Home View 1

Reference URL

Add tags

Comment

Rate

To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed the entire object, paste this HTML in website

To link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Spider mask

View 1

1 of 1

View Description

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

This page

All

Subset

Loading content ...

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Rating
Title	Spider mask
Subject	Masks Masks, African Africa -- Social life and customs Africa -- Religious life and customs Spiders Cameroon Bamileke (African people) Bamileke (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies
Description	What do you see in the crown of this mask? They are very abstract, but you should be able to see a lot of spiders! The round knobs represent spider bodies with legs stretching out to meet the legs of surrounding spiders. In many African cultures, spiders signify royalty and wisdom and are associated with the knowledge of the ancestors. This mask was created and used by the Bamum or Bamileke peoples of the Western Grassfields of Cameroon. Masks like this one are owned and used by prominent families and by an important society of men (called Kwifoyn) who make and enforce guidelines to help organize and protect the community. These men wear the masks during commemorative death celebrations for past kings (Fons) and important community members and at the kingdom's annual dance, a time of celebration during the festive cycle of the dry season. A defined series of masks (e.g. male mask followed by female mask followed by animal mask, etc.) appear during a performance. The wearers of the masks, men of the Kwifoyn Society born within important lineages, wear full body costumes to conceal their identities. (Expressions of Cameroon Art by Tamara Northern, 1986.) Certain features of masks are symbolic of community ideals or values. For example, the bulbous cheeks and eyes of this mask denote beauty. The bands of small connected ovals at the top of the forehead represent cowrie shells which bring good luck and abundance to those who wear them.
Photographer	Kaveney, Wendy
Identifier	85.1.16330
Collection	Artifacts at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Coverage-Spatial	Cameroon
Rights	This file is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

Title	View 1
Photographer	Kaveney, Wendy
Collection	Artifacts at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights	This file is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home View 1

Spider mask

Object Description

Description

Tags

Comments

Spider mask

Spider mask

	All
	Pages Enter page numbers or page ranges separated by commas. For example: 1,3,5-12