Performances with these masks serve to educate the boys about their social
responsibilities as adult males. In contrast to other African masks, which are
typically made of wood, most mukanda masks are made out of bark stretched over
a framework of sticks and painted with resin. One such mask, the chikunza, is
tall, cone-shaped, and painted with patterns in red, white, and black. The wearer
acts as the father of the boys and teaches them a special initiation dance.
Only one type of mask in this tradition is carved out of wood: the mwana pwo.
It represents a beautiful young girl, and a man wears it in a performance at
the boys' coming of age ceremonies.
Eastern Africa stretches from Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the south,
taking in Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and
the island nation of Madagascar. This vast region encompasses a diverse range
of peoples, environments, and historical experiences. They include seminomadic
herders, ancient kingdoms, coastal trading ports, and even a few isolated communities
of hunter-gatherers. An extremely wide range of art and architecture in the
region reflects this diversity. Trade with Arabs and other groups along Africa's
east coast also introduced a strong foreign influence. Much of the art and architecture
of eastern Africa is religious in nature. Islam is the main religion in the
northern part of the region, and mosques to house worshipers are a major architectural
form there. Mosques in eastern Africa tend to be simpler in design than those
in western Africa. Instead of minarets, eastern African mosques feature an open
flight of stairs that leads to a flat roof from which the call to prayer is
issued. Inside the mosque, columns in one, two, or three rows divide the space
into rectangular chambers. Ethiopia adopted Christianity as a state religion
as early as the 4th century. In the 12th century, the king had 11 churches carved
out of solid rock in the ancient capital city of Lalîbela. Some of these red
volcanic rock structures were carved below ground level and encircled by deep
trenches, while others were attached to surrounding rock outcroppings. A network
of tunnels and narrow passageways connected them. Wall paintings decorate the
interior of the rock-cut Church of St. George at Lalîbela; some depict the life
of St. George, who is said to have supervised the church's construction.
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