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Kutsenkov P. Masks of the Koré society from Bougouni (Sikasso region, Mali)

Piotr Kutsenkov
Institute of Oriental Studies RAS
Moscow, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0002-4288-6167
E-mail: pkutsenkov@gmail.com

 

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ABSTRACT. The town of Bougouni (Sikasso region, Republic of Mali) and its environs are commonly associated with Sogonikun/Chivara masks. But there are some fewer known types of masks; they are so peculiar that it is impossible to confine ourselves to general discussions about the plurality of styles in Bambara art. The article is devoted to the reasons due to which Sigi or Sigifin masks (“Wild buffalo”) of Koré society, completely uncharacteristic of Bambara art, could appear in the village of Siratogo (about 20 km north of the city of Bougouni). The masks of Koré society from Siratogo show a clear resemblance to the flat polychrome masks of Sacrobundi and Bedu. These large (up to 2 m high) flat painted masks were used in rituals associated with witch-finding masquerades. Ceremonies with their participation are typical for several small ethnic groups speaking Senufo, Manden, Gur and Akan languages, primarily Nafan (or Nafaanra, the Senufo ethnographic group), Kulango and Dego in the region of Bondoukou (Cote d'Ivoire) and in the neighboring area of Ghana. The adoption by Bambara forms of Sacrobundi masks could take place no earlier than 1893, and most likely no later than 1896. This event was associated with the peculiarities of the military policy of Samori Touré: the deportation of the population from the territories occupied by the French, and the mixed ethnic composition of his troops.

 

KEYWORDS: Bambara, Koré masks, Sacrobundi masks, Bedu masks, Bougouni, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire

 

FOR CITATION: Kutsenkov P. Masks of the Koré society from Bougouni (Sikasso region, Mali). Kunstkamera. 2023. 2(20): 54–66. (In Russian). doi 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-2(20)-54-66  

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-2(20)-54-66
УДК 391.8(662.1)

 

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