Mask "gu" with animal horns ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3053629

Description

wood, pigments,

“Gu” is considered a female being. She is the wife of the mask-being “zamble” (and his brother “zauli”), and as such she must always follow her husband, i.e. appear after him in a masquerade.

Despite her human-like face, the “gu” mask being is considered a creature of the forest. It is quite possible that the addition of horns to the beautiful female face was intended to emphasize the non-village, forest-bound, and therefore “sacred” aspect of “gu”.