In traditional Africa, masks were considered to be very crucial objects because they played the essential role of the spirits in the African belief system. The original intent in creating an African mask was to create it for a particular ceremony or societal ritual. Unlike the Western concept in which a mask is considered to be the means of "representing" a spirit, masks in traditional Africa were understood to be where a spirit is "created". In other words, when a person wears the mask along with a costume that conceals him from head to foot, the masked person actually "becomes" the figure whom the disguise is intended to represent, bringing it to life through his gestures, sounds, activities, and often his possessed state. Therefore, African masks are tangible beings transformed from the abstract concept of the spirits' images among African people.

African masks are not seperable from African masquerades, which can be described as a process of the mask possessing a spirit. There were rituals commonly categorized as rituals of cosmonogy, myth and mythological or legendary heroes and animals; fertility rituals such as rituals for increase, agricultural fesivities, funerals or burials, and ancestor cults; initiations; and related ceremonies. However, the masks' different functions can be grouped into two broad categories of masquerades: social rituals and personal rituals. In social rituals, masquerades are public events of a society where the masked dancers perform and the audience participates. In personal rituals, private masquerades are held by secret societies where only the members know about and particiapte in the secret event. In either function, the masking tradition, always upheld by males in non-literate societies in traditional Africa, was very crucial because it served as a means of communication between past and present, humans and nature.

Traditional African masks were produced by well-trained sculptors who skillfully used a limited range of simple tools. They have been described by art historians as "sensitive and dynamic innovators whose art is in a continuous process of creative evolution." Describing the creation of masks and observing the importance of the whole "process" in African art, historian E. A. Dagan states that "The common tendency to examine and exhibit African masks purely as a static sculpture is inadequate, since it overlooks both their original dramatic purpose and the importance of process. This dynamic process accompanies the masks from the moment they are carved by the sculptor, through the maker's adjustment of his body movement to the size, shape, and type of mask, and the masquerade's preparation, performance and denouement." These continuous processes and relations tied the African community together. Therefore, masks in traditional Africa are the spiritual symbols reflecting African socio-religious aspects not only because of their ritual functions, but also because of their social functions in gathering and leading the community.

Two masks which are represented on the Kwanzaa Playground's African Portals are the Kple Kple and the Kpelie. Kple Kple is a flat disc-shaped face mask produced by the Baule people from the Ivory Coast. This masks was made in pairs and was used at commemorative, agricultural and burial ceremonies. It is considered to be one of the great abstractions in African art in terms of its unique features. The face of Kple Kple is flat, the eyes have an oval frame, the mouth is rectangular, and the mask has two horns. The round head is said to stand for the sun and the horns for the buffalo, the symbol of fecundation. The Kple Kple mask was used in the Goli ceremony, a festival which the Baule describe as being sweet, beautiful and joyous. It is a day-long event in which the entire village participates with song, dance, and palm wine. Kple Kple is the first pair of four sets of masks appearing in the dance, and is considered the least beautiful and prestigious because of its simple form. Dance in the Baule was performed only by males. The dance associated with wearing Kple Kple has rapid and erratic stamping motions.

The Kpelie mask is a face mask produced by the Senufo people from the Ivory Coast. It is a delicately carved mask combining both human and animal features. Although it was always owned and worn by a man, Kpelie represented the concept of feminine beauty and fertility. The unique features which characterize the Kpelie mask include elongated flanges radiating from the bottom part of the mask, which are a reference to the hornbill bird. The horns on the mask refer to the ram, an important sacrificial animal. The nodules on the forehead represent palm nuts as well as vulvas; they are flanked by cicatrization marks that symbolize the twins born to the primordial couple. The significance of the double face are not known, but double- and single- faced Kpelie are used interchangably. The Kpelie mask was used at initiation in the societies for boys, adolescents, and adults, at funeral rituals designed to lead the spirit into the land of the dead, and at harvest festivals to thank the ancestors for a good crop.

Special thanks to Si-Hyun Yoo.

The Baobab Tree
Adinkra Symbols
African Masks
African Storytelling and Mythology
African Chairs, Stools and Thrones