Masque ·  Guinée, Toma · ID: 3042035

Description

light brown wood, black paint, pigment remains, combining human and animal features: oval face and delicate straight nose contrasting to bent horns and beak-like opened snout, incised ornaments on both sides, handwritten collection number “41 Toma 41” at the back, rep. (breakage lower jaw), slight traces of abrasion, base;
the Loma, or Toma, live on both sides of the Liberia/Guinea border. In Liberia they are known als Loma, while in Guinea they are known as Toma. The two names are respectively English and French renderings of the same name but reflect differences in both European orthography and regional dialects.
The principal men’s initiation society throughout the area is the “poro” society. It has often been described as a pantribal organization with local chapters.

Littérature comparée

Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 114 ff.

Publications

AHDRC: 0075989