How Masks Are Made

            Many of the artists who carved masks were also farmers or blacksmiths. The carver often learned the craft from a parent or during an apprenticeship with an established artist. 

            Wood is the most common material used for making African masks.  Most of the masks available for study are no more than 100 years old, because wood rarely lasts longer than that in a tropical climate. Although some masks and costumes are passed down through generations, others are made for a particular occasion and are not preserved.

            The wood used for mask making comes from local forests and is carved with an adze, a cutting tool that has a thin, arched blade set at a right angle to the handle. The adze-used mainly for shaping wood-is the caver’s chief tool.  A carver often uses two or three of them with slightly differing sizes and shapes. Fine detail is put in later with a small knife. The carver might finish all the carving with one knife after roughly adzing the block of wood to the right shape and size. The carver works seated on the ground, often holding the block of wood in position with his feet.  Besides wood, masks makers also use ivory, metals, and beads. Sometimes the mask maker might further decorate the mask by painting it or attaching other materials, such as feathers, horns, or fiber to it. Carvers believed that the tools they used had special powers and that the wood itself housed a living spirit. A priest might consecrate a finished mask to give it the desired spiritual quality.

            Masks are not portraits of people. The shape of a mask is traditional and not subject to the stylistic taste of its maker. Mask makers generally conform to existing models of masks rather than create their own designs. A design that had evidently pleased the spirits in the past is usually followed carefully. The similarity allows the desired spirit to recognize the mask and come to dwell in it.

            A new mask might inspired by an image seen in a dream. The dreamer would present this information to the elders of the society, and they would decide if the mask should be carved. A mask usually has its own appointed dancer, an appointment that might last several decades and then remain in the same line of decent from one generation to another.

Home   Links   Intro to Masks   About the Masks   Masks of Africa   Functions of Masks   How Masks are Made   Types of Masks   History of Masks   Senufo Tribe   Baule Tribe

contact us...

African Mask Gallery
info@africanmaskgallery.com