Forest-spirit face mask
Wobe; Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Collected by William R. Bascom, 1963
5-3372
The Kru-speaking Wè peoples (also known as the Gere, Kran, and Wobe) employ a range of warrior masquerades that help maintain order in their small, egalitarian communities. The exact use of this piece is not known, but it is a kind of forest-spirit mask that invokes strong animals, such as leopards, wart hogs, or boars. The traditional fiber fringe may be replaced with a row of brass bells, indicating that a mask has become the assistant of a high-ranking mask, or a row of shotgun cartridges, which probably refers to the mask's powers of enforcement.
(Photograph 1 of 2)
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