AFRICA: ONE CONTINENT. MANY WORLDS. | COMMUNITY'S CHOICE

Masks
The following group of Dan objects appeals to me as they are reminders of Saclepea, Liberia, where my wife Barbara and I served as teachers in the Peace Corps.

 

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Dan Masks
   
 
Dan masks were made in great numbers in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. They were sculpted for their maker's personal, sacred use in performance and other spiritual activities. Two of the masks in this grouping are encrusted with dried anointments applied during a ceremony. The smallest mask is an example of what is sometimes referred to as a "passport" mask. These little masks are replicas of an individual's bigger mask and were made to be portable. They may have been taken on a hunt or to meetings or hidden in a dwelling for protective purposes.

 Robert Barrett

 

Sande Society Mask
 
Gelede Society Mask
 
  Classroom Activity: Role of Masks in African Cultures 
 
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 Photographs by Dick Meier 

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