This serene mask was made by one of the
undisputed master carving tribes: the Dan, of the
Ivory Coast and Liberia. It is a classic example of
the genre; its exact identity and function is
described below. It is comparatively tall and
slender, while retaining the traditional prominent
forehead and pointed chin. The lower face is
concave up until the brows, which angle sharply
to provide the forehead’s bulbous dome which is
framed by a raffia coiffure which hangs down as
a pair of braids (the left – as viewed from the
front – slightly the longer). The eyes are closed,
and rendered as semicircular slits on the
carefully formed and rounded cheeks. The nose
is comparatively broad, pointed at the tip, and
rendered as an inverted T with incising of the
nostrils’ external outline. The lips are
exceptionally large and full, and slightly parted.
The coiffure is internally bordered by another
line of darker (?leather) material. The patina is
dark and glossy, with lightening of tone on the
most elevated points.
The Dan are a farming tribe, settled in the semi-
wooded areas of Liberia and the ivory Coast.
While beholden to agriculture, much of their
mythology and social structure is based upon the
forest and its fiercer creatures – the Leopard
Society is the main organ of social control. For
example, initiates spend up to four months alone
in the forest before they are permitted to enter
maturity. Dan society was originally a string of
spatially-proximate but socially distinct
communities, and while they are now –
technically at least – centralised, their diversity
has found expression in the range of masks and
other artefacts that they manufacture.
There was scarcely a social function that did not
have its own mask prior to the 1960s.
Participants and citizens held them to be imbued
with sylvan energy that would enforce or
formalise whatever function they served. For
example, there are masks for fire-watching (=
fire warden), adjudicators, warriors, debt
collectors, social delinquents and warriors, and
others for enlisting workers to clear paths, to
catch runaway wives, to race unmasked athletes
(“runner masks”) to snatch feast food to serve to
children and even for spying. They were also
used in standard masquerades, which have seen
something of a revival due to the impact of
tourism. Small masks – called “passport” masks –
were kept as talismans of good luck, to ward off
illness or the evil eye, and may have also served
as markers of authority and ambassadorial
functions. Masks were inherited through
lineages, kept on altars and endowed with
libations. Some retain black pitch-like
substances which are presumed to be the
remains of magical materials. Close affinities
with the Mano, Konor, Mao, Tura and Wenion
people mean that these forest tribes carve Dan-
like masks which are used in rituals as diverse as
circumcision and as markers to the meeting
places of secret societies.
Function is not always easy to ascertain,
paradoxically, as the masks were usually
associated with costumes that have not survived,
and of course with particular occasions, dances
or people. In lacking these, we have only stylistic
tendencies to go on. In the current case, certain
categories can be ruled out, such as the gunyege
[runner] mask (large round eyes, often inlaid) and
the zakpai ge (firewatch) mask, which usually has
a red cloth tied around the eyes). The serene
expression and raffia coiffure is most
reminiscent of the rare Go Ge mask, which
belongs to the Go secret society and is worn to
announce the demise of important personages
such as chiefs.
This is an exceptional piece of African art.
