Zoomorphic mask "kobiay" ·  Burkina Faso, Bobo · ID: 3036862

Description

wood, matt, slightly encrusted patina, polychrome paint, dominated by a rectangular, teeth-revealing mouth and high forehead crest, flanked by small ears/horns, small chin plug, pierced around the rim, min. dam., fine cracks, traces of abrasion, base;
these masks represent the spirit “hombo”, a protective spirit of the blacksmiths. Most of the masks depict beings from the bush in an animalic or fantastic shape, invisible for humans. The knowledge of the masks and of their geometrical patterns is restricted to the male population. During a two week initiation the boys are introduced to this secret knowledge, which also serves for mediation of social and moral values.

Littérature comparée

Kamer, Henri, Haute-Volta, Paris 1973, p. 49, ill. 21 Dufour, Alain, Masques du Burkina Faso, Paris 1995, ill. 48 van Ham, Laurent, African art from the Upper Volta, Rotterdam o.J., chapter XI, ill. 135 Roy, Christopher D., Land of the flying masks, München 2007