African Masks
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There is an African legend from the Congo about a little girl who followed her mother to a nearby spring each day although she had been told not to. The mother warned her daughter and punished her. Still, the little girl followed. Finally, in desperation, the mother painted a hideous face on the bottom of her water gourd to frighten the child away. According to legend, this was the first mask ever made. Masks have been used in ceremonies for almost all the important events of life, including birth, coming of age, marriage and death. They are used to stir fear in the enemy, to get rid of dangerous beasts who prowled at night, or to �stop� disasters, such as floods and earthquakes. They have used, also, to disguise actors and to frighten away evil spirits. But no harm was supposed to have come to the wearer because no one knew who was behind the mask. African tradition has long held the belief that the world was filled with spirits, both human and animal, and that by carving masks of these spirits, they would become the spirits and have control over them. When creating a wooden mask, the carver believes he is aided by his ancestors to choose just the right piece of wood. Carvers believe that some kinds of wood can�t be used because the evil spirits that live inside the wood can hurt the carver and render the masks harmless. The �bad� wood is sometimes used, however, to make a fetish mask to combat evil spirits.
