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

Bagle mask. The 350,000 Dan live in the northeastern Côte d’Ivoire and in the east of Liberia, in regions covered by forest in the south and savannas in the north. Among the Dan people, masks are not controlled by a men’s association, but instead are owned by families and used by individual lineage members in contexts of social control, boy’s circumcision camps, and entertainment. Dan people have achieved special notoriety in the area for their entertainment festivals which were historically village ceremonies, but are today performed largely for honorable visitors or tourists. Visually, the Dan masqueraders show an opposition between female beauty and gentleness and male fierceness and power. The Bagle masks have typical tubular eyes. They are worn to entertain while the wearer dances, beats the musicians with a curved stick and throws objects he finds in their way.

Material:  wood

Size: 9½”x5½”x3”

Price: $190+$16 (S&H)                                          [#N0D6M396]