Masks representing harmful spirits were often used to keep a required balance of power. This type of mask was often associated with secret societies, especially in Africa, which has the greatest variety of masks on Earth.

In ancient Egypt priests used masks to represent gods. Masks were also placed upon the face of mummies to keep alive the appearance of the

· The Tshokwe are a small ethnic group originating in Angola and currently inhabiting southern central Zaire. All masks were worn by men, and can be placed in three categories. The sacred mask is worn by the chief when invoking ancestral spirits. The other two categories are initiation masks and dance masks. The mask depicted is a dance mask, one of the few female masks produced. It is called "mwana pwo" and symbolizes the female ancestor.

· The Kom inhabit the grasslands in the northwestern province of Cameroon. Their masks are large and heavy and often worn on top of the head, rather than on the face. Masks in Cameroon are a tool of the regulatory societies that assure social control and law enforcement in the community. These societies, known as "Kwifoyn" have secret membership open only to men. It is a privilege for a Kwifoyn member to be accorded the right to own a mask. One of their uses is to dance on the grave of the member, as a parting fraternal gesture of honour, or to celebrate the death of any adult male. In 1986, Lake Nyos in that region of Cameroon, erupted with a deadly cloud of gas that killed more than 1,700 people in surrounding villages, as well as cattle and every other living creature in the area. National Geographic photographers filmed the dance for the dead at a massive memorial service for the victims, in which dancers wore masks such as

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