Bambara mask from the n'tomo society (sold)

78,5 cm high reproduction of a n'tomo mask, carved by a Bambara artisan.

Carved in a single block of wood. In some sites it is covered with brass plates. The horns of the antelope have goat hair at the extremes, attached to the wood with leather. The ears of the antelope are adorned with cotton and cowrie shells.

The society n'tomo uses in its rituals this face mask. It shows a very streamlined human face, pointed chin, small eyes, great nose, small mouth and salient lips. It is ended by vertical horns that represent the six "dyo" societies, and an antelope adorns the face, in reference to the world of the spirits. The nose is pronounced and of remarkable size. Among the Bambara, it is the organ of the feeling, and therefore of the cohesion and the social agreement. The mouth, enemy of the man and sometimes of the society, is small and sometimes nonexistent.

The original masks are tied with cords to the head of the dancer, who goes completely covered with cotton clothes not to let see one centimeter of his skin. He hits with a twig the legs of its companions, who must demonstrate selfcontrol and not let themselves win by the pain. These rites are celebrated once to the year at the end of the dry station, and in each single ceremony it appears a mask. The carrier is chosen among the best dancers.