Helmet Mask

Item number 2761/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Cylindrical dark brown wooden initiation mask that pulls down over the head. Triangular shaped face with pointed chin, small ears, and rounded brow is carved into the front beneath an elaborately ridged hair style or headdress. The face is framed with a band of thin ridges, behind which large thick ridges and a crown ? run back to end in a circle of rounded knobs at the crown of the head. There are cut-outs at the eyes, a large opening at the back, and two bands of punched holes around the base.

History Of Use

Although lacking the usual neck folds of the similar Mende masks, this triangular faced sowei does have the characteristically elaborate coiffure and downcast eyes that express ideals of feminine beauty and modesty desired for girls as they transition into womanhood.