The magnificent geometric forms of African masks have enabled African art to take its place among the world's most admired forms of artistic expression. However, the admiration and acclaim has not always been accompanied by an understanding of the African cultures that gave rise to the forms and designs of African art. In African cultures the formal characteristics of the art have usually been intimately associated with magic and religious beliefs and practices. In what follows we will attempt to tell the story of African masks and in the process we hope to throw some light on these relationships.