About
Kono Society Mask
Mali, Minianka, Koutiala region, Bamana
late 19th - early 20th Century
Wood, fiber, copper wire
Ex coll. William S. Arnett. 1994.4.95
Power associations, predominantly run by men, oversee many aspects of West African communities, from education and initiation to judicial administration and civic morality. The associations are also responsible for commissioning and executing a range of artistic projects, from performances and festivals to masks and sculptures. In Mali, one such organization is Kónó, the members of which are highly knowledgeable in the ways of nyama, the energy or life force that imbues everything. Nyama can both create and destroy and therefore must be protected. Like the Kónó member’s knowledge, which is built up over time, the surface of the mask is also made more powerful through the accumulation of surface material. This mask has an application of a mud-like material, but it is also an object that was used and repaired multiple times. The repairs were integrated into the ritual use of the mask, making it stronger; the twine and wire reinforce a crack and create a bundle-like amulet at the top of the trunk. The acts of applying material and using the mask activates and increases its potency.