Dan

Agricultural village of the western tip of Côte d'Ivoire represents almost 6% of the population with more than three and a half million inhabitants is the third ethnic group in the country. Located in a mountainous region, with 18 mountains, whose highest peak reaches 1200 m. Overboard in the savannah and in the forest area watered by the high course of Cavally entering Liberia where they are also represented. It is a fertile geography that favors agriculture, with abundant waterfalls and rice fields. They are famous for their liana bridges that are built in one night. Much has been discussed about their origin, but they seem to come from as many other African peoples in Egypt, although some say they come from Israel. They are neighbours of the Gueré and the Wobé and their masks as well as their traditions and ways of life are quite different. Their masks do not represent the spirit of ancestors, their sacred masks are embodied by forest geniuses. They have many other masks of public utility or playful. Many of their masks represent women although they are always danced by men. Beautiful female faces with slightly flimsy foreheads and torn eyes, while the male faces have round eyes. Each mask has a precise function. Dan and the Gueré is very different from the Baulé For them the mask is rather the outward sign of a social institution, which is why the mask is not a good of the community. It belongs to a clan or a family. A mask cannot be covered by several people, even if it is different occasions. It can only be carried by its bearer, its owner. The people who keep the mask keep it in their house, with great care, inside a trunk. In addition to the passports, the small-sized masks include singing masks designed to calm social tensions with their chants, race masks carried out among young people to reward the fastest racer in the village and the fire masks they control, especially in the dry season, if women have properly extinguished the fire in their homes. There is a whole hierarchy in the world of masks that allows a mask with social or playful functions to become a sacred mask over time. There are a number of features that clearly mark the difference between masks Dan from the north and south. Those of the north have finer features as well as their patina which is thinner. His eyes are in the middle of his face while those in the south are more protruding and his patina rougher. Round Eyes = Male Masks Ripped Eyes = Female Masks - Masks that have a vertical nerve that divides the forehead and goes down to the root of the nose are a characteristic of the Dan - Although some masks represent a delicate woman's face, they are always worn by men. - The mask, according to its function, playful, legal, social, will take various forms, but it will always be a genius or a spirit sent by God to participate in the different activities of the community. - Masks that wear ornaments, such as bells, cauris etc. - Female masks represent the primordial and fertile mother, protectors of pregnant women and newborns. KOMA DAN SOCIETY It is an important society that fights witchcraft. It can come from the secret society pore of the senufo. It is a male society whose members have to scale at least two degrees in initiation under the teachings of the Tiki or Koma teacher. MASCARAS SAGBURÉ They are the masks of the races, of the messengers and the guards of the village and also of the maintenance of the order, of the fires and of the peace. They are responsible for expelling undesirable foreigners from the village and defending them from enemies and ferocious animals. They can be anthropomorphic masks and zoomorphas, for example, the masks with bird beak that usually wear an abundant beard at the bottom. MASCARA Pajaro Incarnates the protective spirit of Komo society among the Mahu or men, north of the Diomandé. The mask with bird beak is called Dan Kono appears to be native to Guinea. The beak represents the spirit of the great calao, if the beak is crooked it belongs to the Pore. MASCARA DEANGLÉ It presents a central line that divides the forehead into two. Semi-enclosed almond eyes marked with kaolin. It is the mask that serves as contact between the village and the sacred forest during the retreat of the initiation. They carry on their foreheads a rodeo adorned with cauris. MASCARA GUNYEYA OR DIALOGUÉ It is a mask of the north, known as racing mask or runner. It has circular eyes to facilitate vision during the tour. In some places they are almonds. Their oval face ends up in a pointed chin. Flesh lips. In this type of race, held in the great dry season, the mask bearer is chased by a runner who will wear the mask if he succeeds in reaching him and will then be chased by another runner. Young people also organize careers in which masks participate. The first person who manages to touch an object placed in a precise place will win. These careers made it possible to keep young people agile and strong in case they had to go to war. MASCARA ZAKPEI It is the mask of fires, responsible for turning off the homes that some women have been able to leave on while going to work the fields. Fires are frequent during the dry season. It is a sielongé mask. They also put out fires that can be declared in the woods during the dry season. Normally one person cannot enter another's house, but if he wears the mask he can enter and check if any stoves have been left on and if so, turn it off. It receives as reward money or animals. Similar to the gunyeya, they carry a band of red tissue or sort of felt around the eyes. A particular note among the Dan is that a mask can change power. A fun mask can become, for example, a boss mask. GLUGONGUÉ Mask of war. In reality it does not practice war, because the Dan Rather, it is a mask of reconciliation between the antagonists who intervene when disputes arise in the village. Only at the last extreme would I practice war. He intervenes before the exit of an important mask. Trace on the floor of the public square the boundaries that cannot be crossed by the spectators and try to keep the crowd quiet and quiet. Also, when two people from the village come into their hands, this mask separates them and refers them to the "gow" for reconciliation. MASCARA BAGLÉ It is a mask of fun, with an elongated face, that appears at popular parties. He has fun bothering the audience and musicians by throwing things at them in order to amuse people. His eyes are tubular and lips, with an open mouth, highlighted. GOWGUE “Gow”, is the king or the boss and “gue” is the mask, therefore the “Guwgué” masks is the mask of the boss. This mask is found in the home of the oldest individual in the village. Often one of their faces represents a woman and carries on her