Dance crest "dagu" for the "niyuo" dance · Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3042988
sold
EUR 4,200
Provenance
Geoffrey Holder, New York, USAGlen Rhodes & Harry Nadler, Arlington, USA
Size
H: 70,5 cm
H: 27.8 inch
Description
wood, brown patina, remains of pigments, helmet-shaped calotte, crowned by stylized cattle and sitting female figure, min. dam., cracks, slight traces of abrasion.
Young men wear the costume of “zeu” in combination with the “dagu” headdress for the “niyuo” masquerade. The horns symbolize cattle, which makes sense, because the young men who have passed “zeu” were looked upon as “nescient” and therefore “scary oxes”. The “niyuo” masquerade prepares the boys for the actual initiation cycle in the “poro” society, which will last for seven years.
Comparing literature
Guenneguez, André & Afo, Art de la Cote-d'Ivoire et de ses voisins, Paris o.J., p. 107