Senufo Kponyungo mask, also known as the Firespitter mask, Ivory Coast
29" long x 9" wide x 13" tall
wood, pigment
Provenance: ex McDonald-Levy collection
SOLD
"The name kponyungo, attributed to this helmet mask, derives from the words kpoo and nyungo and is translated “head of a deceased one”
(Bickford, 1997: 117), thus alluding to its use at funerals. Masked performers dance around the cadaver at funerals of important male and
female elders of the powerful Poro society, an association found among the Senufo people in Côte d’Ivoire. “They beat drums that have been
placed on the torso of the deceased in order to ward off evil and help the soul reach the spirit world”.
This mask is also used in initiation ceremonies and rituals that help to maintain social order in the community: functional multivalence of a single
object is common in Africa. Some of these functions can be symbolized by the selection of certain animal features. For example, the depictions
on this helmet mask -- of spiked crocodile teeth, the snout of a hyena or crocodile, warthog tusks sticking out of the mouth, and ram or buffalo
horns flanking the nose -- are all animal attributes associated with strength and aggressiveness. They are combined with the hornbill bird, a
symbol of fecundity and the adaptable chameleon, the first figure to walk the earth and possessor of the primordial seed. All of these symbols
express the power of the Poro association in maintaining social order in the community." Source - Neuberger Museum of Art
Despite its appearance, I believe this wonderfully carved example was made specifically for the collecting market.
Additional examples and additional information can be found on the Senufo Kponyungo pages on Rand African Art
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