Hyaena mask "suruku" · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3032206
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Description
wood, shiny brown patina, of typical form with forehead tattoos, open mouth and long ears, pierced around the rim, min. dam., missing parts (right ear), traces of abrasion;
the inauguration into “koré” society, marks the transition of young boys to grown-up men. The “koré” is celebrated every seven years. A community of young initiates of different age experiences their symbolic death. In order to “revive” as adults, they have to abandon the privileges of childhood from now on and have to prove their ability to be a “cè fari”, a “strong-minded man”.
The object Hyaena mask “suruku” with the object ID 3032206 was last part of the auction 68th tribal art auction at March 3, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 152 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,000.
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Comparing literature
Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 116 ff.
Exhibition
Oberwil 1990, No 140