Máscara Bobo Oulé - Bobo - Burkina Faso

The Bobo Oulé (Bwa), also known as Bobo-Niénégé, “men with scarred faces,” live in the territory called Bwamou, near Dédougou, Tougan, Houndé, and west of Boroma. They make up approximately 75% of the total Bobo population. The masks of the Bobo Oulé are distinguished by their great variety. They are complex creations, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic or specific animals such as buffalo, rooster, antelope, crocodile, and monkey, as well as a wide variety of birds. Each village can have up to fifty masks, all different. In this regard, masks belonging to the same category differ in terms of shape and decoration, which explains why no two masks are ever alike. The polychrome technique used for Bobo Oulé masks is as follows: the carved wood is first painted white; then red and black colors are applied, with black predominating. This decoration must be applied only to the carved surfaces, which gives the design a high relief. The color is based on kaolin and reptile excrement. Black is obtained by mixing boiled resin and a type of root that gives it a kind of shine. For red, a mixture of water, resin, and eggs is used, into whic aterite is pulverized. Sometimes red is obtained by a method that uses a special variety of millet. During festivals in honor of the dead and fertility ceremonies, masked dancers of the secret society Do come out dressed in their fiber costumes, wielding Wood, sticks and leafy branches as weapons.

Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection,
Argiles Collection, Barcelona