Tribal Art

Ex-collection of French African tribal art.
Mandinka 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 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. The most important of the wooden masks are the sacred altar-masks (molo and nwenke), the masks that accompany them (nyanga) and those entertainment (Bole , sing. bolo). Before the rainy season, in order to restore the balance of nature, the masked dancers embodying the spirits protecting the village manifest themselves during purification ceremonies. Leaf masks embodying Dwo then occur in the company of zoomorphic masks, the nyanga, evoking growth and fertility. This mask, previously from an old Belgian Mercier collection, embodies a large West African antelope, the hippotrague, the ringed horns tilted backwards, the long, gently curved snout. The surface of the wood is delicately worked with lozenge patterns, frequently polychrome, they are here coated with kaolin.
Total height on base: 164 cm.