African Senufo Wanyugo Helmet Mask, Painted Wood with Horns and Toothed Jaws

West Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, Senufo. A Senufo wanyugo helmet mask carved from wood in a double-sided form, with two open-jawed snouts projecting from opposite sides of the helmet. Each snout is cut with rows of conical teeth and topped with curved, beak-like tusks or horns, and small carved serpentine figures sit at the top of the helmet flanking a bowl-like shape. The surface is painted black with scattered white and red dots, and the horns and jaw edges are painted red. Masks of this type were worn by members of the Poro men’s association at elders’ funerals and other ceremonies, with the double-sided form meant to face harmful forces from any direction. The mask is mounted on a display stand. Senufo composite helmet masks bring together the most dangerous parts of the bush in a single form: the jaws of the crocodile or hyena, the tusks of the warthog, and the horns of the antelope or buffalo. In performance the wearer's body was covered by a costume. The mask represented a power drawn from the wild that was brought into the village to drive off malevolent forces and escort the spirits of the dead. Some types were said to blow sparks from the jaws, which is why Western collectors gave them the nickname "firespitter." Several related types are recorded. The kponyugo is generally associated with the Poro society, and the wanyugo with the Wabele society, where small figures or a vessel for medicinal substances often sit on the crown. Both are used in funerary and initiation contexts. Item # 203726

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