Masks are the main art form of Cote d’lvoire. Masks have a lot of meaning and a lot of purposes. They can symbolize supernatural, the decreased, and even animals. Masks can also be said to be dangerous, as only powerful people are permitted to use/keep them. It is said that it is dangerous to wear certain masks, as they say masks have a soul, and when a person has contact with the mask, the person is transformed into them.
TRIBES/TRIBUS/STÄMME
Senufo
The Senufo of northern Côte d’Ivoire produce a rich variety of sculptures, mainly associated with Poro, a society guided by a female ancestral spirit known as “the Ancient Mother.” All adult Senufo men belong to Poro, and the society maintains the continuity of religious and historical traditions. During initiation, young men are instructed through the use of sculptural figures. Some with massive bases are carried in procession by initiates, who swing them from side to side and strike the earth to call ancestral spirits to join the rites. Statues of the Ancient Mother, the spiritual mother of the initiates and the community, are kept in a sacred grove. Several types of mask are used in conjunction with Poro.
DEUX GRANDES STATUES ANCIENNES DE CHASSEUR PORO SENOUFO « GARDIEN DE LA VÉRITÉ »
COTE D’IVOIRE, ACQUIS FIN ANNEES 1960, EPOQUE FIN XXEME SIECLE, EN BOIS DUR RESTES DE POLYCHROMIE.
TWO LARGE ANCIENT STATUES OF A PORO SENUFO HUNTER “GUARDIAN OF THE TRUTH, IVORY COAST, ACQUIRED IN THE LATE 1960S, LATE 20TH CENTURY, IN HARDWOOD, REMAINS OF POLYCHROMY.
