Anthropozoomorphic mask "hombo" or "kobié" (rooster)

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Description

wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, marked by a rectangular teeth-revealing mouth and high forehead crest, min. dam., cracks, small chips, paint rubbed off in parts.
These masks represent the spirit “hombo”, a protective spirit of the blacksmith. Most of the masks depict beings from the bush in an animalic or fantastic shape, invisible for humans. The knowledge of the masks and of their geometrical patterns is restricted to the male population. During a two week initiation the boys are introduced to this secret knowledge, which also serves for mediation of social and moral values.

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Comparing literature

Roy, Christopher D., Land of the flying masks, München 2007, ill. 135 P. Meauzé, "L'Art Nègre", Amsterdam/Paris, 1967:156, #2

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Publications

Kamer, Henri, Haute-Volta, Paris 1973, p. 49, ill. 21

AHDRC: 0150421

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