Dan (Gio, Gioh, Gyo,Yacouba, Yakuba), Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia

Ceremonial Object. The 350,000 Dan people live in the western part of the Côte d’Ivoire and into Liberia where the land is forested in the south and bordered by a savannah in the north. They make their living from farming cocoa, coffee, rice and manioc. They also live off game hunting and fishing. Every village is under the authority of a chief and a council of elders. In order to attain adult status, all the boys and girls of the same age group undergo an initiation that includes specific teaching and circumcision for the former and the latter. This object is associated with the circumcision ceremony for adolescent boys. While dancing the performers manipulate the figures of this type. They are also used in dances for entertainment.

Material: wood, tissue, cowries

Size: H. 16 ½”, W. 4”, D. 4”