Buffalo mask "nam gbalang" · Nigeria, Chamba · ID: 3043354
sold
EUR 800
Provenance
Gerard Sand, Brussels, BelgiumWolf-Bernard Müller, Krefeld, Germany
Size
H: 76 cm
H: 29.9 inch
Description
wood, dark brown patina, red paint, rep. (small breakage), traces of abrasion.
“Nam gbalang” could be translated as something like “unruly thing of the bush”. Each mask has a personal name as well, the male ones (wich are red) being called “chief” something and the female ones (which are black) being called “mother” something. Both colours mean danger since red is associated with blood and black with night and witches. These masks were danced during various ceremonies, e. g. funerals, passage rites, enthronization of a new king.
Comparing literature
Evers, Christophe, Art of the Upper Benue River, Brussels 2003, p. 26