The Nafana Tribe

Origins & the Borderland

The Nafana are a small Gur-speaking people inhabiting the borderland between northwestern Ghana and northeastern Côte d'Ivoire. Despite their relatively small population, they are renowned across the world for producing one of the most distinctive and visually striking mask traditions in West Africa — the Bedu masquerade.

Nafana communities are organised around the Bedu society, which manages the annual purification ceremonies that cleanse the community of spiritual pollution accumulated over the year. The Bedu masks are the material form through which these ceremonies are conducted.

Bedu Masks

Bedu masks are among the largest and most architecturally ambitious in West Africa. Flat, disc-shaped faces — sometimes over two feet in diameter — are mounted on tall superstructures and carried horizontally on the head of the performer, who is completely concealed beneath layered fibres and cloth. The disc face is decorated with geometric patterns in red, white, and black.

Two complementary masks represent the sun (male) and moon (female) dimensions of the Bedu spirit. They appear together in the annual purification ceremony, moving through the village in a circuit that symbolically sweeps away accumulated harm and restores the community to a state of health and protection.

Legacy & Rarity

Because the Nafana are a small group with a highly specific art tradition, authentic Bedu masks are relatively rare on the international market. Their bold geometric design and monumental scale make them among the most visually commanding objects in any African art collection.