A masquerade ceremony (or masked rite, festival, procession or dance) is a cultural or religious event involving the wearing of masks. The practice has been seen throughout history from the prehistoric era to present day. They have a variety of themes. Their meanings can range from anything including life, death, and fertility. In the Dogon religion, the traditional beliefs of the Dogon people of Mali, there are several mask dances, including the Sigi festival. [1] [2] The Sigi entered the Guinness Book of Records as the "Longest religious ceremony". [3]
Among other examples are West African and African diaspora masquerades such as Egungun masquerades, Eyo masquerades, Northern Edo masquerades, the Omabe festival of Nsukka, the Akatakpa festival of Obollo-Afor, Caribbean Carnival (which is called "Mas"), Jonkonnu, and Mardi Gras Indians.
There has been evidence of masks linked to rituals since the Neolithic era. Some of the earliest masks are from the Southern Levantine dated to the mid-ninth and eighth millennia BC. These masks were located amongst various artifacts linked to ancient ceremonies. Items found include modeled skulls, gypsum, beads of wood, textiles, flint, basketry, bone, anthropomorphic, and zoomorphic figurines. Figurines also included miniature stone masks that represent what masks, made of organic materials, possibly resembled. Most masks from that era were made of less durable materials like wood, fibers, textiles, and feathers. Because of this, they were lost to time. Masks made of longer lasting material are rare leaving mostly these miscellaneous articles. Archaeologists concur with the use of masks in religious ceremonies but because of their rarity, they are unable to study masks further to uphold their preservation. Archaeologists have also recovered cave marking depictions that show cranes with human legs but other birds anatomically correct. Experts have linked these depictions to prehistoric masked ceremonies. [4]
During the era of enslavement in the Americas, free and enslaved Black people fused African religions with carnivals to continue practicing their culture under the Code Noir. The Code Noir in French colonies forbid all non-Catholic religions and required free and enslaved people to convert to Catholicism. As an act of resistance and to outsmart their enslavers, Africans syncretized their masking culture with European parading traditions. [5] [6] [7]
Multiple cultures and religions throughout history have used masks as an important staple of their ceremonies or rites. The Dogon believe their masks are the connection from this world and the celestial. They believe the masks, through dance, link them to the divine. In their religion, living beings such as trees, plants, and creatures are occupied by spirits. These spirits are held in high regard and the Dogon offer blood sacrifices to prevent reprisal when these materials are used to make masks. The Dogon have over 70 masks representing animals and mythical beings. [8]
The Yoruba are another African group from southwestern Nigeria. They celebrate Gélédé, a masquerade ceremony commemorating the importance of women. To the Yoruba, Gélédé is meant to honor their ancestors, earthly spirits, and their earth goddess. [9]
In Slavic cultures, Svyatki was celebrated. An old pagan holiday with christian roots where masks were used to hide the wearers' identity. Svyatki is also a holiday intended to worship a sun deity and the Virgin Mary. It was typical for participants of this holiday to "Christmas dress." Christmas dressing involved cross-dressing, turning clothes inside out, or dressing as a monster or animal. The participant would soil their clothes with dirt, paint, or blood, as a representation of the evil of the world. The masks and costumes served as a symbology of sinning or sinners. They would then be baptized, cleaning themselves in reservoirs would symbolically wash away their portrayed characters sins. [10]
These cultures use masks to further connect themselves with the traditions of their ancestors and serve symbolically in many aspects of their religions.
Masks used in masquerade ceremonies vary from culture, ceremony, and point in history. Some of the oldest masks found in the Neolithic period are much older than the invention of writing. [11] Pictographs traced to be older than twenty-five thousand years old show humans wearing masks of animals but, like many other masks from this era, these masks were believed to be made of bio-gradable material and unable to stand the test of time. [11] Masks for current ceremonies include those of the Dogon Tribe. The Dogon Masks are made of wood. They depict antelopes, hunters, ostrich, hornbills, and some carry a "double cross" representing the hands of god. [8]
As ancient of a tradition that masquerading is, it can still be seen today in nearly every culture. Hiding one's identity behind a mask has transcended time. Today, Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico. It's a celebration of remembrance of the living's departed loved ones. It's celebrated with close family, involving the decorating of their tombs with photos, flowers, and offerings such as food, liquor, and cigars. [12] People dress with make-up, costumes, and animal masks used to symbolize the nine levels of the underworld, known in Mexico as Mictlan. [13] South of Mexico, in Brazil, Carnival is celebrated in the beginning of March. The celebration of Carnival allows the people of Brazil to freely express themselves through all kinds of costumes, representing anything from their aspirations to fantasies. [14] Masking traditions have been observed in New Orleans in African-American neighborhoods practiced by Mardi Gras Indians (also called Black masking Indians) during carnival season. [15] [16] [17] [18]
Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival ; it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods in preparation for the Christian fasting season of Lent, during which the consumption of such foods is avoided.
Carnival or Shrovetide is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, as well as in the performing arts and for entertainment. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body.
The Dogon are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. They speak the Dogon languages, which are considered to constitute an independent branch of the Niger–Congo language family, meaning that they are not closely related to any other languages.
