African Mask wood Nafana Bedu BOBO Mask-9860

39.7/14.4 -CM
This Mask Wooden Plank Mask Is Large And Geometrical In Form. It Was Worn Over The Face Mask With Its Extremities Towering Way Above The Head. The Lower Part Of The Mask Is Spade-shaped And Pierced At The Centre With Three Holes To Allow The Wearer To See Out And With A Third Hole For The Mouth. Its Crest Is Surmounted By A Large Circular Structure. The Surface Is Painted In A Checkerboard And Zigzag Pattern Of Black And White Pigments. This Group Of Mask Are Known As Bedu By The Nafana People Who Make And Use Them Would Not Have Been Danced, But Rather Solemnly Walked Around The Dancing Space In A Graceful Manner To Commemorate The Lost Lives Of Loved Ones. The Bedu Performance Brings Together What It Separates, Or The Other Way Around, Unpicks The Community Whose Unity And Collective Strength It Commemorates And Celebrates. This Makes The Process Of Fission And Fusion A Creative Exercise Whose Reflexivity Is Not Located In Contemplative Speculation But In Ritual Labour And Festive Action