African Fine Arts - AFRICAN-ART

Baga D'mba Shoulder Mask - Guinea
These masks are amongst the most imposing of all African masks and were carried over the shoulders particularly at harvest time, but also at other ceremonies. The exaggerated, pendulous breasts are typical of this group of masks, which had a double function: sterile women in the Simo society invoked it as a goddess of fertility, and it was used at the first-fruit (rice) rituals, symbolically associating female fertility with the increase in grain. D'mba symbolizes all that is good and beautiful; its performance celebrates and ensures the earth's fertility and productivity.