African Arts Gallery

Baga mask (N° 23166)

Particularly slender "shoulder" mask, baga type, with studded ornamentation.
This type of mask wandered on a pole, the wearers hidden under raffia fibers or fabrics. Abraded velvety patina, cracks.
Mixed with the Nalu and the Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps that are flooded six months a year. The head of the Baga Nimba is characterized by a hooked nose evoking a bird's beak, incised hair divided by a crest. This national symbol can reach up to 50 kg in its largest versions. From his real name Demba / D'mba (or Nimba in the Baga language), he represents the nurturing woman, but he also evokes the bird, more particularly the fertility of the hornbill thanks to its beak-shaped nose. Supposed to increase harvests, encourage pregnancies, it is exhibited during various ceremonies, festivals and funerals, and its use continues today during important festivities. The wearer of the mask is wrapped in raffia and leads a rhythmic dance to the rhythm of drums. The fundamental ritual among the Baga and their neighbors consists of initiation, which takes place every twenty-four years. The initiation society is named after the invoked spirit, or to-lom (sacred). After the abandonment of the rites following Islamization, colonization, or conversions to Christianity, the Baga today seek to revive their traditions by means of festive ceremonies using masks. Source: "Baga" D. Berliner. Beautiful patina of use.
Mixed with the Nalu and the Landuman, the Baga live along the coasts of Guinea-Bissau in areas of swamps that are flooded six months a year. They believe in a creator god called Nagu, Naku, whom they do not represent, and who is accompanied by a male spirit one of whose names is Somtup. Apart from the famous Nimba mask, they created a powerful mask, a hybrid of snake, gazelle, chameleon and crocodile, with the aim of communicating with the spirits of the forest. The physiognomy of the Baga Nimba mask is characterized by a hooked nose evoking a bird's beak, incised hair divided by a crest. This national symbol can reach up to 50 kg in its largest versions. From his real name Demba / D'mba (or Nimba in the Baga language), he represents the nurturing woman, but he also evokes the bird, more particularly the fertility of the hornbill thanks to its beak-shaped nose. Supposed to increase harvests, encourage pregnancies, it is exhibited during various ceremonies, festivals and funerals, and its use continues today during important festivities. The wearer of the mask is wrapped in raffia and leads a rhythmic dance to the rhythm of drums. The fundamental ritual among the Baga and their neighbors consists of initiation, which takes place every twenty-four years. The initiation society is named after the invoked spirit, or to-lom (sacred). After the abandonment of the rites following Islamization, colonization, or conversions to Christianity, the Baga today seek to revive their traditions by means of festive ceremonies using masks. Source: "Baga" D. Berliner