Examples
of cultural sharing- or borrowing of ideas- may be found among the Kurumba people of Upper
Volta (Burkina Faso and on into Mali near Bandiagara).
These
people also produce a mask headdress in the form of an
antelope. The powerful neck supports a head with a long pointed protruding snout. Earlier
versions had large ears curving to the towering horns in a semi-circular fashion (echoing
the curve of the chi wara mane of the Bamana). These earlier versions were fashioned with
masks covering the face much like the masks of neighboring Dogon cultures. Pre-colonial
styles were painted with geometric designs in natural pigments of white (kaolin), black
(river mud or charcoal) and reddish brown (ochre) as are the Dogon masks. More recent
styles have long sharp ears (many still curving towards the tall horns) and are colorfully
painted with more distinct patterns of triangles in white, brownish-red, black, light blue
and yellow ochre. As in the earlier models, the triangles are filled with rows of white
dots. The horns are banded in stripes of the same colors (Wassing p. 182). The new styles
are secured to the top of the head with head and shoulders disguised with raffia. The dancer wears a raffia skirt. Like the Bamana, they dance in
pairs and sometimes appear with a masked hyena dancer (Meauze 1968, p80).
The
Kurumba, another agricultural group living on the borders of Burkina Faso and into Mali,
are said to have been chased from their native territory by Dogon invaders. However, Dutch
archaeologists and anthropologists have challenged this long help belief (Paudrat in Huet
p. 102). The majority of these people are now Muslims (At this writing, it is unknown how
many currently practice this indigenous tradition).
The
Kurumba call themselves Nioniosi and are grouped into several clans: the
Sawadougou, the Oueremi, the Zale, the Tao and others. Their cultural masks are designed
to establish a relationship between the elements of the myths and the cyclical event of
funeral or agrarian rituals. Their sculptural antelope helmet masks- the adone
are mostly shown at the ceremonies marking the end of mourning for a "land
chief." The spirit of the deceased is captured by the adone and temporarily
placed into the seat of the altar. The carvers and wearers of the mask come exclusively from the Sawadougou clans
who are said to be the direct descendants of the founder of the Nioniosi society (Paudrat
in Huet 1978, p. 102).
According
to the original myth, Sawadougou (also referred to a Yirige [Wassing 1968,
p. 182]), the civilizing hero came down from the sky (this parallel’s the
Bamana legends) wearing a mask. His wife and children were endowed with the
features of the antelope, the hyena and the hare (Paudrat in Heut p. 102).
They drove away the evil spirits at the first tilling of the land. He
appears at the death ritual following the mourning period with the same
task. (Wassing p. 182).
A more modern headdress
Pair of Dancers
PHOTOGRAPH OF DANCERS ON THIS PAGE HAS BEEN ALTERED (CROPPED AND
BACKGROUND CHANGED FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL HUET
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