CLASSIC! LARGE RED & BLACK 18" BETE SPIDER MASK
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N'GERE WOBE BETE TRIBE NYABA MASK 18" tall x 15" across x 18" deep. Age ( est ) 40 + years The Bete and Gere people reside in Ivory Coast, just south of the Guro. Religion, omnipresent in Bete life, aims to maintain a harmonious relationship between nature and the ancestors, who are responsible for the welfare of the tribe. Elaborate masquerades and ceremonies are performed by the men of the tribe who belong to dance societies. According to the book, THE TRIBAL ARTS OF AFRICA byBacquart: "Bete carvers are renowned for one particular type of face mask which has exaggerated features- a large protruding mouth,an elongated nose,with nostrils sometimes extending to each side of the face, and globular eyes set beneath a high domed forehead carved with a medium ridge. Historically, this type of mask was worn to prepare men for war; nowadays,it is worn for a variety of ceremonies, including entertainment dances." These masks were influenced by the tradition of their western neighbors, the "We". The Bete grew only what was needed for a subsistence economy and placed more importance on the hunt. To render the hostile forces of the forest material, they sculpted a type of mask that would provoke terror: the "gre", with its grimacing face, distorted features facial protuberances, bulging forehead. Tthe Bete live in the southwestern part
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