The Spiritual History of the African Mask
The creation and history of the African Mask is one steeped in meaning and tradition. The art of carving the African mask was often taught to young men who were apprenticed to master carvers. In other cases, the art of making masks and sculptures to be used in spiritual ceremonies was passed down in families from one generation to the next.
Rich with symbolic meaning, the African mask was treasured for its spiritual quality, as opposed to its aesthetic appearance. People living in different parts of African would produce art unique to their own culture. Here are some fascinating examples:
The Goma Mask
The Goma African mask was produced by people living near Lake Tanganyika, which is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This style of mask is elongated, with a dome at the top of the face. This style of mask also features a pattern of shapes carved into the forehead and face.
The Punu Mask
This style of African mask captures what is considered a beautiful female face by Gabon’s Punu tribe. This style features hair pulled up high on top of the head, with eyes carved in a shape that reminds one of an Asian woman. A Punu mask is sometimes painted white to represent the spirits of long-dead ancestors.
The Ligbi Mask
This celebratory African mask comes from the Ivory Coast. It features an elongated shape with wings on the side. The mouth is carved in the shape of a rectangle. Ligbi masks are used as part of Islamic holiday celebrations.
The Baule Mask
The Baule people carve African masks to be worn while dancing during harvest festivals. The mask’s round shape is a reminder of the Sun, the source of all life. These people respect the tremendous power possessed by the water buffalo which is represented by the horns carved into the top of the mask.
The remarkable thing about the African mask is that each culture has created a unique version to represent the spirit of its tribe. Today westerners appreciate the African Mask for its history, artistry, and ability to represent the owners unique taste and appreciate of diverse cultures.
General Tips | Comment (0)Creation and Communication in a Djembe Drum
The African Djembe drum is a traditional instrument that is used for communication, healing, and the spiritual joy inspired by movement. A Djembe drum is an African percussion instrument which the player holds between their legs. A strap attached to the drum is placed around the musician’s neck to stabilize the instrument while being played. Some players choose to sit with the drum tilted slightly forward.
Today’s Djembe drum is fashioned out of wood from the Djem tree. The wood is carved into an hourglass shape in one piece using a method that has been carefully handed down through the generations. The method of creation is important since the artists believe that drums made from several pieces don’t have the soul of the tree in them. The soulful aspect of this instrument is essential to the musicians who use it. To complete the aesthetic and acoustic properties of the djembe drum goat, antelope, zebra, or calf skin is stretched over the top of the drum; this is referred to as “be” skin. The name “Djembe” is taken from the combination of the two words.
The drum is played with bare hands; part of the experience of playing a djembe drum is in the tactile nature of the experience. The thickness of the wood and the quality of the skin chosen to fashion it both affect the tone of the instrument when completed, and the feel experience by the musician.
The Djembe Drum as a Means of Communication
The Djembe drum was originally used as a way to send signals to other tribes since its sound could carry over great distances. In some cases, several drummers, working in a type of sound relay, would send important messages throughout the continent using this method.
A Healing Drum
The Djembe drum has been used as part of healing ceremonies for centuries. The sound of the Djembe drum is soothing to the spirit, and it is also known to inspire dance and movement. Modern people are rediscovering how comforting the rhythm of a Djembe drum can be; this instrument is being used at corporate team-building functions to bring harmony to the group. Playing the drum is also a great way to relieve stress - it can be argued that people have plenty of that these days. The combined beauty, intrinsic soulful feeling, and heart-pounding rhythm this djembe drum represents explains its continued popularity throughout the ages.
General Tips | Comment (0)Stumbles for March 1, 2008
Home Decorating Tips Using Mirrors | AfrikBoutik
General Tips | Comment (0)Mirrors can significantly enhance the beauty of any room by using their light reflection properties. They can add depth to any closed space like a small room and focus any beautiful object to create a unique aura.
Stumbles for February 29, 2008
Recharge Your Home With Your Own Decorating Ideas | AfrikBoutik
General Tips | Comment (0)Nice blog about African Art & Home Decorating.
Monthly Bloggers Contest
Blog about AfrikBoutik.com and Win Fantastic Prizes!
This month AfrikBoutik will be giving away a AFRICAN MASK: “Old Lawyer” (Valued at $175.00) to one of the top bloggers that will be chosen from the best blog posts.
(to see African Mask: “Old Lawyer” click here )
General Tips | Comment (0)How to Get Top Quality African Art at Affordable Prices
African art, crafts, and clothing are more popular than ever in North America and Europe. People love the way genuine African items let them connect with a peaceful, thoughtful world view that is the hallmark of many African cultures.
These days headlines in the West frequently report on Africa. Millions of tourists fly, ride, and even walk all over Africa every year. Because African art is so impressive and so uplifting — while being quite affordable — visitors and tourists almost always bring art, clothing, and crafts back home with them.
Why all the interest in Africa? Africa is different. Go to just about any large African city and you’ll see what I mean. The downtown area may be populated with high rise buildings and people wearing business suits. It may not look all that different from the business districts of Chicago or Paris.
But then take a look at how people are getting to and from work. Most don’t drive, they walk, often for miles. Huge freeway-sized paths filled with thousands of people walking flow in and out of the city.
That’s often a Western visitors first clue that being born and raised in Africa helps you see the world in a dramatically different way. The more time you spend in Africa, the more you begin to appreciate the open, relaxed, thoughtful, and inspired view that permeates society. It can be a big breath of fresh air for anyone who normally lives in the hustle and bustle of LA, London, or even Albuquerque.
African art items deeply capture important aspects of the cultures in which they are created. A very skilled artisan can create an African mask, sculpture, or piece of jewelry that gives you a profound spiritual boost every time you see it.
Today you no longer have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to travel to Africa in order to get truly top quality art. Art experts living in Africa are working with Western business to establish ways to efficiently export quality art to consumers in the West.
Many of these changes happened when my long-time friend Joseph Bilson, who is an art expert in Ghana, West Africa, joined with me to figure out a way to make all the great art he was seeing in Africa available to people in the West. We soon realized we could create a web site called AfrikBoutiK.com, we put high quality photos of our art items on it, and let people purchase the art with credit cards through an e-commerce system.
Rather than convince the likes of Wal-Mart or Bloomingdales to carry the art, no doubt with a huge markup, we are able to bring Africa’s best art directly to the consumer at a dramatically lower price.
More so now than ever in history, the connective power of the Internet is making even the best art in Africa readily available to interested people all over the world.
General Tips | Comment (0)Stumbles for November 26, 2007
How to Get Top Quality African Art at Affordable Prices
General Tips | Comment (0)AfrikBoutik, offers one of a kind authentic African products of quality and value including African Art, Sculptures, African Masks, Djembes, Leather Bags, Traditional African Clothing, Handcrafted Jewelry, African Home Decoration and much, much more from Ghana, West Africa.
