Explores the dynamics of African masquerades and mask performances on the continent, linking performative expressions to societal characteristics.What is the meaning of masks and masquerades in African traditions and how can we understand their role in rituals and performances? Why do we find masks in some African regions and not in others, and what does this 'mask habitat' say about the general dynamics of masquerades in Africa? Though masks are among the most famous art icons of Africa, exploration of their uses and the way in which they articulate social characteristics of African societies has been underexamined. This book takes an anthropological perspective on the phenomenon of masquerades on the African continent to show how mask rituals are an integral part of African indigenous religions and societies, and are informed by and linked to specific types of social and ecological conditions. Having established the commonalities of mask rituals and a mask typology, the authors look at the varieties of mask performances and the types of rituals in which masks function in rites of passage and in rituals of gender, power, and identity. The following chapters focus on different types of rituals featuring masks, from initiation and death ceremonies to secrecy, kingship, law and war. With its broad examination of the use of masks on the continent, from Angola to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DRC, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, this well illustrated book will stand as an authoritative study of the use of masks, of interest not only to those in African Studies but to anthropologists and ethnographers worldwide.

IntroductionEnter the maskThe study of maskingStructure of the bookThe Masking Crescent: Distribution of Masks and Masking in AfricaChapter 1: Masquerades and TheoryMasking zonesTheoretical ApproachParameters of maskingProfiles of masking societiesThe zebu exclusionChapter 2: The Power of MasksThe Magritte effectA basic mask typologyBush, spirits, ancestors and other peopleMasks and powerTradition, prototype and inventionConclusionChapter 3: Masks and Masculinity: InitiationChewing the maskSeparation from the motherLiminal revelationMask and circumcisionSymbols of gender: Death and foodCommunitas and ageMasks and masculinitiesConclusionChapter 4: Secrecy and PowerWriting on the maskDimensions of secrecyInitiation societies and their masksThe sound of secrecyEthics, society and secrecyConclusionChapter 5: Death and its Masks Singing at the maskBurial and the farewellsBurial by masksFuneral as initiationIndividual and society in funeralsMasks and the second funeralCelebrating life ConclusionChapter 6: Women, Pivot of the MasksThe first maskGender domainsCelebrating femininityWomen dancing with masksThe mask of the woman is her bodyConclusionChapter 7: Masks and Politics Masks for fatherMasks and the history of the patriline Feasting the sultanThe mask as kingInitiation, masks and regicideMasquerades and modern politicsConclusion: The Akan gapChapter 8: Masks and the Order of ThingsMasks in the fieldMasks and the adjudication of lawThe discourse on witchcraftMasks versus 'witches' 'Uncovering witchcraft': A mask performance abroad'War masks' ConclusionChapter 9: Masks and ModernityPlayful sharks in the DeltaTheatre at Cross RiverThe king of masks, the elephant of masksMasks for new audiencesMasks as icons of ethnic identityHeritage, icon and commodityConclusionChapter 10: Memories of Power, Power of MemoriesArrest that mask!Satire, the weapon of the weakMasquerades and the slaving stateFrom Africa to the African Diaspora ConclusionChapter 11: ConclusionThe cultural niche for masqueradesA future for masks?