The Bwa of Mali and Burkina Faso are surrounded by the Bamana in north, the Bobo in the west, the Marka in the east and the Gurunsi and Lobi in the south. Each Bwa village is directed by a council of elders. Socially the Bwa are divided into three endogamous professional classes or castes: farmers, blacksmiths and griots (musicians who recount historical information through song.) The spiritual life of the Bwa is based on worship devoted to Do and the founding ancestors. Do intervenes at the time of agrarian rituals and funerals. Do represents the life force of the forest, plant life and the fields. The Bwa people are responsible for creating beautiful long horizontal masks of butterflies, hawks, owls and large circular masks with colorful geometric designs that alludes to the sun. They also craft towering verticle ritual masks such as this rare Bwa Snake Mask. The facial covering is 5 inches wide x 5 inches deep with a spectacular 101 inch snake figure above. Triangular motifis decorate the snake till it reaches the red tapered tip! Our selection is an excellent older used piece with minimal signs of wear. The mask is totally intact.

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Dimensions: 106 inches tall x 5 inches from the widest point x 5 inches deep.

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