Editing Mask (section)

===Africa===
{{See also|African tribal masks}}
[[File:Kamerun Ekoi Aufsatzmasken Linden-Museum 45455 47707.jpg|thumb|Masks of [[Cameroon]]]]
There are a wide variety of masks used in Africa. In West Africa, masks are used in masquerades that form part of religious ceremonies enacted to communicate with spirits and ancestors. Examples are the masquerades of the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], [[Igbo people|Igbo]], and [[Edo people|Edo]] cultures, including [[Egungun|Egungun Masquerades]] and [[Northern Edo Masquerades]]. The masks are usually carved with an extraordinary skill and variety by artists who will usually have received their training as an apprentice to a master carver – frequently it is a tradition that has been passed down within a family through many generations. Such an artist holds a respected position in tribal society because of the work that he or she creates, embodying not only complex craft techniques but also spiritual/social and symbolic knowledge.<ref>{{cite book | title = Masks: Their Meaning and Function | first = Andreas | last = Lommel | publisher = Ferndale Editions | location = London | year = 1981 <!-- |orig-publisher = Atlantis Verlag Zurich--> | orig-year = 1970 | page = Introduction, after Himmelheber ''Afrikanische Masken'' | isbn = 0-905746-11-2}}</ref> African masks are also used in the Mas or Masquerade of the [[Caribbean Carnival]].

[[Djolé]] (also known as Jolé or Yolé) is a mask-dance from Temine people in Sierra Leone. Males wear the mask, although it does depict a female.

[[File:Fang mask Louvre MH65-104-1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ngil mask|Fang mask]] used for the ''ngil'' ceremony, an inquisitorial search for sorcerers. Wood, [[Gabon]], 19th century]]
Many African masks represent animals. Some African tribes believe that the animal masks can help them communicate with the spirits who live in forests or open savannas. People of [[Burkina Faso]] known as the Bwa and [[Nuna people|Nuna]] call to the spirit to stop destruction. The [[Dogon people|Dogon]] of [[Mali]] have complex religions that also have animal masks. Their three main cults use seventy-eight different types of masks. Most of the ceremonies of the Dogon culture are secret, although the antelope dance is shown to non-Dogons. The antelope masks are rough rectangular boxes with several horns coming out of the top. The Dogons are expert agriculturists and the antelope symbolizes a hard-working farmer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~bcr/African_Mask_Faces.html |title=Faces of the Spirits | first = Benjamin C. | last = Ray |publisher=Department of Religious Studies, [[University of Virginia]] |access-date=30 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829092915/http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~bcr/African_Mask_Faces.html |archive-date=29 August 2012}}</ref>

Another culture that has a very rich agricultural tradition is the [[Bambara people|Bamana]] people of Mali. The antelope (called [[Chiwara]]) is believed to have taught man the secrets of agriculture. Although the Dogons and Bamana people both believe the [[antelope]] symbolises agriculture, they interpret elements the masks differently. To the Bamana people, swords represent the sprouting of grain.

Masks may also indicate a culture's ideal of feminine beauty. The masks of [[Punu people|Punu]] of [[Gabon]] have highly arched eyebrows, almost almond-shaped eyes and a narrow chin. The raised strip running from both sides of the nose to the ears represent jewellery. Dark black hairstyle, tops the mask off. The whiteness of the face represents the whiteness and beauty of the spirit world. Only men wear the masks and perform the dances with high stilts despite the fact that the masks represent women. One of the most beautiful representations of female beauty is the [[Idia]]'s Mask of [[Benin]] in present-day Edo State of Nigeria. It is believed to have been commissioned by a king of Benin in memory of his mother. To honor his dead mother, the king wore the mask on his hip during special ceremonies.<ref>{{cite web | last = Bortolot | first = Alexander Ives | url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pwmn_3/hd_pwmn_3.htm | title = Idia: The First Queen Mother of Benin | work = Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | location = New York | publisher = The Metropolitan Museum of Art | date = October 2003 | access-date = 25 March 2007}}</ref>

The [[Senoufo]] people of the [[Ivory Coast]] represent tranquility by making masks with eyes half-shut and lines drawn near the mouth. The [[Temne people|Temne]] of [[Sierra Leone]] use masks with small eyes and mouths to represent humility and humbleness. They represent wisdom by making bulging forehead. Other masks that have exaggerated long faces and broad foreheads symbolize the soberness of one's duty that comes with power. War masks are also popular. The [[Grebo people|Grebo]] of the Ivory Coast and Liberia carve masks with round eyes to represent alertness and anger, with the straight nose to represent unwillingness to retreat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohoh.essortment.com/africamasks_rnqe.htm |title=African mask symbolism | first = Wendy | last = Kahler | publisher=Pagewise, Inc. |date=16 May 1986 |access-date=30 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040205063052/http://www.ohoh.essortment.com/africamasks_rnqe.htm |archive-date=5 February 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Asaro Mud Man Kabiufa Papua New Guinea.jpg|thumb|[[Asaro Mudmen|Asaro mudman]] holding mask, Papua New Guinea]]
Today, the qualities of [[African art]] are beginning to be more understood and appreciated. However, most African masks are now being produced for the tourist trade. Although they often show skilled craftsmanship, they nearly always lack the spiritual character of the traditional tribal masks.