6.2 Masks & Performance

Living art

Much African art is meant to be worn and danced, not displayed. Masks transform the wearer during masquerades tied to initiation, funerals, and community ritual.

Power figures

Nkisi n'kondi power figures (Kongo) hold spiritual force; nails driven in activate them for oaths, healing, or justice — art as an active agent, not just an image.

Royal portraits

The Ndop figures (Kuba, DR Congo) are idealized royal portraits identified by an emblem, preserving kingship and memory rather than exact likeness.

Key terms

Masquerade

masks worn and danced in community ritual

Mask transformation

the wearer becomes a spirit or ancestor

Nkisi n'kondi

Kongo power figure activated by nails

Ndop

idealized Kuba royal portrait figure

Living art

African art is often used, worn, and performed

Try an AP-style question

African masks are best understood…

1. as portraits of artists
2. in performance with costume and music
3. as isolated museum objects
4. as decorative wall art