African Arts Gallery

African art and diversity of masks Dan
African anthropo-zoomorphic mask whose appearance evokes the elephant, his sculpture consists of a tiered frontal space whose platform is equipped with a metal hook. Deep losangic incisions form an upper frieze. An ridge vertically separates the lower area, a common attribute to the dangled masks in connection with the ethnic keloid. The originality of the mask consists of two semi-discs in relief composing the cheeks on either side of a tubular mouth. This shape ends in a circular, gaping mouth, lined with teeth blanched with kaolin. Elements join the room, such as a leather band nailed around the "trompe", and a grey cotton fabric adornment attached to the contours. The surface of this Dan Bugle mask, or Kagle, is grainy, kaolin residues are embedded in it. For the Dan of Côte d'Ivoire, which some call Yacouba, two distinct universes are at odds: that of the village, composed of its inhabitants, its animals, and that of the forest, its vegetation and the animals and spirits that populate it. For these spirits to establish themselves, a specific area of the forest is designated and still preserved outside the dan villages. Sacrifices are also required in order to communicate through these spirits. Different types of masks have been identified, each with a specific functionIn the Dan society controlled by the soothsayers, mask wearers are high members of the social hierarchy. Masks, personifying minds, act as mediators in the dispute resolution process when the village chief has failed to solve a problem. In general, dan masks also have the peculiarity of being not representations of bush spirits but of being in fact the embodiment of them.