Cimier de danse anthropo-/zoomorphe
Christie’s, Paris, 12 June 2003, lot 312
Bernard Dulon, Paris, France
Description
wood, decorating tags, plant fibre, two labels: “H52/Liberia Localité: Yakake Pays; Grebo tumz” and “TA 318”, rep.
The Grebo living on the coast had early contact with the western world through missionaries as early as 1834. The Grebo villages in the hinterland, on the other hand, were completely isolated for a long time and largely cut off from the outside world.
Neither the “poro”, nor the “sande” societies had reached the Grebo, circumcisions were also not practiced. It is known that there were men’s “kiu” secret societies and the society for defending against witchcraft “kofi”. The “do yen” society was there to protect against the magical powers of water-beings as well as spirits that live at the bottom of the water and are able to harm people.
While many of the Grebo living along the coast reject the culture of
their ancestors, masked figures still appear among the clans in the
hinterland, but now they appear on public occasions and are mostly used
for entertainment.
Publications
AHDRC: 0063931