This question attracted majority of the candidates and most of these candidates responded appropriately to it. However, a few candidates could not give the required responses and this made them to lose most of the available marks. Such candidates should have responded to the question thus:
(a) A covering for the face, worn by somebody to conceal his or her identity.
(b) - face mask: the kind of masks that covers only the face
- helmet mask: the type of mask that covers the entire head.
- headdress: a type of mask usually attached to the head and
covering part of the face.
- pendant mask: worn by King as symbol of authority as pendant
resting on the chest.
(c) - belief in the supernatural has motivated the creation and sustenance of
many West African traditional masks.
- these beliefs incorporate some elements of magic, animism and religion.
- rituals involving the use of masks are done to exert control over the uncertainties of life.
- with rituals, West Africans aimed at harnessing positive forces from ancestors and gods.
- masks were meant to serve as a means of communication between the world of man and the supernatural.
- masks are worn during festivals, celebrations and ceremonies, whose purpose are to cleanse, honour, entertain, initiate, bless, etc.
- masks are worn to disguise the identity of the wearer.
- most masks in Africa are carved in wood and decorated with paints, beads, cloth, raffia, etc.
- by itself, a mask is considered ineffective until it is imbued with powerful spiritual force and worn by someone in full costume and danced with the accompaniment of music and drum. |
