Helmet Mask (Kponyungo)

SenufoWW-1850-139892

1850·Wood and pigment·27.9 × 27.3 × 102.9 cm (11 × 10 3/4 × 40 1/2 in.)

Among the Senufo, poro is the generic name for age-grade associations whose functions include interceding with supernatural forces, honoring ancestors, and educating young people. The many elements of composite horizontal masks called kponyungo portray powerful spirits that escort the deceased to the other world and protect the community from supernatural danger. Expressing its potency in that realm, this mask’s animal references include a crocodile’s jaw, a hyena’s snout, and horns of both a ram and an antelope.

Catalogue

Year: 1850
Medium: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: 27.9 × 27.3 × 102.9 cm (11 × 10 3/4 × 40 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Senufo

Artist

Senufo

The Senufo or Senufic languages comprise around 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in the north of Ivory Coast, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra, is also spoken in the west of Ghana. The Senufo languages constitute their own branch of the Atlantic–Congo sub-family of the Niger–Congo languages. Anne Garber estimates the total number of Senufos at some 1.5 million; the Ethnologue, based on various population estimates, counts 2.7 million.

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