Mask "gelede" ·  Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3037496

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, black paint, min. traces of yellow pigment, of typical form, grooved coiffure with horn-like projections above the forehead, rhomb tattoo and square scarification marks, slightly dam., abrasion of paint, rep. (vertical cracks on both sides of the face spread with mass and fixed by metal clamps at the lower rim);
“gelede” celebrations mostly take place short before the planting of the yams roots. First when the “mothers” are conciliated, the men are able to do the farmwork and hope for a good harvest. The ritual starts by night. A hut of palm leaves is build in the middle of the dance floor, where all the masks were kept and where “iyalasche” (the head of the “gelede” cult) provides the dancers with the respective mask.