 2004 one Elderberry Shut East Morton BD20 5WA United kingdom 01535 692207 http://www.newsletterjournal.com

Teacher, Program Leader, Mask maker. Ian has studied and taught masks making and information for a number of years. He sees masks as a link back again to our cultural origins.