Baga, Guinea, 33".
This mask, a nimba pefete, with its emphasis on the
breasts, was also associated with the fertility cult, but the
dancer carried it high above his head in the young girls' initiation
ceremony. |
Baga,
Guinea, 40".
This banda, or boke, mask is one of the large
masks (from four to six feet long) worn horizontally by the
Simo society, which considered them symbols of a higher rank.
It shows the prominent jaw of a crocodile, a human "face,"
and an elaborate rendition of antelope horns for the superstructure.
In addition to its use in the general fertility rituals of the
Simo society, it also played a part during the dry season, after
the rice harvest, and at funerals. |
