Baga art
Among the Baga, who live in the Rio Nunez region of maritime Guinea, the use of masks has long marked the daily life of villages. Some of them are of impressive size and are closely linked to the activities of secret societies that preside over the social and mystical life of the community. But if Baga art is essentially made up of wooden masks of various kinds and statuettes, it is also rich in magnificent percussion instruments, chief's chairs and other skillfully crafted utilitarian objects.
Among the Baga masks, the most emblematic is undoubtedly the Nimba or D'mba in Baga. This shoulder mask representing the idealization of the role of women in society has become one of the symbols of Guinea. It evokes a mother who has given birth to many children, and who has prepared them for a fertile adulthood. Her flat, hanging breasts bear witness to her many breastfeedings; her furrowed hair represents work in the fields; the scarifications on her face, the possibility of changing her living conditions. Nimba (his Sousou name) appeared publicly at weddings to help new spouses make the right choice; at funerals, to help the dead join the world of the ancestors; at sowing time, to ensure the fertility of the fields; and at harvest time, when he celebrated abundant food. The dancers, young men, turned and performed the dance from morning to night, and sometimes for days, to the sound of drums, while the women threw rice or waved their fans, all in a very joyful atmosphere for all the components of the community involved, each one according to its rank in the festival.
If Nimba evokes the quintessence of feminine beauty and behavior, Nimba-da-tshol embodied its opposite: with its grotesque appearance - small deformed head, one ear and one breast, twisted mouth and unacceptable behavior - its appearance, during the dance, enhanced Nimba's beauty, underlining the right attitude to adopt.
The Bansonyi, also known as the Baga snake mask, is associated with the powerful python snake spirit called Ninkinanka. This spirit was feared by the Baga, because according to their belief it was able to detect sorcerers and kill them. This mask also played an important role in the circumcision of young boys. It remained in the sacred forest, next to the children to protect them from witchcraft attacks. It is also through this mask that an individual could reach his enemy in his sacred forest and take revenge on him. The Bansonyi is therefore a very important mask in Baga cosmogony. Only a man with extraordinary powers can wear it.
The mask itself is a long sculpture that can reach more than 2 m, monoxyle and sinuous, made of a very light wood and evoking the snake by the undulation of its curves. The alternation of engraved and painted rhombuses throughout its height accentuates its dynamics
The large Banda mask is above all a protective mask, especially for young circumcised people. It is spectacular because of its size, its shapes and its colors. Often close to 1.5 m, it combines animal forms (crocodile, antelope, snake...) and human forms in an often very colorful composition. It was worn obliquely on the head during dances imitating the attitudes of the animals represented and set to the rhythm of three-slit drums
The Baga are also known for their caryatid drums, both male and female. These high stature instruments are made up of a caryatid supporting the resonance box on its head. This is often embraced by snakes, which symbolize the mythical python associated with fertility. Female drums can only be played by initiated women, standing with wooden sticks. They are the ones who organize wedding festivities, the initiation of young people once a year (in the dry season) and the funerals of the initiates. These drums are used to communicate with the ancestors as well as to celebrate the reception of strangers. There are many female institutions among the Baga, the best known being the brotherhood of women who have given birth among the Baga Sitemu. To the sound of the drum, young initiates and brides must dance with a clay pot on their heads, their bodies adorned with fetishes and their waists girded with a cowrie shell necklace.
It should be noted that Baga sculptures are often painted in bright colors, particularly the bright red caryatids, and that sculptors have adapted the engraved symbols over time, taking their inspiration from modern life. Some drums are thus composed of elements referring to the presence of settlers.
The masks and sculptures of the forest
Among the Toma, initiation masks usually have very pure forms. The most emblematic, the Landai, consists of a long face with a generally non-existent mouth and eyes hidden under prominent eyebrows and limited to two slits. These masks are associated with powerful ritual organizations, the best known of which is the Poro. Each member of these organizations has a specific rank, and the passage between each level requires initiation rites. Here, initiation plays an essential role in allowing the metamorphosis of the individual, his body and his spirit, which enables him to be fit for the different stages of life: passage to adulthood, marriage, participation in the life of the community. The mask intervenes in particular when the candidates to the Poro reach the last stage of their initiation. It then devours them in a symbolic way so that they can be reborn as full members of the Poro
For the Guerze, the Niamou is a famous cloth mask, worn by a dancer on stilts. It embodies the strength of the spirits of the ancestors and is worn during the great traditional festivals. It is important not to stand in its way because, if it falls, misfortune is guaranteed for you, your family and your village. As for the Kissi, they have no masks as such and more generally no ritual sculptures. Their religious practices are essentially oriented towards ancestor worship. In the villages, certain trees or rocks are honored as sacred heirlooms of the ancestors. However, a certain mystery surrounds the famous funeral statuettes made of steatite (soft stone) called Pondo that the Kissi consider as ancestors and that they honor and consult during divinatory ceremonies. What are the origins of these statuettes that do not seem to be the result of their artistic practice? The question remains largely unanswered.
