With reference to the Temne nowo masquerade, discuss the purpose of masks in African cultures, highlighting spiritual and communal uses. How have outsiders to African culture misinterpreted the meanings of African masks?

What will be an ideal response?

In Western museums, masks are commonly exhibited and admired as sculpture. In Africa, masks are never displayed as an art form; they appear only in motion as the heads or faces of spirits that have appeared in a human community. The nowo is the guiding spirit of a Temne women's organization called Bondo, which regulates female affairs and prepares young girls for initiation into adult status and into the community. During this time they need protection, guidance, and sponsorship of spirits to make the transition. In a masquerade ceremony the nowo appears as a lustrous black mask, representing the Temne ideal of feminine beauty and modesty. The rings around the base symbolize transformation and the emergence. A white scarf tied to the nowo' selaborate hairstyle indicates empathy for the initiates under her care.