Dan "Passport" Mask

Description

Dan (Yakoba, Yacuba), Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia.  "Passport" Mask.  The 350,000 Dan people live in the western part of the Cote d' Ivoire and into Liberia where the land is forested in the south and bordered by a savannah in the north.  They make their living from farming cocoa, coffee, rice and manioc.  They periodically clear the forest to obtain new fields.  They also live off game and fish.  Every village is under the authority of a cheif and a council of elders.  In order to attain adult status, all the boys and girls undergo an initiation that includes specific teaching and circumcision for the former and the latter.  Besides face masks the Dan carried miniature masks (less than 8"), which are called 'passport' masks. They were sewn onto a piece of cloth and kept in a leather pouch and possibly worn at the back.  The are small copies of a family mask and sometimes received libations.  These masks also act as witnesses during initiation ceremonies and protect the owner when he is away from home.  Made of wood.  Size H. 5 1/2, W. 3", D. 1 1/2