Marka Soninke Mask - Mali - SOLD

Price: $0.00


 


STAND NOT INCLUDED,
Over 450,000 Marka Soninke people live in Mali. They carve masks with very long faces & pointed chins that are often covered with appliques of thin brass with repousse designs. The N'Tomo Society use this mask in two rituals, the circumcision ceremony of adolescents,the second when initiated adult men advance from one grade to another. The mask represents a beautiful woman, & when danced mimicks the gestures of a young woman. The metal pieces at the sides of the face, and sometimes over the nose, are derived from the actual coiffures of Marka women. Now only danced once a year on the Islamic feast day. The mask is one of the few items the Marka keep as a reminder of their animistic past.

26"H x 8"W x 14"D