PRAYER TO MASKS

LÉOPOLD SÉDAR SENGHOR

LEARN ABOUT THE POET
•Léopold Sédar Senghor was born in 1906 in Joal, a town outside of Dakar,
the capital of Senegal.
•An adept student, he won a scholarship to study in Paris, where he studied
French grammar and later obtained a teaching position.
•Senghor was a founding member of the artistic and political movement
Négritude, which emphasized pride in African and Black identity and
history, which he practiced through his poetry.
•In 1939 Senghor fought for the French army in World War II. The following
year, he was taken prisoner during Germany’s invasion of France. Senghor
was held captive for approximately two years.
•Served as the country’s first president.
MASKS IN AFRICAN CULTURE
•African tribal masks have, for the longest time, played a vital role in
celebrations, rituals, and tribal initiations.
•Most masking rituals are accompanied by song, dance, and prayer.
•Without the human element: costume, dancer, music, gathering of the
tribe, and sacred place, a mask is meaningless.
•This same inter-connected quality is part of the African
way of viewing his or her world.
•Many masks are primarily associated with ceremonies
that have religious and social significance.
PRAYER TO MASKS -Léopold Senghor

Masks! Oh Masks!
Black mask, red mask, you black and white masks,
Rectangular masks through whom the spirit breathes,
I greet you in silence!
And you too, my lionheaded ancestor. 5
You guard this place, that is closed to any feminine laughter, to any
mortal smile.
You purify the air of eternity, here where I breathe the air of my
fathers.
Masks of maskless faces, free from dimples and wrinkles.
You have composed this image, this my face that bends over the
altar of white paper.
In the name of your image, listen to me! 10
Now while the Africa of despotism is dying – it is the agony of a
pitiable princess,
Just like Europe to whom she is connected through the naval –
Now turn your immobile eyes towards your children who have been
called
And who sacrifice their lives like the poor man his last garment
So that hereafter we may cry ‘here’ at the rebirth of the world 15
being the leaven that the white flour needs.
For who else would teach rhythm to the world that has died of
machines and cannons?
For who else should ejaculate the cry of joy, that arouses the dead
and the wise in a new dawn?
Say, who else could return the memory of life to men with a torn
hope?
They call us cotton heads, and coffee men, and oily men. 20
They call us men of death.
But we are the men of the dance whose feet only gain power when
they beat the hard soil.
TITLE
•In the poem, Senghor addresses the masks that are an important part of
African cultural traditions. He describes how the masks are used in rituals
and ceremonies to communicate with the spirits and ancestors, but also
that Africa has a means with which to benefit Europe.
•Despite hardship, and the prejudices to which they're subjected, his
people are strong and capable. They have worth that the ailing Europe
needs to recognise.
•Honouring our ancestors strengthens us. Honouring the past helps us in
the present.
LINE ANALYSIS
•A loud, dramatic introduction: “Masks! Oh Masks!” (Line 1).
•Lines 2-3 give the masks more detail. The masks come in various colors, and it
is through the masks that spirits breathe (line 2)
•The narrator is exclamatory, yelling, but greets the masks silently as a sign of
respect and awe. (line 3)
•He calls out specifically to the mask of his own ancestor who is “lionheaded” as
a sign of bravery, virtue and courage.
•The narrator calls out to other ancestors, who stand guard, shielding the
afterlife from femininity, joy, and mortality. It was male dominated society,
patriarchal power and long tradition.
LINE ANALYSIS
•The ancestors cleanse the eternal air, and the narrator breathes in the air of
past fathers. It forms the basis for his poetic inspiration. (line 6)
•The masks are ageless and do not show the flaws and aging of the men who
have gone before him. (line 7)
•These ancestors have “composed” the poets face, as they are his forebears;
he carries their DNA/likeness in his own face. (line 8-9)
•The masks have helped compose the narrator’s own face, which hovers over a
page of paper, writing.
•The page is compared to an altar, something holy. He is the living image of
those masks to whom he is writing.
LINE ANALYSIS
•Lines 11- 12 contrast the glorious past of Africa and the present, in which
the peoples of Africa have been subjugated by European nations.
•The "pitiable princess" (line 10) symbolises the nobility of traditional
Africa, and her death represents both the general suffering and decline of
traditional African culture and the loss of political power.
