viewed in museums all over the world.
The use of African masks has always had, and continues to have, religious, ceremonial and functional origins. When the African people celebrated, during crops harvest season, when preparing for war or during initiation passages, the African tribal objects played a central role.
African masks are generally representative of some sort of spirit, and this spirit is believed to possess the dancer as they wear the mask. This dancer is chosen either because they have been trained specifically for this purpose or because they have demonstrated abilities to extraordinarily communicate with the deceased ancestors. Masking ceremonies involves the chosen dancer speaking and hearing from the ancestors. This happens as the dancer goes into a trance like state. The purpose is often to receive the guidance and wisdom from the ancestors, or to tell a story or play out a message of the peoples history. The messages received, comes out of the dancer as utterances and moans. The translation is provided by a wise man, who accompanies the dancer and deciphers the grunts and utterances.
The African love of music, song and dance always plays a central theme in the ceremonies and rituals. These rituals and ceremonies may depict obviously the ancestors, but also the dead, the spirit of animals and other supernatural beings.
During initiation ceremonies, the african masks worn, depict an ancestor. The purpose would be to gain favor and to be received into the tribe as a vital member. N’tomo is the spirit of the boys. He helps the boys to learn and to keep the behavior thats needed to be a good member of the tribe.
African masks, ceremonies and rituals where once a very important and central part of African culture and life and it is in some villages still nowadays. As time has passed, modernization, colonization, heavy migration into the cities and out of the countryside and small villages have made these rituals and ceremonies rarer occurances. However, african masks still live on through use, new artists, museums and art collectors. They remain symbols of a time past, a rich history, and the religious and the cultural holdings of a people.