The Bwa are an indigenous African ethnic group currently residing across Burkina Faso and Mali in Western Africa (1). Despite French attempts at integrating Western Africa into the French Colonial Empire in the late 19th and early-20th centuries, the Bwa peoples have successfully continued to practice the cultural traditions of their distant ancestors (1). The tradition of initiating men and women into adulthood is an important cultural and religious practice for the Bwa and one of the primary functions the masks serve within Bwa culture(2). The practice includes educating the initiates about worshipping the natural spirits of the world within Bwa culture and is done using these uniquely crafted masks(2). The Bwa are well known for their details …show more content…
The ordinary everyday mineral pigments of black, white and red are utilized in different ways on the elaborate wooden masks, each embellished with a fibrous hood that surrounds the head and shoulders of the wearer. The role of each detail behind each specific line on each different mask helps to denote the movement and rhythm the performer attempts to conduct while wearing this mask in a cultural ceremony. The specific organizational composition of the masks’ facial features differs as well. The masks allow the viewer to understand the Bwa’s portrayal of their spiritual beliefs through the easily recognizable animal imagery as seen with horns on the masks, however the composition of the masks is juxtaposed to animals of the real world through the additional elements of emphasis the Bwa place on depicting their spiritual beings. For example, one mask has a tall narrow plank residing on the crown. The white crescent on the top of the mask functions as a symbol of the night in which a quarter moon lights up the sky, the very same night in which the initiates finish their integration ceremonies and become adult members of the Bwa community (2). Other aspects of animal symbolism are apparent through the mouth holes of the masks through which the wearers see. All of these masks have different shaped mouths. Some mouths are circular while other mouths …show more content…
Girls are taught to do the ceremonial singing and boys are taught the proper cultural dance to the accompanying song as well as perform in full-costume with the masks ever so important to their culture once they’ve come close to finalizing their initiation. Stokstad provides this brief account behind some of the certain aspects within Bwa culture that help to explain the idea behind exactly why initiates are scared with an x symbol or why the sexes are assigned separate rituals. Stokstad presents the ideology that it is due to the role of the Bwa’s overall emphasis on gender roles within their culture and community that new members are initiated in different manners rather than together in a single event, which is a reflection of how the culture operates as an
This sacred space is enclosed with a corridor of stones leading away which represents a Bora. The Bora was a traditional meeting ground of Aboriginals which in this ritual is another connection to their ancestry and spirituality. Connecting with the land has been a vital part of Aboriginal spirituality despite the catholic prominence. Source 1 also ties in with Christian beliefs as well as Aboriginal spirituality with it’s references to “God the creator” and the recollection of Jesus being the light of the world. A candle is placed to acknowledge the light Jesus brought into the world which shows the deep connection to Jesus and Christmas which celebrates Jesus birth. At the centre of the Murri people’s worship place a coolamon which is an area a baby could be placed is created to symbolism Jesus’s Manger. Through source 1 it is shown that religion and spirituality can go side by side in contemporary society by
In the text “Seeing Red: American Indian Women Speaking about their Religious and Cultural Perspectives” by Inés Talamantez, the author discusses the role of ceremonies and ancestral spirituality in various Native American cultures, and elaborates on the injustices native women face because of their oppressors.
In Barre Toelken’s essay “Seeing with a Native Eye: How Many Sheep Will It Hold?”, the ways in which one culture perceives another and the criteria used to make judgements are explored. Toelken states “I think I can say something about how differently we see things, envision things, look at things, how dissimilarly different cultures try to process the world of reality” (10-11). In essence, Toelken is alluding to how different cultures will interpret their experiences and rituals according to their own set of beliefs and practices. This complicates situations in which the experiences or rituals are not comparable across cultural lines; someone will always be missing an aspect or a significant purpose if they do not try to “see it as much as possible with the ‘native eye’” (12). In other words, one must immerse themselves in the culture they are analyzing, while not comparing it to their own cultural experiences. One must consider all the cultural implications of that specific culture when wondering why things are done a certain way. Toelken provides
Art is also used for ritualistic purposes. Men's loincloths were painted and decorated with tassels to symbolize falling rain. Men also wore elaborate costumes that include special headdresses, masks, and body paints during ritual ceremonies and dances.
Leading up to the celebration the girls are taught a certain dance that must be performed at the ceremony. “the new initiates are brought into town for the first time since the initiation process began…” At the ceremony the Mende girls wear a Sowei mask and costume which is considered to be the embodiment of the river spirt Sowo. Once the mask and costume is on the person transforms and her actions are no longer hers but are the actions of the spirt Sowo. A sacred dance is performed and dance moves represent the strength and power of woman as members in the Mende community. “Sowo mask are divided into three structural components- the neck, face, and coiffure. Carved from a single block of lightweight wood, the masks weigh only two to four pounds. The mask displays a shiny black surface representative of the value assigned to smooth dark skin.” The rings around the masks neck demonstrates a trait that is considered beautiful in Mende cultures. Every mask has a different hairstyle, representing the style of the woman the mask is made for, you can see items such as shells, metal and claws on the coiffure.