Sculpture among the Malinke
Even if they seem to have had less influence on the daily life of the population than for other ethnic groups, probably because of the strong Islamization, masks are also very present in the Manding culture. Nowadays, the best known of the Malinke masks is certainly the Konden. It is not linked to an initiatory society, but rather is called and evoked by parents to frighten their children. When it comes out, it is threatening and runs after the young boys. When he catches them, he hits them with branches. He is a sort of local whipping boy. Moreover, if the Malinke were once famous for their carved puppets (the most remarkable being the Waraba, a representation of a lion), a tradition that they have somewhat abandoned, they have nevertheless kept and perpetuated their know-how in woodworking. Thus, the families of sculptors from Kankan are still renowned for their craftsmanship. If you meet a carver in N'Zérékoré or in Conakry, you can be almost sure that he is from Upper Guinea. Their know-how is passed on from generation to generation within large families. In Kankan center, the Sidime family is known and recognized for its knowledge and mastery of woodworking. Here the woods worked are ebony, even if it is becoming increasingly rare, and various hard red woods. Installed for several generations in the Salamani district, near the concession of the great sheik Fantamadi Chérif, the sorcerer marabout, the Sidimé have a reputation that is no longer to be made. They make all sorts of characters (hunters, dancers, women in their daily lives...) but also emblematic animals of the African fauna (lions, buffalos, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses...) and any object they are asked for. It should be noted that most of the animals fashioned in this workshop are not or no longer present in the Guinean savannahs... A sculpture called Makonde has become famous throughout Guinea (but also in some neighboring countries). It can be found in almost all workshops and exhibition-sales stores. It represents a stylized character without a belly, reminiscent of Rodin's thinker
Masks and parties today
Masks and the associated rites and festivals have long governed village life in most regions of Guinea. But with the progressive Islamization of certain populations, then colonization and finally the advent of the first revolutionary Republic, all these practices were curbed, undermined and gradually challenged by the official discourse. With the cultural revolution and its declared will to free the people from certain ancestral beliefs and the power of fetishes, many masks and statuettes were destroyed, and the associated rites and festivals were forbidden. Of course, not everything disappeared. Some groups have been able to preserve their traditions and practices while keeping a low profile. But today, this social and cultural heritage is somewhat watered down. In some villages, particularly in Baga country or in the forest region, the masks are still regularly mobilized during important moments of local life, particularly during the harvest, but they no longer preside over the destiny of the community as they did in the past. The release of the masks is more a matter of folklore than of ancestral beliefs. Thus, when local personalities or foreigners visit, the villagers willingly perform a ceremony to remove a mask and organize a traditional dance, giving the visitors an opportunity to see the ancestral practices first hand.
Note that among the Fulani of Guinea, masks and sculptures are totally absent from social and cultural life; is this due to their lifestyle as formerly itinerant pastoralists or to the Muslim religion that they have largely embraced? Probably a mixture of both.
Workshops and sculptors
The carving workshops are gradually disappearing from the big cities in the interior of the country. It is not easy for a woodcarver to make a living from his art in remote areas far from potential customers. So most carvers come to practice their art in Conakry
Their workshops are mainly located on the peninsula of Kaloum and along the northern coast of Conakry from Camayenne to Kakimbo. Nevertheless, Kankan, the historic city of carvers in Guinea, remains a Mecca of woodcarving with several workshops still in operation that perpetuate the tradition
The artisanal center of N'Zérékoré has also kept some carvers in place. But for how long? The lack of regular customers seems to call into question the sustainability of their activity.
Nowadays, masks, statuettes and ancient objects are rare, even very rare, most of them having been exported and/or purchased by collectors. However, some art dealers still offer beautiful pieces, such as Mr. Dabo Sidiki in his gallery in the Kipé district, the Fakiki gallery. However, most sellers of sculptures and masks offer objects that have acquired a certain patina, due to the passage of time and/or the expert hand of the craftsmen. But if you are more interested in the aesthetics than in the age of the works offered, you will find beautiful creations in the workshop-boutiques of Conakry. You will just have to be patient and determined to find your happiness
