face Mask of the Bolo : Bolon from Burkina Faso or of the Bambara - Bamana or Marka or Soninke from Mali
The Bolon are a small tribe in the region that is now known as Burkina Faso close to Mali. Their neighbors, the Marka and Senoufo-Senufo tribes, are more famous
This kind of masks is famous and many pieces with a great variety of models and styles have been described and published. The Bamana-Bambara used them in initiation ceremonies of young boys.
The n'tomo/ ntomo / n'domo / ndomo / ntoma are the second of the initiation societies of the Bamana/Bambara.
Young boys from three to six years old must become member to be prepared to participate in the intellectual, social, political, economical, moral and religious life of their people through all kinds of activities
These are the characters of the mask that I choose.
• a high and pronounced forehead, sign of intelligence;
• a high and long nose, symbol of vitality;
• a small, tubular mouth that reminds us of a baby that drinks the milk from it's mother's breasts;
• Three to eight peaks on the head, like antennas that capture the wisdom from the world.
In the Bambara region, in many pieces kauri shells are encrusted on the peaks and on the face; these are symbols of wishes for fertility and procreation. Only few masks were covered with metal.
The Marka and the Bolon used more metal sheets to cover their masks. The costume of the dancers hides their body completely.
I choose this mask because when you look at it makes think that it is made of wood but really it’s made of Iron. The good stuff about this mask is the iron that is made of is really strong and it has these needles on it that it’s cool. Also the color of the mask is really cool looking.
It can show about West African culture and society because with this sample I learned a lot of things about young people ceremony.
