'Elvis' Mask for Nyau Society, Chewa, c.1977 (wood, paint, fiber, cloth)

Although most of the cultures represented in African Innovations have changed dramatically since the works were first created, genres such as masquerade persist in many regions, where they adapt to an ever more interconnected world. This mask for the Nyau society, a Chewa institution that governs the spiritual realm of death and the ancestors, depicts Elvis Presley. Historically, all Chewa men belonged to the secret Nyau society. The society’s masks represent the spirits of the deceased, but they may also represent wild bush spirits or caricature personalities from the wider community. Outsiders—including Swahili slave traders, British officials, the Virgin Mary, and other iconic foreigners such as Elvis Presley—have been considered representative of antisocial traits and undesirable values.