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The Igbo Mask In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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The Igbo Tribe design mask to represent and symbolize important roles during rituals, celebrations, and counsels. The history of the Igbo tribe beginning the tradition of mask began with the tribe absorbing other arts and beliefs from neighboring tribes. A big thing that the mask symbolize are the women 's funerals. The mask symbolize their beauty and represent the dead women. The mask also have a big role in their community. The mask are used during counsels or judgements to represent their wisdom and spiritual power.
The history of the Igbo tribe mask began with the representation of roles, ranking, and others in rituals and celebrations. The mask began with Igbo people absorbing the art, culture, and beliefs of surrounding tribes such as …show more content…

The purpose of the Igbo tribe mask is to represent someone or something in the rituals and celebrations. There are many uses for the mask within the tribe but some reasons are more significant than others. For example, the mask can be used during trials and in their counsels. In the Igbo tribe, mask are used in their secret societies in counsel and judgement. The reason that they use mask in the counsel and judgement, as it was previously stated, they believe it symbolizes wisdom and spiritual power. An example of the mask being used in the counsel or judgement is in the book, "Things Fall Apart". In the book it states, "And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle. The mask can also be used in funerals, but more specifically to represent the death of the women. Another example of the mask being used for a specific purpose is in rituals. The masks are used as a symbol of keeping moral code and honor among the clan. The Igbo tribe people believe that the ancestral spirits encourage the presence of the mask during the rituals. The reason for them believing this is because they pay a lot of respect towards their ancestors as stated in, "Things Fall Apart".
In conclusion, the Igbo tribe masks play an important role within their community. The history of the Igbo mask began with them absorbing other arts and beliefs from neighboring tribes. The Igbo tribe mask symbolized an important tradition of respecting the dead women and representing them during their funeral ceremony. The purpose of the mask is to represent certain roles and represent their

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Such personification mirrors Dunbar’s use of figurative language, which relates the poems in more ways than one. Dunbar touches on human features such as cheeks and eyes in his poem but also uses a spiritual element to advance his point of view. Furthermore, “We Wear the Mask” was written in 1896; a period in American history that was post-slavery but still had widespread discrimination. The spiritual connotation within Dunbar’s poem can allude to African American churches and/or the hymns slaves sung on plantations. Nevertheless, the struggle of African Americans is a symbol of both presented

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