•The image of the umbilical cord points to the connection between Europe
and Africa. Both are in need. (line 11)
LINE ANALYSIS
•The masks are called to witness the sad history of modern Africa, and they
look on their people “your children”, who suffer-” the traditional customs and
values have not been able to survive the great changes that history has
brought about.
•The question he poses to the masks is: do they represent a valuable view
from which the present can be seen, or are they merely relics of a past that
have nothing to say to those who are exploited and suffering in the present?
(line 12)
•Senghor prays to the magic spirits of the masks to help speed the rebirth. In
turn, a reborn Africa can help Europe, just as the brown yeast is necessary
for making bread from white flour. (line 14)
LINE ANALYSIS
•The rhetorical question is that both continents can gain from
recognising Africa’s worth. Africa will provide a spiritual guidance to a
Europe that is oriented towards, materialist gain, and war. (line 15-17)
•"men of cotton, of coffee, of oil," Insults, Senghor refers to the
exploitation of Africa for its raw materials and black Africans as cheap
labor. (line 18-19)
•“men of Death” not afraid to die for their freedom.
•“but”- volta (lin3 20)
•Rather than allowing their humanity to be reduced, the African of the
future will have a relation to the soil and the natural world.
IMAGERY
•Apostrophe: Senghor often uses the figure of "apostrophe," a term in
rhetoric referring to a direct address to an object, or an immaterial entity
such as a mask. The masks figures of his ancestors.
•Senghor implores the masks to join with him in pushing forward the rebirth
of Africa, but at the same time implying that it is his "cry" that can bring
about the co-operation of the masks
•Personification: “…pitiable princess”- Africa is the princess, that needs to be
saved.
IMAGERY
•The poet enhances multiple lines (Lines 1, 4, and 13) with exclamation
marks showing the narrator's prayer urgency and desperation.
•“…altar of white paper” alluding to the poem he is writing as respectful and
full of worship.
•The poem evokes sensory details “feminine laughter”; “fix your eyes”; “the
cry of joy” YET he speaks to the ancestors in silence.
•“…connected through the navel” Africa is connected to Europe, which can be
positive and negative. However, the one can gain from the other.
STRUCTURE
•Line lengths vary.
•No breaks for stanzas.
•Rhetorical questions – emphasise the importance of the African culture.
•Free verse - conversation” with the masks
- suitable for the passionate and emotional reflection.
TONE
•The tone is solemn. This is displayed through the choice of certain words
and expressions, such as "I greet you in silence."
HOWEVER
•After reading the poem, readers feel hopeful, inspired and empowered at
the same time.
•Africa is shown as a source of beauty, life, and positivity, whereas Europe,
the "mother," is flailing. Africa is shown as the force that can breathe life
back into European civilization.
•The mood of the poem is therefore positive, inspiring, hopeful, and
empowering.
THEME: FREEDOM AND NEW
BEGINNINGS
•The speaker is addressing the masks and calling for them to listen to him.
• He recognizes that the current state of Africa, represented by the "agony
of a pitiable princess," is one of oppression and despotism. However, he
is hopeful for the future, calling for the "rebirth of the world.“
•The idea of sacrifice is also prominent in the poem, as the speaker
acknowledges that his children have been called to make sacrifices in
order to bring about a new beginning.
•He sees the rhythm of the dance as being a key part of this new
beginning.
THEME: THE ROLE OF THE
ANCESTORS
•The speaker addresses the ancestors, including their lionheaded
ancestor, and acknowledges their presence and importance in their lives.
•The ancestors are seen as guardians of tradition and purity, purifying the
air of eternity and representing the continuity of cultural heritage.
•The speaker also highlights the ancestors' role in shaping the speaker's
identity, as they are connected to their ancestors through the air they
breathe.
•By addressing the ancestors, the speaker shows respect for their cultural
heritage and the important role of the ancestors in shaping their identity.
THEME: OPPRESSION AND
RESILIENCE
•The speaker refers to Africa and the dying despotism, which represents
the oppression faced by the people in Africa.
•Despite this oppression, the speaker depicts the resilience of African
people. The are referred to as “the men of the dance whose feet only gain
power when they beat the hard soil.” This shows their determination,
strength and spirit.
•The idea of a “new dawn” also signifies a new beginning and a hope for a
brighter future.