Female mask "kpan" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Baule · ID: 3043576

Description

wood, brown patina, kaolin, raised scarification marks, cross bar for additionally fixing the mask with the teeth, slightly dam., fine cracks, traces of insect caused damage, missing part backside.
The “goli” masquerade can be performed both as an entertainment and for the funerals of important men. Four pairs of masks appear two by two in a fixed order: first a pair of disc-faced masks “kple kple”, next a pair of animal helmet masks “goli glen”, third a pair of horned face masks “kpan pre”, and finally two human-faced masks “kpan” (= senior female mask). Only a few, important “goli” dances include the final pair, “kpan”, which appears holding fly whisks as symbols of elderhood. Their performance is theatrically managed for greatest effect. When they arrive, it is nearly dusk, and women have been dancing and singing through the streets in anticipation, begging “kpan” to come. The women receive the masks as beloved personages, fanning them with scarves and dancing joyously beside them.