Bagle mask.
The Dan people numbering 350,000 live in regions covered by forest in the south and
savannas in the north. Among the Dan, masks are not controlled by a mens
association, but instead are owned by families and used by individual lineage members in
contexts of social control, boys circumcision camps, and entertainment. The Dan 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, tissue, mirror, cowries, leather, vegetable
fiber, metal bell
Size:
22x9x7