Wan-Sablaga Mask

Origin: Mossi Tribe, Burkina Faso
Composition: wood, paint/pigment, bamboo, hibiscus cannabinus fiber, red textile, glass (mirrors), cowrie shells, red abrus precatorius seeds, beeswax, rubber

This type of mask comes from the far-eastern Mossi territory, also known as Boulsa. It is one of three important masks that are always danced together: wan-zega, wan-sablaga, and yali. Wan-zega represents the red (or male) character, wan-sablaga represents the black (or female) character, and yali incarnates the protective dwarf bush spirit. This mask trio appears at harvest ceremonies, funerals, and annual celebrations which honor the ancestors.

Christopher Roy, who has spent considerable time amongst the Mossi Boulsa, writes, "The performer holds a split reed between his teeth and alternately sucks and blows air through it to produce a high or low toned whistling sound. The mask speaks to its assistants, but in a language that only the initiated can understand. Within the Boulsa style area, the three types of masks that are used differ in both the form of the wooden mask and the construction of the fiber costumes. All three mask types are referred to collectively as gur-wando" (Ref: Roy, "Land of the Flying Masks"; Roy, University of Iowa).

This important mask is among the most rare types of sculpture from Burkina Faso. The completeness of its costume (the blackened hemp, which is often removed or destroyed) augments its significance.

The 1977 photograph below depicts six wan-zega masks surrounding a single wan-sablaga mask. It is entitled "Mossi masks at a year-end ancestral celebration in the village of Zeguedeguin, far eastern Mossi area" and is © Christopher Roy.

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