Tribal Art

Flanked by a head topped with a crest and having ample ears, this so-called shoulder mask is designed in an arch. A mirror is embedded on one of the walls. Glossy dark patina under a clay coating. Cracks and abrasions.
South of the Benoué River, in a region of difficult access which isolated them until 1950, are the Mumuye, who are organized into family groups called dola. This type of mask is found in the northwestern region of the middle Benoué, from the Kona Jukun, to the Mumuye and up to the Wurkun populations. The 100,000 Adamawa language speakers form a group called Mumuye and are grouped into villages, dola, divided into two groups: those of fire (tjokwa) relating to blood and the color red, guardians of the cult vabong, among which are elected the chiefs, and those of water, (tjozoza), related to humidity and the color white. It is from among the latter that the priests of the rain are chosen, initiates of the vadosong cult. Occurring occasionally in pairs, this mask could be accompanied by a horizontal mask during rituals preceding the wars. Its appearance is nowadays linked to apotropaic ceremonies and the call for rain.