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

Masquette (Ma go). 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. Small masquettes, popularly known as passport masks, embody protective spirits. Sometimes they are used as a sacred object for oath taking and making sacrifices. They replicate the forms of face masks whose spirit may be contacted by manipulating the masquette. For the Dan people, masks too small to be worn are powerful charms. They are kept hidden, destined for personal protection or enhancement, in contrast to the face masks worn by performers on public occasions for communal benefit. They were sewn onto a piece of cloth and kept in a leather pouch and possibly worn in the small of the back. These masks also act as witnesses during initiation ceremonies and protect the owner when he is away from home.

Material: wood

Size: 5 ½”x2”x1½”

Price: $105+$10 (S&H)                                                    [#N3D5M553]