Materials & Making
Masks in Motion
Power & Royalty
Spirits & Ancestors
100
This architectural wonder in Mali is constructed entirely of adobe mud-brick and requires an annual community festival to replaster its walls
What is the Great Mosque of Djenné? 
100
Carved to embody the water spirit Sowo, this is the only mask in the AP curriculum worn exclusively by women.
What is the Bundu mask? 
100
Said to have fallen from the sky, this object is so sacred to the Ashanti people that it is never allowed to touch the ground and represents the soul of the nation.
What is the Golden Stool (Sika dwa kofi)?
100
Created by the Kongo peoples, this aggressive wooden figure is physically pierced with metal nails and blades to awaken its spiritual power and seal oaths.
What is a Power Figure (Nkisi n'kondi)? 
200
Metalworking technique, where molten brass is poured into a sculpted clay and wax mold, was used by the Edo peoples to create the wall plaques from the Oba's palace.
What is lost-wax casting? 
200
Worn by male dancers of the Chokwe peoples, this mask features delicate features and scarification marks to honor the founding mothers of the tribe.
What is the Female (Pwo) mask? 
200
In Olowe of Ise's Veranda Post, this specific visual convention is used to make the senior wife tower protectively over the smaller seated king.
What is hierarchical scale? 
200
Characterized by a balance of calm, infant-like heads and tense, muscular bodies, the Fang peoples used these wooden figures to guard cylindrical boxes containing what?
What are ancestral bones (or relics)? 
300
This handheld wooden object from the Luba peoples utilizes carved bumps, metal, and imported beads to map out history and royal lineages.
What is a Lukasa (memory board)? 
300
Breaking from generalized spiritual representation, this secular Baule mask was carved to honor the specific intellect and inner beauty of a living woman, such as Moya Yanso.
What is the Portrait (Mblo) mask? 
300
Carved by the Kuba peoples, this idealized wooden portrait figure always holds a specific geometric symbol (an ibol) to identify which particular king it represents.
What is an Ndop? 
300
This personal shrine figure from the Igbo peoples features large animal horns and represents a man’s right hand, symbolizing his personal achievement, strength, and success.
What is an Ikenga?
400
he Conical Tower and Circular Wall of Great Zimbabwe were built using this specific architectural technique, meaning the stones were cut to fit perfectly without the use of mortar.
What is ashlar masonry?
400
In traditional African art, a mask is rarely meant to be a static object on a wall; it is activated through this "total work of art" involving costume, music, and dance.
What is a masquerade? 
400
The Bamileke people crafted this dynamic object using thousands of expensive, imported glass beads in the patterns of a leopard to assert the absolute wealth and dominance of the Fon (King).
What is the Aka Elephant Mask? 
400
In Olowe of Ise's Veranda Post, the small flute-playing figure at the king's feet represents this specific trickster god and spiritual messenger.
Who is Esu?