Senufo masks

SENUFO MASKS

The Senufo inhabit the wet and fertile prairies of Ivory Coast, Burkina Fasso and Mali. They are pacific farmers, and each village has autonomy, without political cohesion.

Waniugo mask: 150 euros

70 cm long

90 cm long reproduction of a waniugo mask, carved by a Senufo artisan in a single blook of wood.

It has crocodile jaw, antelope horns, warthog tusks issuing from the top and sides, and a chameleon and a bird on the top. The combination of animals features symbolised the chaotic conditions of the primordial universe, when the animals did not have their definitive characteristics. The exaggeration of the features is made to impress, and the artist is free to find the ways he wants in order to provoke fear and terror. The mask is used for many functions. It can represent mythical monsters in rituals that explain the origin of the universe. So, it is used as an arm, with a ball called "wabelé", covered by leaves from the "war" tree . This ball is placed against the forehead, and contains a substance that gives superhuman powers. These powers are harmful, and can provoke illness, sterility and natural disasters. The Senufo are superstitious, and they make use of the "wabelé" very much. In this second use, the mask is just a tool to be used in determinate moments, and not an instrument to attract or communicate with the beyond, as it is in most of the African masks.

Gpelye mask: 50 euros

35 cm high reproduction of a gpelye mask, carved by a Senufo artisan in a single blook of wood.

It represents the old mother or "Katyeleo", the supreme goddess. Gpelye masks reproduce the female face in a schematical way. As time goes by, peripherical ornamentation has been added, including geometrical shapes, human and animalistic figures from unknown origin, and leglike formations at the bottom. They was used by the Lo society, which governed the social life of the tribe. There are societies for teenagers and adults. The Gpelye masks concretized a supernatural spirit living in the invisible realm that responded to the supplication of worshippers pleadings. The Gpelye mask has many different finalities. It is used at harvest festivals to thank the ancestor for a good crop. In the funerary rites, hold for the purpose of leading the spirit into the land of the dead, it represents the deceased. It is also used to chase away harmful spirits from the village. It can act as "koddalu", in trivial ceremonies, or as "korrigo", in initiation ceremonies, waking the neophyte up after one year of training in the sacred forest.

If you want to see other gpelye mask in its original context, please click here.

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