Plank Mask
Burkino Faso is best known as the country of masquerades. Most masks from here are made from the softwood cotton tree, easy to carve and carry. Masks from each family perform once a year in festivals linked to burial, funeral, initiation ceremonies, or other family rituals. These masks are repainted annually before the performance, and then the fibre costume is attached.
Bwa masks represent mythical zoomorphic characters like the owl, bush cow, hawk, butterfly, rooster, bird, crocodile, antelope, warthog, wild buffalo, monkey, serpent, fish, as well as some human beings and bush spirits, which take on supernatural forms.
Surmounted by a board with geometric designs painted in browns or vivid colours, the mask bears the name of the animal it personifies. Only the shape of its horns differentiates it, while the muzzle and protruding eyes remain the same basic structure.
The mask is worn in front of the face, attached with a thick rope, which the dancer holds in his mouth. The eyes are large concentric circles and the dancer looks through the open holes of the mouth.
These masks are thought to be inhabited by supernatural forces that act to benefit the clans that possess them.
