Waniugo mask (sold)

90 cm long reproduction of a waniugo mask, carved by a Senufo artisan in a single blook of wood.  It has crocodile jaw, antelope horns, warthog tusks issuing from the top and sides, and a chameleon and a bird on the top. The combination of animals features symbolised the chaotic conditions of the primordial universe, when the animals did not have their definitive characteristics. The exaggeration of the features is made to impress, and the artist is free to find the ways he wants in order to provoke fear and terror. The mask is used for many functions. It can represent mythical monsters in rituals that explain the origin of the universe. So, it is used as an arm, with a ball called "wabelé", covered by leaves from the "war" tree . This ball is placed against the forehead, and contains a substance that gives superhuman powers. These powers are harmful, and can provoke illness, sterility and natural disasters. The Senufo are superstitious, and they make use of the "wabelé" very much. In this second use, the mask is just a tool to be used in determinate moments, and not an instrument to attract or communicate with the beyond, as it is in most of the African masks.


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