Zoomorphic "komo" mask "warakun" ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3039651

Description

wood, greyish brown encrusted patina, traces of plant fibres, helmet-shaped, carved with a protruding opened snout, which reminds of a crocodile, crowned by three pairs of different sized horns, min. dam., fine cracks, small missing parts, traces of abrasion;
the “komo” masks are considered as the most aggressive and are conceived to be horrific. They have long offered important social, spiritual and political services by means of their animal nature. Similar to the power associations, “komo” is secret, full of esoteric and practical knowledge about peole and the world, and endowed with a rich inventory of ritual activities by which the course of the world can be comprehended and transformed. The society acts as a kind of police and also plays a prominent judical role: people swear their veracity on the “komo” and this carries must weight, because many feel that to defile “komo” with deceit is to invite horrendous disaster.

Comparing literature

Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 179, ill. 163