SLIDE 5 Baule Masking Performance, Côte d'lvoire, 1980

HOW WAS THIS OBJECT USED? WHAT PURPOSE DID IT SERVE? Just as there are many different ethnic groups in Africa there are also many different types of masks and masking ceremonies. This is a photograph of an African masking ceremony, or masquerade, among the Baule people of Côte d'Ivoire. Notice how this Baule mask is very different from the Dan mask. We call the person who wears the mask and the costume a masker. Although masks can depict both males and females, maskers are usually men. The costume of the masker is just as important as his wooden mask. The long fiber is called raffia. Raffia are fibers from the raffia palm. Often raffia is used to symbolize the power of the bush and the wild things that live in the bush. The costume covers all of the masker's body because the identity of the masker is meant to be hidden from the audience. The masker must put on his mask and costume in private before the masquerade so that no one will know who he is. During the masquerade, the masker is no longer himself, rather he is transformed into the spirit of the mask. Music and dance are also central to the masquerade. You can see several instruments in this photo such as a tambourine gourd and a drum. Certain masquerades are conducted only at night and the dramatic lighting of fires or torches is essential to fully experience the masks and the masquerade. There are many different elements to a masquerade: the mask, the costume, the masker's movements, his words, the music, the audience's participation, the lighting, and the spiritual beliefs. All of these elements put the mask in context. When we look at a mask out of its context we are missing a lot. PART 2-PAGE 2 OF 9

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