Mask / Headdress – Wood – Kurumba – Burkina Faso

The Kurumba people produce a mask headdress in the form of an antelope. The powerful neck supports a head with a long pointed protruding snout. Large piece, dimensions: 111x36 cm! Kurumba masks are used in three major events during the annual cycle: masks escort the corpse of dead male and female elders to the tomb and supervise the burial on behalf of the spirits of the ancestors of the clan. Weeks or even months later, during the dry season, masks appear at funerals to honor the deceased and to free the spirit to travel to the world of ancestors. Finally, just before the first rains in late May and June, masks appear at collective sacrifices in which the ancestors are honored together with the spirits of the protective antelope, that is the totem of most Kurumba clans. Among the Kurumba as among peoples in central Burkina Faso, the geometric patterns painted on masks are symbols that refer to major events in the myths of the founding of the clan, and the masks themselves represent the antelope that played a role in these stories when it saved the life of the founding elder. Good condition with traces of wear and tear. The mask can`t stand on it`s own and needs a support. Provenance: former private Italian collection