.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
THE INCARNATION OF A SUPREME BEING
By Pierre Amrouche
This exceptional and ancient example of an Angbai mask is the incarnation of a supreme being and is called the “devil of the bush”. Together with the Bakologi mask, these are the two most sacred masks of the magic world of the Toma and only initiates can see them or approach them without fear. According to the Toma féticheur/medicine men, Angbai is the incarnation of the Afwi, the Supreme Being. To seek his divinations, offerings of kola nuts are thrown on the ground. Depending on how the nuts fall the answer may be favorable or not. Only one combination out of four is unfavourable (Pierre Dominique Gaisseau, Sacred Forest, Paris 1953, p.54).
The creation of an Angbai mask requires a complex sequence of sacrifices to activate the mask. First, one must choose the appropriate tree, the buloi, coax it with offerings, stick an axe into its trunk, and come back the next day. If the axe has not fallen out overnight, it means that the spirit of the tree accepts the offering and the process can continue. It takes a month to accomplish all the rituals (ibid.,301). The mask is protected with strict secrecy, rarely leaving the hut where it is kept, except for ceremonies; the magnificent patina of this object shows its great antiquity and long usage. The Toma masks, together with the Fang masks, are the African masks that most fascinated Western artists. Their remarkable geometrical stylization ineluctably seduced the sculptors. The present mask from the Meneghini collection can be compared to the beautiful Angbai mask of the Museum of Angoulême published by Jacques Kerchache in “L’art Africain” (Mazenod, Paris 1988, p.521).
In his book Masks of the Korango Poro, Carey depicts several Angbai masks with two or three horns (Ethnos Publications, pp. 28- 31). He emphasizes the active role these masks play during young boys’ initiation to the Poro; the initiates are ritually devoured by the masks before being reborn in the sacred forest.
The Angbai is not a singing mask, it sees, but it does not speak. It shares this active role in the initiations with another Toma mask, the Mâ Da Ba.
By Pierre Amrouche
This exceptional and ancient example of an Angbai mask is the incarnation of a supreme being and is called the “devil of the bush”. Together with the Bakologi mask, these are the two most sacred masks of the magic world of the Toma and only initiates can see them or approach them without fear. According to the Toma féticheur/medicine men, Angbai is the incarnation of the Afwi, the Supreme Being. To seek his divinations, offerings of kola nuts are thrown on the ground. Depending on how the nuts fall the answer may be favorable or not. Only one combination out of four is unfavourable (Pierre Dominique Gaisseau, Sacred Forest, Paris 1953, p.54).
The creation of an Angbai mask requires a complex sequence of sacrifices to activate the mask. First, one must choose the appropriate tree, the buloi, coax it with offerings, stick an axe into its trunk, and come back the next day. If the axe has not fallen out overnight, it means that the spirit of the tree accepts the offering and the process can continue. It takes a month to accomplish all the rituals (ibid.,301). The mask is protected with strict secrecy, rarely leaving the hut where it is kept, except for ceremonies; the magnificent patina of this object shows its great antiquity and long usage. The Toma masks, together with the Fang masks, are the African masks that most fascinated Western artists. Their remarkable geometrical stylization ineluctably seduced the sculptors. The present mask from the Meneghini collection can be compared to the beautiful Angbai mask of the Museum of Angoulême published by Jacques Kerchache in “L’art Africain” (Mazenod, Paris 1988, p.521).
In his book Masks of the Korango Poro, Carey depicts several Angbai masks with two or three horns (Ethnos Publications, pp. 28- 31). He emphasizes the active role these masks play during young boys’ initiation to the Poro; the initiates are ritually devoured by the masks before being reborn in the sacred forest.
The Angbai is not a singing mask, it sees, but it does not speak. It shares this active role in the initiations with another Toma mask, the Mâ Da Ba.