Community mask
About This Item
Marka community members wear antelope masks paired with colorful clothing during festivals to ensure successful hunting and harvests, as well as for initiation rites. Today, these masks are rare as few people in the community still make them.
- Date
- 20th Century
- Geography
- Marka people, Burkina Faso or Mali, Africa
- Medium
- thread
- metal
- wood (karite or baobab tree)
- Context
- Research in the Global Museum’s archives show that most of the Africa collection comes from West Africa, yet the variety of objects here originated from almost every region in the continent, characterizing the itinerant movements people have between their neighboring communities. Materials and designs reflect their particular source communities and show evidence of cultural exchange and trade routes. On a deeper level, ceremony intermingles with daily life. There is balance between the living and the dead, where deceased loved ones or powerful spirits are embodied with human and/or animal characteristics to protect, soothe, or guide the living.
- Height
- 16.25 in
- Width
- 5.5 in
- Depth
- 3.25 in
- Copyright
- Copyright status unknown. Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing, and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
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