Large helmet mask "goli glen"
Description
wood, red, black and white paint, typical form with undercut arched structure on the forehead, slightly dam. (nose), missing parts (helmet), rep. (both horn tips), abrasion of paint, base;
the Baule people adopted “goli” between 1900 and 1910 from the Wan, a small Mande-speaking group related to the Guro. According to S. Vogel, the feather in the nose is meaningful in the Wan version of the “goli” dance, but seldom included by the Baule (Vogel, 1997, p. 174).
“Goli” is a day-long spectacle that normally involves the whole village and includes the appearance of four pairs of masks, music played, and ideally, the joyous consumption of a great deal of palm wine. “Goli” can be performed both as an entertainment and for the funerals of important men. “Goli glen”, the senior male mask, is the second pair of masks to appear. It is said to combine antelope and crocodile features. It is distinguished from other “goli” masks by the playing of the “tre” horn during the dance. “Glen” wears a large antelope skin on its back and a fresh green palm-fiber cape, which takes several men a couple of hours to prepare and is very heavy to wear. He does a rapid, vigorous stamping dance that is rather wild-looking but never uncontrolled.