Cote d'lvoire: Senufo and Baule
The Senufo of Cote d'lvoire are the southern neighbours of Dogon of Mali who are known to produce remarkable ancestral figures and
masks.
The Senufo produce masks and figures somewhat similar
to those of Dogon.
The Senufo figures are used for two distinctive purposes. While
some are used for divination, others are used by their Lo or Men Society's Rhythm-Pounders which is solely an up and down movement.
The young men of the Lo Society carry the figures and hold them from behind by the upper arms in their Rhythm Pounders dance in which they all thump their figures on the ground at regular intervals and in unison.
These are more or less ancestral figures.
The divination figures especially those of the Bandeguele represent horsemen.
The Senufo mask called Kponiugo is very important to them.
It is a mythical being believed to protect the community from sorcerers and soul stealers. Apart from that, it is intended to re-enact the chaos before the world was set in order.
The mask is represented by the jaws of a hyena, the tusk of a warthog, the horns of an antelope and some other creatures.
Between the horns are a hornbill and a chameleon.
The chameleon, according to them, was the first creature to walk on the newly formed surface of the earth and hence it walks slowly and carefully.
The masks appear in groups after dark and seem to spit fire.
This is because tinder is held in a cleft stick in front of the mouth.
The Baule of Cote d'lvoire are distinguished sculptors in wood
and in metal.
The wood sculptures are statues, masks and doors
while their metal works are gold masks, jewellery and pendants.
The figures are either ancestral figures or done to represent the
royalties, the queen or the king, but they lack firmness of structure.
The Baule, like the Ashantis of Ghana trade with gold so their gold works are aimed at exchange for goods.
The masks both in wood or gold are also used for religious ceremonies.
Comments
Post a Comment