head a triple crown of cauris. It's the most powerful mask and it's rarely cover. Its main function is to administer justice in the context of conflicts in the village. It issues village laws, recalls old laws and ensures that institutions are strictly respected. ZADOGUÉ It's the mask of the village judge. The judge is less important than the gow. It intervenes in small individual conflicts. Gow intervenes in inter-clan conflicts. DINGUÉ Watch the young give circumcised in the sacred forest. It is protected from food in the market to send to the boys who are in their period of initiation in the sacred forest. MASCARA TANGAGLE It is also a mask of fun, musician or singer intended to distract the public at playful festivities. She also participates in some other ceremonies except religious or funeral ceremonies. He wears a red fabric headdress finished pointy. BUGLE MASK Tubular eyes, important triangular nose and exaggeratedly large mouth. It can be covered with feathers or surrounded by horns. It is a mask of war, intended to encourage and enkindle warriors entering combat. MASCARA KAOGLÉ Very prominent triangular nose, triangular eyes and also triangular cheeks, overly outstanding mouth. The reduced and slightly rounded front is located on a higher plane. Like the gablé mask is a fun mask intended to create a good atmosphere during the holidays. It's a mask used by the dan Kran. MASCARA DUGLE It is also called the “cow” mask. A median line that goes down to the nose divides a raised front. Well marked cheekbones. The top of the head has a certain resemblance to the gagon mask. Large mouth in which the lips are so pronounced that they can resemble the shape of a beak. It appears on important festivities. DUGUÉ Mask of information. Announce the good news and bad news to the village. It always manifests at night. In other regions the dongué represents a cow with a mobile lower jaw. NGUEDI This word means the noise that occurs with the legs. When the mask dances, the viewer has the impression that the floor is sinking. It is also the so-called mask of calculus. It forces viewers to make calculations with it, asks them questions, such as how many legs a herd of ewes has, etc. MASCARA GAGON It is mainly a mask from the north of the country. It has a large nose shaped like a beak and has a long beard. High front and almond eyes. It is a mask of the north of the country DanSometimes it is represented with a mobile jaw. It's got the same function as the duglé mask. GUNAGU It is a mask belonging to the “griots”. Sing the praises of the chief's family only. The Griot caste is widely recognized and respected in Africa. Griot is the living memory of Africa. We owe the knowledge of many parts of Africa's history to them. The griot is characterized by an extraordinary memory. He is capable of retaining and reciting from memory, without varying a comma, the equivalent of several whole books. It tells the ancient stories of the region, the exploits of the important characters, the traditional stories, exposes the myths, knows the genealogies, accumulates in its knowledge hundreds of poems and songs. He is a poet, musician and rapsoda. What we in other cultures know through the written word, in Africa is known through the griots that transmit their knowledge from generation to generation. Kings, nobles and dignitaries or any wealthy family has their griot. The griot sings the praises of his master and lives for, for and for his master. The oral tradition in Africa is the griot. It is a compendium of history, literature and music. MASCARA GO GÉ Fine traces, almond eyes, semi-open mouth formed by two triangles superimposed on the larger side forming a rhombus and can carry small metal sheets that simulate the teeth. He has a delicate hairstyle topped in two side braids. It can only be front paged by members of the secret society Go to announce the death of a boss or a notable, so it is also called a real mask. MASCARA DAN MAOU The dan maou inhabit the northern part of the country dan. Their masks are of significant size. Their chin is attached to a large beak, often accompanied by a beard. It is a mask of justice, also destined to fight the sorcerers. MASCARA DAN KRAN We found the dan Kran in the south of the country, and also in Liberia. Its masks, for example the Kaoglé, are characterized by its triangular forms, lacking the delicacy of most dan masks. MASCARA GLEWA It is a mask of great proportions that can represent an exaggerated human face or present the traces of an elephant with tubular eyes. Participates in ceremonies aimed at sealing peace treaties. MASS OF THE DIALECTIC WHEN THE Dan You have to make a judgment or make a point. You present yourself with this little mask in your pocket. You will show the opponent to prevent him from reasoning correctly and from going astray. In the trials, it has an influence on the judges. They're very small masks. They are placed near the tools to serve in the operation. They protect against the infection of wounds produced during circumcision and remove the evil spirits from the sacred forest, where the operations MASCARAS WITH MANDIBULA MOVIL are practiced These masks, like those of the Gueré and other ethnic groups of western Ivory Coast, play a political role, they take part in assemblies and decisions that affect the life of the village. DAN STATUS They're less frequent than masks. They are usually commissioned by the chiefs and notables. They represent maternity homes, with a child behind their backs or favorite wives. They began to occur towards the middle of the century XX. The hairstyle of women imitates the shape of the horns of the ram and symbolizes the union of man and woman. CUCHARAS DAN AND KRA They are used in dances and in a great feast organized to celebrate the return of the newly initiated young people. These spoons are called “po”. Dan We find three types of spoons that are used for different purposes. - Mia nä : is a small spoon, with a shovel of about seven or eight centimetres, ringed handle and topped with a carved head, which is used by the elderly. - the already bo sie mia: with a shovel of quite important size, oval and narrow, it is used by women of the ko dey society. The mango, sometimes adorned with some sculpted figure, is usually decorated with geometric drawings. It's like a kitchen utensil. If not the best known, yes the most spectacular. It is the ritual spoon par excellence. It has been awarded by the most generous or hospitable woman in the village, the wakede or wunkirle. The wa ke mia spoon can be finished off by a figure or by the well-known pair of legs. In relation to the generosity of its owner in distributing the grain to the most disadvantaged, this spoon symbolizes fertility.