This metal mask was used during slavery for 3 main reasons.

1) To prevent the slaves from eating fruits such as apples, pineapples, oranges, cashews, bananas, plantains sugarcanes, etc while harvesting them, they were made to work consistently in all the plantation farms.

2) To stop the slaves from chanting our African spiritual songs. Not only did our spiritual and war songs affect the slave masters, but it also motivated some slaves to rebel and fight back not minding losing their lives.

3) To stop slaves from teaching our African local dialects (languages) to their children… which destroyed our dialects and forced them to learn foreign languages. Last but not least, to starved slaves as a punishment in the slave camps.

The mask prevented them from eating or drinking. Sometimes the slave masters would force an apple (a whole) into the mouths of slaves before they wore the metal mask on them with the padlocks so that they couldn’t talk.