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Yaure Lo Mask

TITLE: Yaure Lo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
ETHNICITY: Yaure
DESCRIPTION: Lo Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI021
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Je Ceremony
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The Yaure people of Côte d’Ivoire are avid and skilled wood carvers. They have two main types of masks, the yu spirit and the lo spirit, and both are used in the Je Ceremony at funerals.  The yu masqueraders dance first to convert the dangerous yu spirit from a threat to the village into its protector. Lo masks like this one are danced last and help release the spirit of the dead for its journey to the next world. Unlike the brightly painted yu masks, lo masks are left dark.

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Baule Gbagba

TITLE: Baule Gbagba
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
ETHNICITY: Baule
DESCRIPTION: Gbagba Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI013
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Mblo Dance Drama
AGE: 1988
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: lacquer

The Baule Mblo ceremony combines dramatic scenes and individual dances and is possibly the most ancient Baule masking tradition. The gbagba dancer participating in Mblo wears a mask flatteringly portraying a respected member of the community and skilled dancer, usually (as here) female. The person portrayed is expected to accompany the masquerader in dance. The dark and shining skin indicates health. The intricately carved and elaborate hairstyle, teeth filed to sharp points, and traditional facial scarification represent the Baule version of ideal beauty. The dance is performed to the music of drummers and singers. To avoid insulting the person portrayed, only the most practiced dancers may wear a gbagba, and gbagba masks are stored out of sight when not in use.

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Songye Kifwebe Kilume

TITLE: Songye Kifwebe Kilume
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of the Congo
ETHNICITY: Songye
DESCRIPTION: Bwadi Society Kifwebe Kilume male mask
CATALOG ID: AFCD018
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe Society
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation; Secret Society; Social Control; Social Status; War Preparation
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay; animal hair

Among the Songye and Luba peoples of central Africa, the Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe Society commands high status, because its members are considered to have magical powers to invoke spirits. Among the masks used by the Kifwebe Society is the Kilume (male) mask here. Kilume masks are danced with a suit of mesh and a long mantle of raffia fiber. The masqueraders were used primarily to enforce social norms, to intimidate enemies in war, to attend male circumcisions, and at bukishi initiations teaching social and religious principles. Today, they exist primarily to preserve tradition and provide entertainment.

The dance of the male Kifwebe masquerader is erratic and energetic, reflecting the intimidating policing role played by this part of the Society.

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Igbo Agbogho Mmuo

TITLE: Igbo Agbogho Mmuo
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Igbo
DESCRIPTION: Agbogho Mmuo (Maiden Spirit) Mask
CATALOG ID: AFNG004
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Funeral; Secret Society; Spirit Invocation
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay; pigment

The Igbo are a numerous people inhabiting southern Nigeria. They have a rich masking tradition based on their traditional religion, Odinani, the circumcision ritual of adulthood, and initiation into secret societies. The Agbogho Mmuo, or Maiden Spirit, is a helmet mask intended to represent the spirit of a beautiful female ancestor and is danced during the dry season as part of agricultural rituals, as well as during funerals of prominent members of the masking secret society.

The mask is worn by men only, who imitate the movements of a graceful female to music played on traditional drums and other instruments. Singers also participate and pay tribute to real and past girls. The whiteness of the mask does not idealize light skin, but instead indicates the spirit nature of the girl represented. The elaborate hair style with comb decorations is intended to enhance the beauty of the mask.

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Ogoni Face Mask

TITLE: Ogoni Face Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Ogoni
DESCRIPTION: Face Mask
CATALOG ID: AFNG006
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Entertainment
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil paint; human hair; cotton cloth

The Ogoni people have managed to maintain much of their precolonial culture, including their masquerading traditions.

Masks are used by the Ogoni for many purposes. Some are reserved for members of secret societies having varying social ranks. Others are mainly for entertainment, and this may be one such mask.

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Kulango Mask

TITLE: Kulango Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire
ETHNICITY: Kulango
DESCRIPTION: Unknown Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI019
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation (?); Agriculture (?)
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The Kulango from the northern part of Côte d’Ivoire were ruled by a king and elders who directed community life, based around the agricultural calendar. The Kulango were prosperous merchants who practiced animism and resisted attempts to Islamicize their culture. However, Kulango religion and art suffered from successive incursions by Mandingo slavers and French colonialists. As a result, not much is known about Kulango masking traditions.

This mask was probably used for adult initiation or to promote fertility in agriculture, young women, or both.

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Fang Ngil Mask

TITLE: Fang Ngil Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Equatorial Guinea
ETHNICITY: Fang
DESCRIPTION: Ngil Mask
CATALOG ID: AFGQ001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Purification; Secret Society; Social Control
AGE: late 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The Fang people inhabit Equatorial Guinea, northern Gabon and Cameroon and are divided between followers of their traditional animist  religion, byeri, and the Catholicism of their French colonizers. The Ngil Secret Society is responsible for social control by assembling in the night to punish sorcerers and purify the village of evil. The Society’s masks are made to resemble the powerful gorilla, and a full suit of raffia fiber is worn to enhance the effect of furriness.

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Galoa Hunting Mask

TITLE: Galoa Hunting Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Gabon
ETHNICITY: Galoa
DESCRIPTION: Hunting Mask
CATALOG ID: AFGA007
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Spirit Invocation
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: raffia; kaolin; pigment

Not much is known about the Galoa people of Gabon. They are a small group of primarily agricultural and fishing people, although in the past they hunted elephants, antelopes, boars, and small monkeys. Hunting masks such as this one were worn in ceremonies simulating hunting to invoke helpful spirits that ensure a good hunt.

Other Galoa masks, generally rectangular in shape with triangular motifs, are used to celebrate the births of twins or at funerals of important persons.

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Dogon Dyommo

TITLE: Dogon Dyommo
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Mali
ETHNICITY: Dogon
DESCRIPTION: Dyommo (hare) mask
CATALOG ID: AFML008
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Awa Society; Dama
FUNCTION: Entertainment; Funereal
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The Dogon people of Mali use a tremendous variety of masks, most of which center around funeral rites to usher the spirit of the dead from the village back to its proper place in the bush. Traditionally, the Awa Society controlled the use of masks. Some masks have an entertainment and story-telling function as well, such as this dyommo (hare) mask along with the dannana (hunter) masquerader. The dannana pretends to hunt several dyommo masqueraders, who hide among the spectators and escape. There are two species of hare that inhabit Dogon territory in Mali, both nocturnal: the African savanna hare (Lepus microtis) and the Cape hare (Lepus capensis). Such hares are so fast that the only animal capable of chasing them down is the cheetah.

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Bamileke Buffalo

TITLE: Bamileke Buffalo
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Cameroon
ETHNICITY: Bamileke
DESCRIPTION: Buffalo Crest
CATALOG ID: AFCM003
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Celebration; Funeral; Status
AGE: 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The Bamileke people of the Cameroon grasslands are closely related to their neighbors, the Babanki and Bamoun peoples, and have similar artistic styles. The Bamileke society is highly stratified by lineage, with certain royal lineages exclusively entitled to wear certain masks.  Lineage masks may represent persons, such as the kam, ngoin, or animals, and are used principally at funerals and annual harvest festivals. The kam mask is reserved for royalty and is the highest ranking mask, with ngoin, his wife, also highly ranked. Animal masks (other than the elephant) like this one are open to non-royal lineages to use.

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