Bwa Plank Mask
Ethnic Group: Bwa
Country: Burkina Faso
Material: Wood, Pigment.
Size: 40" (100 cm)
Used in the soutern viliages, the most impressive Bwa masks are the plank masks, known as nwatantay. The elders of the Kambi clan in Dossi claim that the plank masks represent flying spirits and are associated with water. These spirits can take the form of insects that mass around muddy pools after early rains, or of larger birds, including owls and ibis. The key to understanding plank mask forms is that these masks are not representational, but embody supernatural forces that act on behalf of the Bwa clans that use the masks.
There are about 125,000 Bwa in Mali, and 175,000 in Burkina Faso, totaling 300,000 Bwa. They speak Bwamu, a Voltaic language with numerous local dialects. The Bwa are surrounded by the Bobo to the west, the Bamana to the north (Mali), the Marka Dafing to the east, and the gurunsi and Lobi to the south. The Bwa occupy large areas of Mali and Burkina Faso, extending from the banks of the Bani River in Mali in the north almost to Diébougou and the Ghana/Burkina border in the south. Bwa country is divided into two major zones of occupation, the northern stretching from the Bani to the city of Nouna, and the southern from Dédougou and Solenzo to Houndé in the south. The only natural boundary is the Bani River. The area is bisected by the Bandiagara-Banfora cliffs, running southwest to northeast along the border between Burkina Faso and Mali, and is drained in large part by the Black Volta River. The area includes four major geographical zones: the valley of the Bani, in the north; the high rocky plateau between Bandiagara and Banfora; the wet and fertile valley of the Black Volta; and the region of low hills and dry but fertile soils of the far south. Most of the area is covered with grassy park lands, with more heavily forested areas close to rivers, and some dense forests on the banks of southern rivers.
* This is a contemporary carving made for resale.
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