Key Stage

KS2 (ENG), KS2 (NI), CfE L2 (SCO), PS3 (WAL), KS3 (ENG), KS3 (NI), CfE L3 (SCO), KS3 (WAL)
Art term

Carving, Casting and bronze
Created by

Art collections
Topics

Ceremonies and rituals, Music, Dance, Theatrical and fancy costume

A resource from the Horniman Museum

This resource was created by Horniman Community Action Researcher, Scherin Barlow Massay, who is researching the connections between the Horniman Museum's collections and Guyanese masquerade. The resource engages learners with the history and music of African-Caribbean masquerade, and the characters of Guyanese masquerade. It can be downloaded here as a PDF, or viewed on the Horniman Museum's website.

We asked Scherin Barlow Massay about her spelling of 'Afrika' in this resource. She told us: 'author and educator Haki R. Madhubuti wrote From Plan to Planet Life Studies: The Need for Afrikan Minds and Institutions (1973), in which he explained that most vernacular or traditional languages on the continent spell Afrika with a 'K'. Those in the Afrikan diaspora who use that spelling acknowledge that much of their culture had its origins in the traditions and ideologies that enslaved people took to the Americas. By actively reclaiming their cultural identities, they aim to reconstruct the authentic self that is then aligned to an Afrikan worldview.'

Objects included in this resource

Image credit: Horniman Museum and Gardens

Clapper Bell unknown artist
Image credit: Horniman Museum and Gardens

Hathor Votive… unknown artist
© the copyright holder. Image credit: Horniman Museum and Gardens

Midnight Robber Charles Harrington

Objects from West Africa

The resource looks at the masquerade traditions of African cultures including the Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo peoples. More objects from these cultures can be found on Art UK, from collections across the UK.

Image credit: Wigan Arts and Heritage Service

Carved Statue… unknown artist
© Courtesy of The Ben Enwonwu Foundation. Image credit: Government Art Collection

Fulani Girl Ben Enwonwu (1917–1994)
Image credit: Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service

Ikenga 19th… unknown artist
Image credit: Haslemere Educational Museum

The Messenger… Nigerian (Yoruba) School
Image credit: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum

Yoruba Figure unknown artist

Horniman Museum and Gardens

The Horniman Museum and Gardens is an inspiring, surprising, family-friendly, free attraction in South London's Forest Hill.

The Horniman has diverse collections of musical instruments, anthropology, and natural history, including a famous walrus. As well as the Museum's Galleries, there are 16 acres of Gardens, a live Animal Walk, and an acclaimed Aquarium to explore.

The Horniman has a well-established and popular learning programme, with around 40 schools session on offer, covering a range of topics. A fantastic Handling Collection of approximately 3,000 objects forms the backbone of the school programme, giving the pupils the opportunity to handle amazing objects, from part of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, to a whale's vertebra, to an armadillo charango!