Head Mask

The Bidjogo always present in their masks an animal or a fish. Many of them are frontal or helmet-shaped, in this case it is worn over the head Participates in the initiation ceremonies of the different age classes and the dancer who carries them imitates the movements of the animal represented in the mask.

It is a curious and very rare mask that features a strange round-headed character with large ears and red spots on the forehead and on a bare skull. Its wide arms, with numerous folds, are finished, like a mados, the left by a head that resembles a dragon and the right by what appears to be a calao. Both animals with a crest on their heads. The sides, at the bottom, represent the fins of the shark. The body, with its feet, draws a great letter omega. The arch above the head represents the union, in this phase of initiation. Red, white and black colors alternate. Two large strands of raffia hang from the feet.