Headdress "dagu" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3038125

Description

wood, dark brown patina, carved with a round pair of horns, ears and forehead crest, incised decorations, separate worked hide mask with rectangular eyes, rep. (breakages at both horns and one ear), fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base;
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

Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 16 f. Christie's Amsterdam, 6 December 1999, lot 165 (comparable object)