Dan
The Dan people, also called Gio or Yakuba, originated in a northern section of western Sudan, what is now part of Mali and Guinea. As early as the 8th century, they began migrating towards the Ivory Coast, and eventually Liberia.
Most Dan people today, continue practicing their traditional animist beliefs, that the world is divided into two realms; the human realm, surrounded by the village and people, and the spirit realm, residing in the forest encompassed by spirits and wild animals. The forest is considered sacred, and only after saying a prayer while wearing specific special materials such as a mask, is one allowed to transform and cross into the spirit world. During the ritual, the masker will enter a deep trance in which he is compelled to speak in tongue. A wise man is given the task of translating the message, often giving words of prodigious knowledge.
The Dan are known for their superb woodwork and masks are the single most paramount form of artwork. Gle or ge are terms that the Dan people use to refer to masks and the spirits that reside in the mask during masquerades.
Source:
Baquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc.
