This year\u2019s theme for African American History Month is \u201cBlack Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity.\u201d\u00a0 This theme illuminates the African diaspora and the spread of Black families across the United States.\u00a0 This mask, from Seton Hall University\u2019s Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, is from the Guro (also Gouro) People of the Ivory Coast in West Africa.\u00a0 \u00a0This region of the continent was profoundly affected by the Transatlantic Slave Trade.\u00a0 An estimated 12 to 12.8 million forced migrations of African people took place over the course of more than 400 years.\u00a0 Those who survived the passage were enslaved in Europe and the Americas.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Despite this trauma, West Africans and African Americans have retained many customs from their respective cultures.\u00a0 Music and dance are two of the most prevalent ways humanity connects with the past, and masks are a powerful and important part of these traditions in West Africa.\u00a0 In many African cultures, including the Guro, masks are potent instruments of unity, family and community.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Used in traditional ceremonies and rites such as funerals, weddings and festivals, the masks are activated through music and dance, playing an important role in honoring ancestors and providing community members with palpable links to the past.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In West Africa, secret societies are an important part of community life.\u00a0 \u00a0The Guro societies are called Je<\/em> for females and Kne<\/em> for males.\u00a0 Only members of these secret societies may wear masks and perform in rituals honoring ancestors.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Chika Okeke-Agula, a West African performer\/curator\/artist and art historian explained, \u201cWhen fully activated, masks become \u2018spirits made tangible\u2019.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 The mask provides an entry into the spirit world to channel the divine, summon ancestral wisdom, escort the departed, accompany initiates, reaffirm societal values, venerate the living, and to mark the natural cycles of existence, from birth to death, season to season.\u200b[6]<\/a>\u00a0 The ceremonies in which masks are used are called \u2018masquerades\u2019 – interventions between the world of the living and the world of the ancestors. During masquerades, the full powers of the masks are released.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n The video below from UNESCO shows a masked Guro dancer wearing traditional clothing. \u00a0Dances are energetic and marked by quick footwork, accompanied by drumming and elaborate costumes.\u00a0 This traditional music and dance known as Zaouli[8]<\/a> plays an educational, playful and aesthetic role, contributes to environmental preservation, conveys the cultural identity of its bearers and promotes integration and social cohesion among community members.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n![\"Guro](\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/files\/2021\/01\/Guro-Dancer-performing-191x300.jpg\")
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Courtesy of Danse traditionnelle du du centre-ouest de la C\u00f4te d’Ivoire (Zaouli) \u00e0 la c\u00e9r\u00e9monie de la flamme de la paix \u00e0 Bouak\u00e9.
Feb 25, 2008
Courtesy of Zenman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n