Bokina (No reserve price)

Masque Baga

The Baga live along the Atlantic coast of the Republic of Guinea, in West Africa. They form one of the smallest ethnic groups in Guinea, and have lived relatively isolated from their neighbors because of the vast marshes that surround them. They have, however, left a vast artistic heritage, which includes crests, figurative tribal art sculptures, African masks, and everyday tribal art objects such as musical instruments. Initiatory snake-shaped mask used mainly by the Bulongic (village of Kifinda), a Baga sub-group of the Guinean coast, its height can reach up to 2.50 m. These masks were divided into two groups bearing the names Mosolo kombo and Sangaran, each endowed with precise functions. Their conception took shape in an esoteric context, at night within the forest. Privileges of initiated men, embodying a spiritual entity, the Baga Sangaran masks attended only the circumcision, every 24 years according to ethnologist Denise Paulme. During certain dances the mask was placed on the head, kept in balance by a bamboo structure and by the wearer’s own arms, covered with fabric and a raffia loincloth. At Lac Rana Koha the macnue