STANDARD BANK GROUP / AFRICAN REGIONS CONFERENCE 2020
'We Are Africa'
Tribal makeup plays an important role in the various groups. The makeup, often consisting of face paint, is used for many different reasons and can signify many different things such as religious and traditional reasons or also military purposes. It also functions as social marker, distinguishes boys from men, men from older men or outsiders from members of the tribe. The higher your rank is, the more elaborate and complicated your face paint will be. Furthermore, the face paint they use is usually made out of clay in different colours. Each colour and each symbol has a certain meaning. Black is used to display power, evil, death and mystery, while grey indicates security, authority and stability. Purple commonly means royalty and luxury while yellow is used for joy, energy and warmth. Red stands for danger and blue denotes peace, calmness and confidence.
