Anthropomorphic face mask "gu"

Description

wood, rich blackish brown shiny patina, of narrow elongated form, crowned by large bird sculpture, special features: slanted position of the eyes and beautiful curved profile, nose with sharp-edged bridge extremely narrow and without nostrils, hairline in three jags, slightly dam., minor missing parts (nose tip, forehead tattoo, rims of the lids);
work of an unknown artist from the southern Guro region.
“Gu” is always carved “uanya iri nya”, i. e. according to the image of “a beautiful woman”. She is the wife of the mask-being “zamble” and as such she must always follow her husband, i.e. appear after him in a masquerade. “Gu” masks and their cult always belong to the same families that own “zamble”. A conical basket, attached to the mask is put over the dancers back of the head, thus helping the dancer to fix the mask in front of the face. The dancer wears a net-like costume, abundant grass fibre bunches, a womans cloth mainly in blue and an antelope pelt.

Publications

AHDRC: 0141965