Mask "gunye gä" ·  Liberia, Dan · ID: 3038091

Description

wood, matt middle brown patina, encrustations with brown mass in some areas, metal tag in the head, tufts of hair underneath the nose, unusual: rather big ears, drilled holes around the rim (in the chin area in two rows), collection number handwritten in white paint on the backside “48”, slightly dam., minor missing parts (eyes, ears, rim backside), traces of insect caused damage (mouth, cheeks, forehead area);
even among the Liberian Dan this type is described as a “runner mask” and takes the name “gunye gä” or “gunyege”. During dry season many villages in the surroundings of Man arrange footraces among the youth, at which the respective winner gains the right to wear the mask. (Compare E. Fischer, H. Himmelheber, 1976, p. 70 f.) “Gunye gä” masks are protective spirits belonging to individual family groups, they are freely available and are not subject to control by a higher institution (council of elders, circumsicion camp, “go” society).

Comparing literature

Fischer, Eberhard & Hans Himmelheber, Die Kunst der Dan, Zürich 1976, p. 70 f.