Bambara Tribe Mask

About: One-of-a-kind mask created by the Bambara, a Mande people who live primarily in Mali but also in Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Senegal. Although most Bambara today adhere to Islam, many still practice the traditional rituals, especially in honoring ancestors.

The Bambara people adapted many artistic traditions. Artworks were created both for religious use and to define cultural and religious difference. Each special creative trait a person obtained was seen as a different way to please higher spirits. Powers throughout the Bambara art making world were used to please the ancestral spirits and show beauty in what they believed in.

The Bambara society is structured around six male societies, collectively known as Dyow. Nearly every Bambara male had to pass through these societies in succession, until, reaching the highest rank, he had acquired a comprehensive knowledge of ancestral traditions. Each stage of the initiation process was accompanied by the use of a certain type of mask, mostly based on animal forms.

Availability: In Stock