Gelede Masquerade Mask

Origin: Yoruba Tribe, Nigeria
Composition: wood (one piece), paint

The Gelede masquerade is a rich spectacle of drama, dance, poetry, and drumming, that plays an important role in Yoruba culture. The masquerade is held between March and May when the rains arrive and a new agricultural cycle begins, and is performed by male members of a ritual cult who have been trained in the arts of masking from the age of four or five.

The Gelede masquerade tells of the hierarchical order of the world, and its purpose is to honor "our mothers" (awon iya wa). The masqueraders are accompanied by songs that remind spectators to pay respect to and acknowledge the underlying power and authority (ashe) of the female elders in Yoruba society (Ref: Beckwith and Fisher, African Ceremonies. Fagg, Pemberton and Holcombe, "Yoruba," 1982.).

The word ‘Yoruba’ describes both a language and a tribe living across Nigeria and the Popular Republic of Benin, in an area of forest and savannah. Their origins can be traced back to the end of the first millennium like the civilization of Ife. Following the collapse of the Ife civilization, a number of kingdoms such as the Ijebu and the Oyo emerged. They, in turn, disintegrated during the 18th and 19th centuries, but were revived by the colonial powers at the end of the 19th century and today still form the political structure of the Yoruba people. The enormous scale of the slave trade in Nigeria contributed to the diaspora of the Yoruba people and informed spiritual practices in countries such as Haiti (Passage from Bacquart, Tribal Arts of Africa).

This authentic mask shows significant signs of age and use, and has been repainted many times.