Ceremonial headdress "kworo" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3039149

Description

wood, greyish brown patina, small remains of black paint, board-shaped, pierced in the centre, attached to a wickerwork bonnet, with remains of fabric, slightly dam., minor missing parts, abrasion of paint, rep. (crack with metal clamp), breakages (attachment of the bonnet);
in all “poro” initiation cycles, unquestionably the single most important sacred rite is the “kworo” experience of ritual death and rebirth. This “kworo” ceremonial headdress is a type which was worn by Nafara initiates in a public dance that celebrates to the community the completion of “kworo” and the second grade of “poro”. The flat openwork board would originally have been covered with ritual white paint in the checkerboard patterns of prestigious textile designs. The openwork figure is one of the most common images in Senufo graphic arts, that of the “nedo” or nature spirit.

Comparing literature

Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d' Ivoire, Vol II, Genève 1993, p. 18, ill. 11