非洲面具Persona. Masks of Africa

03-19

非洲面具Persona. Masks of Africa

原文：

Many peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa have used, and sometimes still use, masks for ritual, political or festive purposes – the one not necessarily excluding the other. The mask must be considered as a whole which includes the object – the mask itself – but also the dancer, the costume and the complete visual manifestation. Nowadays, masks have lost there lively appeal in our museums, as they are most often only represented by faces made of wood.

Masks are generally designed to hide the face and identity of the wearers. However, they also reveal, by means of their stylistic features, information about the identity of the people who wore them during particular ceremonies. Within the societies that created and used them, masks were considered to be complex and living personalities. The multiple meanings of the term 『persona』 – which was the title of an exhibition at the RMCA in 2009 – describes well the main characteristics of masks. This ancient Latin word refers to the actor in theatre, to the role he plays, as well as to the mask he wears.

The contexts in which these objects were used were manifold. In several West African countries, they are still used to conjure up supernatural beings: divinities, nature spirits or ancestors. However, they are now increasingly taking on the role of entertainment. This is also the case in Congo, where some groups use them during dance performances.

The selection displayed here includes characteristic examples of a range of functions that masks usually have: witch hunters, protectors of harvests and villages, teachers during initiation rites, guardians of political power, promoters of fertility, representatives of the supernatural, guides for the deceased souls, avengers, comedians, etc.

譯文：

撒哈拉以南非洲的許多民族為了儀式，政治或節日的目的而使用並且有時仍然使用面具。面具被視為一種必須的部分，其中包括物體 - 面具本身 - 還包括舞者，服裝和完整的視覺表現。如今，面具在我們的博物館(RMCA)中失去了活潑的吸引力，因為它們通常只有木頭製成的面孔。

面具一般是為了隱藏佩戴者的面部和身份。但是，他們還通過其風格特徵揭示了特定儀式期間佩戴者的身份信息。在創造和使用它們的社會中，面具被認為是複雜和活潑的個性。「角色」一詞的多重含義 - 這是2009年RMCA展覽的標題 - 很好地描述了面具的主要特徵。這個古老的拉丁詞是指戲劇中的演員，他扮演的角色，以及他戴的面具。

這些對象被使用的上下文是多方面的。在幾個西非國家，它們仍然被用來召喚超自然的生物：神靈，自然精靈或祖先。但是，他們現在越來越多地扮演娛樂角色。剛果也有這種情況，有些團體在舞蹈表演中使用這些材料。

這裡展示的選擇包括一系列掩飾通常具有的功能的典型例子：巫婆獵人，收穫和村莊的保護者，啟動儀式中的教師，政治權力的監護人，生育促進者，超自然的代表，已故亡靈的指導，復仇者，喜劇演員等。