Face Mask (Kpeliye'e)

SenufoWW-1900-142684

1900·Wood and pigment·34.3 × 17.2 × 9.6 cm (13 1/2 × 6 3/4 × 3 3/4 in.)

<p>This face mask was made by a specialized carver for the powerful all-male Poro association, which governs life and death in Senufo communities. Danced at initiations and funerals, it represents ideal womanhood even though only a man can wear it. The mask’s glossy, black surface mimics the oiled, smooth, firm skin that is the hallmark of a pica, a beautiful young woman who is ready for marriage. Its femininity also emerges in the choreography, which includes exaggerated hip movements.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1900
Medium: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: 34.3 × 17.2 × 9.6 cm (13 1/2 × 6 3/4 × 3 3/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Senufo

Artist

Senufo

The Senufo or Senufic languages comprise around 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in the north of Ivory Coast, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra, is also spoken in the west of Ghana. The Senufo languages constitute their own branch of the Atlantic–Congo sub-family of the Niger–Congo languages. Anne Garber estimates the total number of Senufos at some 1.5 million; the Ethnologue, based on various population estimates, counts 2.7 million.

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