Headdress

Item number 2736/6 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Headdress consisting of flat, horn-shaped curved wood head piece with long strands of dried grass hanging down in two thick bunches from grass pompoms. The plank wood headpiece, with leather and cloth head straps attached, is painted white with red dots on both sides and, on the front, has two leaping sharks facing each other and the dates 2000 and 2005.

History Of Use

Bijogo society is stratified into seven age grades, at least four of which are associated with specific masquerades. These crested head pieces, sometimes including the head of a long-horned bush cow or the snout of a hammer-head shark in their centre, are worn by young boys in the first and second age grades, gn’opara. Only by completing the full cycle of initiation are deceased adults able to avoid becoming wandering spirits and unify themselves with the creator deity, Nindut.