Among the so called Gurunsi peoples
of Burkina Faso, which include the Winiama Peoples, masks provide for the continuity
of life. They represent protective spirits, often in
animal form, that watch over a family, clan, or
community and ensure a good harvest. They also
provide for the fertility, health and prosperity of
its owners. This particular mask takes the form of
a hippopotamus.
The mask was performed at a village purification ceremony.
They believe that they are protected by the spirits of nature that inhabit the world around them.
This is a passage from the book ‘Art Of The
Upper Volta’ by Christopher Roy.
“A Winiama man was hunting in the bush near the
Black Volta River one day years ago when he encountered a spirit that was
so huge that it could not even stand on its four enormous legs. He asked the
carvers in Ouri to produce a mask to represent the spirit, but they could not
becuase they had never seen such a thing. Only the oldest men in the village
had ever seen the being. The man finally found an elderly carver in Soubouy
who could carve the mask as it had appeared to the hunter.” -
Dimensions: 32" H x 17" W
