![]() To reinvent their image, the Sala Mpasu publicly announced that the men’s society and masquerading would come to an end. While their reputation helped to ward off intruders for two centuries, it eventually became an obstacle to economic growth in the latter half of the 20th century, as people were afraid of the Sala Mpasu. This image was projected by the men’s society and their associated masquerades. For instance, the Sala Mpasu people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo developed a reputation for being savage and fierce “cannibals” to keep away neighboring peoples and Belgian colonists. Rather, societies associated with masquerades, mask makers, and mask performers are dynamic and innovate to respond to communal or outside influences. Masquerade performances and characters do not remain the same over time. ![]() For example, if the mask, Mwana Pwo, touches a person, it is believed among the Touching masks is believed to cause illness, injury, or other misfortunes. While audiences might interact with masks through dance, song, and speech (praises or taunts), audiences usually will not touch masks because they are seen as dangerous. Although masks are performed by people, audiences generally will not regard or treat masks the same way that they would treat other people. So as you can see, unlike the examples in the opening paragraph, the term “mask” in an African context does not simply mean a facial covering or headpiece it also includes the costume and accessories. In other cases, masks might not even have a facial covering or headpiece. In some instances, these do not completely cover the mask performers, so their identities are not entirely concealed from the audiences. ![]() In many masquerade performances, the identities of the mask performers are concealed with facial coverings or headpieces and costumes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |