African Mask|Demonic Spirituality

There is a fine line I'm trying to understand, it’s between African culture and juju. A lot of us Africans are either Muslim or Christian. Then you have the few who are still practicing ancient religions, in all honesty, are they really few? It appears we mix our ancient ways into a lot of our Christian and Islamic practices. I have personally seen this all-over West Africa, from sections of Sierra Leonian Muslims to certain Nigerian Christians. As someone who has chosen to be Christian, I am trying to figure out for myself what is culture and what is partaking in ancient religions. I say this because I do not want to partake in those religions. I heard a girl speak about her mom going to Africa and coming back with numerous African masks.

African masks are not a big deal to me, I have always appreciated them as a thing of beauty. But in her story, she spoke about how there were a lot of demonic activities once those masks came into their household.  I'm not saying all African spiritual practices are evil but were the masks the reason for the activities that were happening within her household? Did someone put juju on those masks or was it their own personal lifestyle that brought on the dark magic? I wonder where the creator of those masks got inspiration from? What did they see? Are those masks figures of the gods that they serve? Or they’re just art and have a different meaning, far away from gods and deities. I am researching deeply and figuring it out for myself. But as someone that believes that objects hold a lot of meaning and power, I am certain a lot of those masks are tied to deities. Hence her unusual encounters with spiritual disturbances in her household. You have to be careful when purchasing objects from different cultures. Before I will ever buy a mask again, I will ask what the mask represents.

Mary