Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia
Dan
Wood, cotton fiber, cowrie shells
Collected in 1970’s
Length: 15.5 in, Width: 11 in
Other – Regalia – Headdress

Dan-Kran people, who inhabit the southern part of the Dan territory (primarily in the Côte d’Ivoire), have powerful carved masks with geometric triangular features. They are also known as the We or Guere and support the Gla secret society, that is charged with maintaining social control, including the governing of political and religious life, as well as officiating at harvest ceremonies and funerals.

This powerful looking Dan-Kran mask, depicting a monkey (chimpanzee or guenon), is possibly a kagle headdress.  The kagle headdress symbolizes the force of the bush and of savage, nonhuman creatures.  They are considered ‘troublemakers,’ meant to disrupt the festivities with their erratic movements and jesters, such as throwing sticks into the crowds whilst dancing. They serve both as a reminder and as a test to the solidity of the social institutions of the community.  This Dan-Kran kagle headdress displays the following characteristic forms: a short, bulging forehead, deep-set eyes, protruding, triangular cheeks and a large, open mouth.  Encircling the edge of the headdress is a fully padded red dyed and stripped terracotta rim with cowrie shells.

According to the Metropolitan Museum: Once these masks are divorced from their performance contexts, mask forms are difficult to identify. Performances of Bete and We masks may span the careers of many generations of wearers, contributing to the increasingly sacred status of these objects.