Beautiful face mask "tu bodu" (buffalo) · Côte d'Ivoire, Yaure · ID: 3052417
Emil Storrer (1917-1989), Zurich, Switzerland
Description
wood, pigments, handwritten note at the back “Jaoure”
The Yaure have two (difficult to differentiate) mask groups, “je” and “lo”, with which the supernatural powers “yu” can supposedly influence the well-being of the people, but they can also harm them as well. As symbols of the “yu”, the masks are considered to be particularly dangerous, so that it is strictly forbidden for women to see them.
Present mask may be identified as “tu bodu” of the “je”- group. “Tu bodu” (the bush cow) participates in the task of purifying the village after a death and thereby reestablishes social order. But it also serves to accompany the spirit of the deceased to its final dwelling - the “iremofla”, or resting place of the souls - through incantations and dance, and to transform the deceased through rituals into an ancestor capable of protecting his descendants.
Comparing literature
Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d' Ivoire, Vol II, Genève 1993, p. 106, cat. 180
Publications
AHDRC: 0183977