Mask with Standing Figure
Mask with Standing Figure, Mossi, Early 20th century. Wood. Height 42 15/16” Museum Rietberg, Zurich. 5-40, Visona 160.
Mossi Masks are made by the Mossi peoples. Mask with Standing Figure is made of wood and is abstract. The Mossi masks embody nature or ancestral spirits. These masks are made to be danced, but they can also be used as a shrine to help control the earthand productivity to the Mossi peoples in ways that are to help the environment. They are made to represent the ancestor spirits and a specific animal. By using these representations through dancing it helps the Mossi peoples reconnect with their ancestors and to the belief that they have help from their ancestors with things such as their land.[1]
[1] Monica Visona,160.
[1] Monica Visona,160.