AFRICAN IMAGES

Glad you like the masks Gourd_Clae! Those stick figures above the Kanaga masks can be interpreted in multiple ways. One of the most common interpretation is a crocodile. It can also be likened to a bird. A deeper meaning to it is that it is the hand of god.
Those are the most common form of Dogon mask which are made by the dancers themselves. There are many other Dogon masks which are mad specifically by a designated wood carver.

Anyway, the Dogon are from West Africa, let me now show some East African stuff.

Here are the famous Gedi ruins of the Swahili Coast (Not to be confused with Getty lol)

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And again if that doesn't work, I'll try Marrend's method.


Sometimes Getty's images and other watermark image sites have Public Domain images on site which is why its important to check to see if you can find an old looking photo elsewhere. For example I just found this incredible image on Getty's site but also found it on Wikipedia. So I'll share the Wikipedia link. This image is important because it shows 2 rare things in Africa. 1 it shows women wearing masks which is a rarity and in fact I intend to one day make a video about women's masks in Africa. 2 it shows partial masks which are more common in European Ball room settings than in Africa. Normally African masks cover the whole face like those Dogon examples do because an African mask generally speaking transforms you into a spirit so it makes sense to cover as much of the human face as possible. So I hope you can appreciate the uniqueness of these ladies's masks.

So when I answer ethnological questions outside the confines of my videos keep in mind I will often choose to speak from memory like I would in a normal conversation just because it can be time consuming to find the academic reference. But anyway from what I recall for the uninitiated, like children of the Dogon, they will see the crocodile and bird but once they are older and get initiated they will be taught the symbols deeper meanings.

Next I'll show some Central African stuff.
Here's a mask that represents the Kuba King. Sometimes the king himself wears it. Other times someone else will dance it in his place.

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Here's a divination object in the shape of a dog :3

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And here is a figure sculpture and bowl from another Central African people, the similarly named Luba culture.

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