"Kpélié" mask - Sénoufo population, 1950, Ivory Coast

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Kpélié mask Sénoufo culture, Ivory Coast
Wood covered with copper plates, topped with a pair of two Hornbills, circa 1950
Dimensions: H: 36.5 cm L: 14.5 cm


The Sénoufo-speaking populations are distributed over a large territory ranging from southern Mali, southern Burkina Faso to northern Ivory Coast. Today there are around thirty different subgroups. The Sénoufo have a religious structure rich in symbols and rites linked to an initiatory organization based on male age groups, the poro. Indeed, men's lives are punctuated by stages including an initiation to go from boy to man. The Lô initiatory society is the largest and takes care of the initiation of young boys.
Young boys learn their roles, genealogy, religion, social issues and a special language. The initiations take place in areas far from the village, in secret, in sacred woods. This initiation is very long and can last in certain cases for three phases of seven years. The objects are then made by professional sculptors capable of controlling the spiritual force contained in the materials. At the end of these initiatory stages, the initiate is one of the men who know, the wise.


The Kpélié mask has a specific place, it is used during the initiation ceremonies of the Lô society, during funerals and during harvest ceremonies. Sénoufo masks have many names including kpélié, kodelié, or kulié. Kulié is a term which would derive from ku = death and ié = the face, which could indicate that the mask is associated with an ancestor. Indeed, ancestor worship is important for these populations.


Sénoufo masks have characteristic shapes that allow them to be identified. The face is oval, the nose is long, a small mouth which in some areas can show its teeth, the chin is long and angular. Around the face, peripheral elements are added, notably figurative frontal elements often associated with one of the five mythological animals, each ancestor of a clan. Our mask presents two birds, which could represent the hornbill, the mythological bird associated with the notion of procreation and ancestor of the blacksmith clan. Thus the presence of the bird would make it possible to limit the use of the mask to this same clan.
The birds are surrounded on both sides by ram's horns, characteristic of these masks without it being possible to define their symbolic origin. At the level of the cheeks, we notice semi-ellipses or triangles and in the lower part what looks like legs. The masks all mark a highly symbolic work of symmetry and balance of forms.


The precise interpretation of the use of these masks differs, Albert Maesen suggests that these masks are used during the first two phases of initiation, and that they evoke fear. Bohumil Holas for his part finds a metaphysical explanation and presents a link with spirituality and meditation which would be accessible only to higher initiates, the mask would then recall the imperfection and precariousness of the human condition.

Some masks like ours feature metal applied to wood in the form of strips secured with round-headed nails. This specificity resembles the objects that can be found among the Bamana and the Marka. The function of these metal masks remains unclear regarding their use during religious ceremonies.

Ref: W04YIQ2N3B