Tribal Art

The design of this helmet mask, featuring a crest and forward arching horns, expresses power. The very geometric face is extended by a short outgrowth depicting a beard. The geometric polychromy, faintly visible, peels off locally.
Desication cracks.
These heavy masks, whose design usually revolves around a hemispherical helmet with a crest or horned growths, occurred during agricultural rituals in order to restore the balance of the earth. Their significance was revealed during the initiation of young boys.
Mandingo people, most of whom live in eastern Burkina Faso, but also in southern Mali, the culture of the Bobo Fing is similar to that of the Bambara. They are organized into lineages headed by councils of elders. In each village altars are erected under the authority of the blacksmiths, priests of the cult of Dwo, but the Bobo also venerate secondary spirits and those of the ancestors. In addition to objects carved in wood, they also make fiber sheet masks that they will wear during ceremonies to establish a relationship with the spiritual world.