Junkanoo is a festival that was originated during the period of African chattel slavery in British American colonies. It is practiced most notably in The Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize, and historically in North Carolina and Miami, where there are significant settlements of West Indian people during the post-emancipation era. In the present day, there are considerable variations in performance and spelling, but there are the shared elements of masquerade, drumming, dance, and parading.
The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, the season is known as Carnival and begins on 12th Night, January 6th, and extends until midnight before Ash Wednesday. Club, or Krewe, balls start soon after, though most are extremely private, with their Kings and Queens coming from wealthy old families and their courts consisting of the season's debutantes. Most of the high society Krewes do not stage parades. As Fat Tuesday gets nearer, the parades start in earnest. Usually there is one major parade each day ; many days have several large parades. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the Mardi Gras season. In the final week, many events occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities, including parades and balls.
Mardi Gras Indians are African American carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by the cultural practices of Native Americans, West Africans, and Afro-Caribbeans. The music, dance, and regalia from these cultures created the Mardi Gras Indian tradition during the era of slavery in Louisiana that continues today. This cultural tradition is a part of the African and African diaspora decorative aesthetic, and is an African-American art form.
The second line is a tradition in parades organized by Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs (SAPCs) with brass band parades in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The "main line" or "first line" is the main section of the parade, or the members of the SAPC with the parading permit as well as the brass band. The second line consists of people who follow the band to enjoy the music, dance, and engage in community. The second line's style of traditional dance, in which participants dance and walk along with the SAPCs in a free-form style with parasols and handkerchiefs, is called "second-lining". It is one of the most foundationally Black American–retentive cultures in the United States. It has been called "the quintessential New Orleans art form – a jazz funeral without a body". Another significant difference from jazz funerals is that second line parades lack the slow hymns and dirges played at funerals.
The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural events such as "band launch" fetes running in the lead up to the street parade on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Traditionally, the festival is associated with calypso music, developed by enslaved West and Central Africans in 17th century Trinidad; however, Soca music has begun to replace calypso as the more popular musical genre for Carnival. Costume, stick-fighting, limbo, and steelpan competitions are important components of the festival.
The Gẹlẹdẹ spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship. Gelede celebrates “Mothers”, a group that includes female ancestors and deities as well as the elderly women of the community, and the power and spiritual capacity these women have in society. Focusing not only on fertility and motherhood but also on correct social behavior within the Yoruba society.
A jazz funeral is a funeral procession accompanied by a brass band, in the tradition of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana, a lather by trade, was a New Orleans cultural icon who acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "Chief of Chiefs" for over 50 years. Tootie is revered in the Mardi Gras Indian culture as the Big Chief. Tootie was the Big Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas Tribe and made the culture of the Mardi Gras Indians about pageantry rather than combat display.
Traditional African masks are worn in ceremonies and rituals across West, Central, and Southern Africa. They are used in events such as harvest celebrations, funerals, rites of passage, weddings, and coronations. Some societies also use masks to resolve disputes and conflicts.
Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama. It is the oldest official Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. Although today New Orleans and South Louisiana celebrations are much more widely known for all the current traditions such as masked balls, parades, floats and throws were first created there. From Mobile being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition. Mardi Gras has now evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures, becoming school holidays for the final Monday and Tuesday, regardless of religious affiliation.
The Courir de Mardi Gras is a traditional Mardi Gras event held in many Cajun and Creole communities of French Louisiana on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Courir de Mardi Gras is Louisiana French for "Fat Tuesday Run". This rural Mardi Gras celebration is based on early begging rituals, similar to those still celebrated by mummers, wassailers, and celebrants of Halloween. As Mardi Gras is the celebration of the final day before Lent, celebrants drink and eat heavily, dressing in specialized costumes, ostensibly to protect their identities. In Acadiana, popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, drinking alcohol, begging, trail riding, feasting, and whipping. Mardi Gras is one of the few occasions when people are allowed to publicly wear masks in Louisiana. Dance for a Chicken: The Cajun Mardi Gras, a documentary by filmmaker Pat Mire, provides insight into the history and evolution of this cultural tradition. In popular culture, two HBO series also make reference to the tradition.
A mystic society is a Mardi Gras social organization in Mobile, Alabama, that presents parades and/or balls for the enjoyment of its members, guests, and the public. The New Orleans Krewe is patterned after Mobile's Mystics. The societies have been based in class, economic and racial groups. Mobile's parading mystic societies build colorful Carnival floats and create costumes around each year's themes.
Mardi Gras in the United States is celebrated in a number of cities and regions in the country. Most of these places trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other Catholic colonial influences on the settlements over their history.
The Paris Carnival is an annual festival held in Paris, France. The carnival occurs after the Feast of Fools and has been held since the 16th century or earlier, with a long 20th century interregnum.
The culture of Louisiana involves its music, food, religion, clothing, language, architecture, art, literature, games, and sports. Often, these elements are the basis for one of the many festivals in the state. Louisiana, while sharing many similarities to its neighbors along the Gulf Coast, is unique in the influence of Louisiana French culture, due to the historical waves of immigration of French-speaking settlers to Louisiana. Likewise, African-American culture plays a prominent role. While New Orleans, as the largest city, has had an outsize influence on Louisiana throughout its history, other regions both rural and urban have contributed their shared histories and identities to the culture of the state.