Blacksmith's Kobiay Mask

Bwa Tribe, Burkina Faso
Composition: wood, metal plating and nails, vegetable fiber, cotton textile, pigment dyes

This mask, characterized by "the great disk" is a fine, expressive example of the best art from Burkina Faso. Representing hombo, the protective spirit of the blacksmith, it's type is quite rare. A related mask of the Bwa blacksmiths, known as the "axe-blade mask" can be seen here.

Every Bwa mask represents a spiritual being that plays a role in the history of the families in a village. The segment of Bwa society called the kaani (the blacksmith group), uses this mask type, named kobiay (the rooster), who wears a round crest and an exaggerated square mouth. The myth behind this masks tells of a time when the smiths had to flee their home village. During their flight, they became trapped at the edge of a swamp, and an electric catfish ("the spirit of the swamp") allowed them to cross. Thus, this mask is also known as hombo, which refers to the rooster, the blacksmiths, and the electric catfish.

Among the Bwa, young men and women pass through initiation together, in groups that constitute age grades. There is an age grade for young men between the ages of twenty and thirty, and another for women of the same age - initiation occurs for all of them, together, at the same time. Each age grade takes responsibility for certain tasks, including clearing and planting fields, building new homes, digging wells, and making masquerade costumes. The members of each age grade appear together at each mask performance, and they dance, sing, and bring out the masks together. While the young men wear the masks, the young women take a very active role in every performance, speaking with and singing to the masks, arranging their costumes, and raising the hands of the performers in a gesture of praise at the end of the dance. Unlike many African cultures, where women are excluded from mask performances, there is no gender segregation among the Bwa (Ref: Roy, "Land of the Flying Masks").