Horned helmet mask

Description

wood, kaolin, dark brown patina, cylindrical in form, the flat face provided with two pairs of eyes and abstract facial features, forehead crest in openwork design, drilled holes at the lower rim with fibre remains of a costume, slightly dam., cracks, on metal base;
the Bobo use masks in three major contexts: they appear at harvest time in annual rites called “birewa dâga”. Masks participate in the male initiation, named “yele dâga” which is their major function. Finally, they participate in the burial “syebi” and the funeral rites “syekwe” of people who have been killed by Dwo, or of the elder priests of Dwo. Their performance is extremely athletic, with the mask spinning wildly around and around, leaping high into the air as the strands of the fiber costume fly outward.