Face mask "tu bodu" of the "je" group ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Yaure · ID: 3042775

Description

wood, rich black patina, red and white paint, delicate facial features with elongated narrow nose bridge and lowered eyelids, jagged beard in openwork design, drilled holes at the cheeks, old collection label backside “S-478 Guro Ivory Coast”, slightly dam. (mouth, nose, right horn), crack backside, mounted on beautiful base.
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.