Masks Of Bwa People
...asks of leaves and of fibers. They have also acquired the right to use leaf and fiber masks that have heads carved of wood. Some of them also occasionally use cloth masks. The most typical leaf mask is birewa sowiye, a mask that appears at the beginning of the performance season to sweep all impurities from the community. The head is made of the leaves of the saxada and of the nere. The leaves of the West African mahogany form the body, and saxada leaves again form the arms. These masks are put on early in the morning, then enter the village from the east with the rising sun, leave the west side of the village, and are cut from the performer's body and burned in the evening. Masks made of fibers are more sculptural than masks of leaves, for the fibers are more supple and durable, and can be manipulated using basketry techniques into more elaborate and identifiable forms. Several types of fiber masks are distinguished by the shape of the head and the color of the fibers. The older, more traditional colors are red, black, and white, but now fiber masks are also dyed yellow, green, and blue. The most ancient and important of these fiber masks are called kele. The body of the performer is hidden by a thick fiber costume knotted to a net foundation. • Masks with heads made of plaited fibers are called kele notune. The head is a sort of hemispherical helmet whose form can vary following the owner's imagination. The helmet is always surmounted with a crest, which sometimes is decorated with feathers. These masks never have horns. • Masks called kele kwe include the same costume of soft fibers. The head and torso are enclosed in a stiff, cane work cylinder from which only the arms protrude. The cane cylinder rises above the head of the performer, increasing the height of the mask. A large and striking coiffure of fibers completes the mask. • Masks with wooden heads are often called syękle, after the name of the Syekoma group which are widespread. Farmer clans that use wooden masks have the right to do so because these masks were revealed to them by Dwo. The heads must be carved by smiths, and in ter...