Nanda, S and Warms, R.L. (2011). Cultural Anthropology, Tenth Edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. ISBN – 13:978-0-495-81083-4.
A person’s identity develops from birth and is shaped by many components, including values and attitudes given at home. We all have a different perspective about who we want to be and what fits better with our personality. However, is our identity only shaped by personal choices or does culture play an important role here? It is a fact that the human being is always looking for an inclusion in society. For instance, there is a clear emphasis in both, “Masks”, by Lucy Grealy, and “Stranger in the Village”, by James Baldwin that identity can be shaped by culture. Grealy does a great job writing about the main issue that has made her life so difficult: her appearance. Cancer has placed her in a position where people,
...ity, the positional relationship among the symbols must be examined. The deer, maize, and peyote together constitute a single concept, and they are used by the Huichols to signify their entire lives. The unity of these three symbols helps the Huichols “achieve their highest religious goals—continuity and unity on all levels, societal, historical, temporal, ecological, and ideological” (222). The deer is associated with the past when the Huichols were marked by masculine dominance. Maize, the central symbol of the complex, represents the present reality. Peyote represents the unforeseen future and the things to come. “This combination of deer, maize, and peyote represents a remarkable completeness” (227). “The deer as the past life of perfection, the maize as the mundane, human dimension, and the peyote as the spiritual, private, and free part of life merge” (262).
Now that this has been said, two illustrations that help us understand the way of thinking is that the Navajo Sand paintings and Seneca False Mask: two of which are rich in spiritual and cosmic meaning and power.
For a long time now body art and decoration has been a custom in many cultural groups. Through research we have learned about the different types of body art and ornamentation such as permanent and nonpermanent tattooing, scarification, and piercings. These forms of body art and ornamentation are done for a variety of reasons, ranging from identification purposes to religious rituals. “Skin, as a visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference, is not only a highly elaborated preoccupation in many cultures; it is also the subject of wide-ranging and evolving scholarly discourse in the humanities and social sciences” (Schildkrout, 2004). The process of ornamentation and body art is usually a painful experience, but it is a way to signify a person’s self-discovery and their place in society. In this paper, I will explore the different aspects of body art and ornamentation in two different cultures; the Maori people of New Zealand and the Yoruba’s of West Africa and explain the cultural importance of their art.
A common aspect of African culture is our mediating of deities, ancestors, and spirits, by performing rituals and contacting ancestors or historical ideals. This spiritual combination creates a non-Western idea of movement in art. I enjoy this part of our culture, where we create a less static environment. We become other beings, through our usage of art, dance, and costume with mask and headwear. Our artistic creators are forgotten. Our original artwork are eventually forgotten. The work goes back to the Earth, for the only true matter is how the spirits are manifested in the objects at the current time; eventually even this wears out. At the time of the spiritual manifestation in the objects, they are some of the most powerful aspects in our society.
The Tohono O’odham tribe has been weaving baskets for at least 2000 years. Although the reason for weaving has changed through the years the Tohono O’odham are still using the same weaving styles as their ancestors. Basket weaving for the Tohono O’odham has gone from an everyday essential to a prestigious art form. Basket weaving for the Tohono O’odham represents an active way of preserving their culture, valuing traditions, and creating bonding ties within the tribe; consequently weaving has transcended into an economic resource.
Image 1[4] - A ceremonial Native American feathered warbonnet is worn by a white model during a lingerie fashion show, purely for ‘decorative’ and costume purposes. No consideration has been taken by wearing this attire, in terms of the history that the Native Americans were subject to by the White colonialists.
Bohannan, Paul, and Philip Curtin. Africa & Africans . Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc. , 1995.
Additionally, there is more to a puberty ceremony than just changing into an adult, because there is much that goes on in the four day ceremony. It is in our tradition that the meaning of this ceremony is similar to the change from adolescence to an adult. I interview Gj Gordy from the Good Shepard Mission in Fort Defiance, Arizona. She stated that, “Yes. There is a lot that goes in the kinaalda, there is no time to rest or be lazy. You always have to do something or prepare things for the next event because for the four days it is all about you so, if you mess up then you mess up your ceremony. That is why we have to get everything perfect and right so in life we won’t mess up and we’ll get it right the first time around” (Gordy. Interview). Many ceremonies events are all different for each girl. Some families have different evens that they want their child to do but, mostly all follow the same even. For example the first day the girl will get her hair combed, dress in nice clothing and jewelry, be molded if it’s her second ceremony, run in the morning and evening, start to grind corn and start to prepare for her alkaad (ceremony cake). The second day consist of running, corn grinding and continue her preparations. The third