Banda Mask

While rituals may vary between regions, Baga ceremony and artistic expression are unified by a strong animist mythology and symbology which seek to control the essential balance between opposing natural forces: male and female, beginnings and endings, good and evil; as well as the maintenance of hierarchies within a village.  During ceremonies their masks and figures both represent and are imbued with a myriad of spirit deities who help regulate everything: birth, death, marriage, initiation, agriculture, fertility, harmony between neighbors, and evil presences.[2]

“The character Banda, also called Kumbaruba by some Baga groups, has a long, horizontal headdress composed of the jaw of a crocodile, the face of a human being (with Baga scarification marks and a woman’s elaborately braided coiffure), the horns of an antelope, the body of a serpent, and the tail of a chameleon . . . The art of transformation is clearly at the heart of the Banda masquerade . . . Banda . . . fulfill the serious ritual function of movement between the natural and the physical world, and between distinct natural forms.”[3]

The Banda mask is agreed to be a multi-functional spirit, rather benign but quite powerful.  Originally an extremely serious and sacred being, its festive character and available combinations with other masquerades has led, since the beginning of the 20th century, to a more public, accessible, and celebratory usage. Smaller Banda masks were used in village-wide masquerades as supporting figures for the Kumbaruba (the father), including Pende-Pende (a buffoon, or alternatively a policeman); to-Bon (the small one); and Dudu (role unexplained).[4]

Our example is an imposing 96” tall and reveals all the subtlety of the carver’s art.  From the chin, a perimeter of black diamonds on a white background transform into black, red, and white chevrons before merging into elongated antelope horns banded in blue, white, and red. A long face, pronounced nose, and prominent forehead of kaolin establish uninterrupted fields of white to contrast with the busy geometry and colorful carvings of the headdress and elegantly crafted coiffure at the top. Polychrome details are beautifully preserved and exhibit the care exercised by the original collector during the years of this piece’s long journey from hidden artifact to a return to the public eye.