George Susral III, 00890533
Arts of Africa
Jill Holaday
5 October 2015
Karan-Wemba Mask

This mask was created by the Mossi people of Burkina Faso. The piece was created around 1500 when the Mossi invaded the Dogon and some of the Dogon remained and continued to make their art. The mask is made of wood and used the subtraction method to make this mask from one single piece. The mask features a single clearly female figure on top of the mask. The mid-sagittal crest atop her head is an indication of its origin, the Yatenga area. The crest atop her head also serves as a line of symmetry for the mask. The piece is perfectly symmetrical. The mask also strongly represents the art of the neighboring people, the Dogon. The figure is seen to have an oval and relatively plain face. The piece is 66.7 cm tall and 14 inches wide. The mask below the figure is also shaped in an oval and is also very plain. The piece remains in an unpainted form. Eyelets on the side of the mask had been placed to increase the stability of the mask for the performer. The mask is also in exceptional condition. The use of this mask serves to honor an elderly woman, called a Wemba, who displayed great wisdom and experience in their lives, during their funeral. Many more qualifications are required, to be considered a Wemba, such as outliving her husband. The woman is seen to be carved not at her old age, but at the peak of her physicality, immediately after the birth of her first born child

Works Cited
Roy, Christopher D,, Professor. "Burkina Faso; Mossi Peoples." Burkina Faso; Mossi Peoples. School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.