Senufo Masks

The Senufo, like the Bambara, also have agricultural competitions between the young men of neighboring villages. These are contests in hoeing the new fields.

The victor receives a staff topped with a female figure, called a daleu. Instead of the chi wara of the Bamana, the Senufo have a ritual using long carved poles, the deble, formed with elongated male or female figures. The bottom of the pole remains unworked and is used to rhythmically beat the ground during the first tilling of the soil. The deble are also brought out during stages of the death ritual (Wassing 168, p. 183).

Like the Bamana, the Senufo have a secret society of masked members who appear in times of crisis to exercise control. The mask of the Poro society-- the kponiugo helmet mask-- represents a mythical being who protects the community from sorcerers and soul-stealers (Willet 1971, p. 150). Leuzinger (1960, p.87) refers to these large horizontal carvings as "fire-spitters" (the Gbon cult). These maskers come out in groups after dark as a force against lawbreakers and evil spirits, appearing to spit fire from a tinder held in a cleft stick in front of the large open mouth, fierce with alligator teeth. Images presented are reminiscent of the Bamana komo mask, however in much sharper detail. The anti-witchcraft mask employs animal imagery to symbolize the need for control of an imperfect world. Tusks of a wild boar (evil and feared) and horns of the antelope (respected as the teacher of farming) are carved. Between the horns can be found a hornbill devouring a chameleon-- the chameleon’s walk slow and deliberate due to the fact he was the first to walk on the surface of the earth. The bird was one of the first beings on earth and brought palm nuts and palm oil to the region (Willet p. 150). The members of the Poro society are also the blacksmith or iron workers' caste.

The large groups Senufo people (of which there are several sub-groups) dwell in the northern region of Cote d’Ivoire on into Mali and Burkina Faso. They make a living by agriculture and cattle rearing as their neighboring Bambara. The Minianka- the northern most branch of the Senufo, are also under the artistic influence of the Bambara. The castes who devote time to woodcarving, ironwork and bronze casting are apart from the farmers. Most of the finest works of the Senufo, or Siena as they call themselves, come from the Korhogo region of Cote d’Ivoire (Wassing 1968, p17). Their Kpelie (French version of kpelie-yehe in Senoufo) face masks are worn in "face masquerades" at coming-of-age rituals and funeral of ancestral rites for "complete" individuals of the four caste groups listed by Sieber & Walker (1987, p.135): Fodonon (farmers), Fano (blacksmiths), Kpeene (brass casters) and Kule (wood carvers). According to Wassing (p. 117), these groups are: iron-smiths (fonombele), wood-workers in general (kule), figures only wood carvers (kpembele), and gold-founders (lorho). While these masks are frequently copied and bought and sold commercially, they still show the artistic style of the Senufo (Leuzinger 1960, p. 88).

Kpelie- whether in carved wood or cast bronze copper alloy-- are usually oval in shape with arched crescent shaped eyebrows over narrow slit eyes. The small mouth opens below a slender nose. Scarification marks add to presentation of what is considered beautiful to the Senufo (Sieber & Walker 1987, p. 135). On either side of the temples are semicircular and rectangular shapes that represent the stylized coiffure worn by Senufo mothers; the center shapes at the side representing ears. Animal horns-- bull, ram or antelope-- represent male attributes of the masquerade. There are often two appendages on either side of the chin, "legs" that connect the spirit to the earth (Wassing 1960, p. 127). Most important are the figures on the head, which represent an ancestor closely connected with the society's origin. The figures worn depend on the caste group to which the individuals belong. However, much of the original significance of these emblems is no longer valid (Sieber & Walker 1987, p.135). Wassing (1968) has provided the following meanings: a comb, the symbol of agriculture, a bird- especially the hornbill--linked with the smiths, a bundle of palm nuts, symbol of wood carvers, and small human figures connected with merchants (p. 127-128). The hornbill--one of the first creatures on earth-- is an important symbol for the Senufo and appears on many of their carvings.

Other styles of Kpelie exist in other region of Cote d’Ivoire. Along with the facemask, components of the masquerade include things held (an iron staff or horsetail dance whisk), the instrumental accompaniment, the lyrics sung, and the costume (Sieber & Walker p. 135). The costume consists of a collar or cloak make of long fibers, a knotted robe decorated with black lozenge shapes (a diamond shape symbolic of the cycle of human life), and a bunch of red fibers (Wassing 128). The primordial couple or "rhythm pounders" may also be used.

Click here for an example of a Kpelie mask.

SEE MANY MORE EXAMPLES OF SENUFO KPELIE MASKS AND OTHER ART OF THE SENUFO (scroll down)

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