Mourning face mask "okuyi"
Fily Keita, Los Angeles, USA
Description
wood, white, black and red pigment, the whole face covered with white earth “pemba”, narrow slit eyes, elaborate coiffure in four lobes, scarification marks, slightly dam., fine cracks, on base;
belonging to the so-called “white-faced masks of the Okuyi”. These masks represented female entities from the spirit world, fantastical beings who intervened in the villages on important collective occasions: bereavements, palavers, the birth of twins, times of epidemic, hunts for malevolent sorcerers, and so on. Masked dancers standing on stilts would confront each other in “jousts”. Each dancer would be assisted by a team, whose purpose was to help him perform his competition with an acrobatic feat. The best dancer in the eyes of public would win the match.