SENUFO

COTE D’IVOIRE

These masks are named after the carvers who made them - the Kule caste. This facemask was created for members of the weaving caste. Other castes within the Senufo social structure were the smiths and the farmers. The type of mask shown here is one of the most widely known in African Sculpture. At one time Senufo art was seriously endangered by the arrival of the Massa cult from the Niger Bend. The cult required the destruction of all ancient figures before newly erected shrines. Thus many pieces that would not normally have been allowed to outsiders, found their way to Europe.