Mask "korobla" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Sénoufo · ID: 3032924

Description

wood, matt greyish brown patina, composed of different animals: crocodile’s snout, tusks of a warthog, buffalo horns, crowned by a chamaeleon, pierced around the rim, min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion;
appearing at funeral services and above all by night when the witches use to roam the village to look for new victims. The “korobla” shall ambush them, because the Senufo belief her to be stronger than any witch. She is extraordinary fast and in former times she was known for her ability to spit “fire”. She utters long screams and as soon as she makes out a witch, she mightily chases her away.

Littérature comparée

Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 57, ill. 37