[Mask] Among the Yaure, masks are believed to possess extraordinary powers and represent spirits inhabiting the realm of nature. They are sometimes used during rites of passage, when young men wear them while dancing.

The Yaure also use masks during funerary ceremonies. They allow the spirits of deceased people to join their ancestors in the afterlife. When ceremonies end, the Yaure return the masks to the sacred grove outside the village.

Courtesy of the National Museum of African Art, museum purchase.
Mask, Yaure peoples, Cóte d'Ivoire, early 20th century A.D., wood and pigment

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