York's Shona Gallery presents the "Bedu Mask" by the Nafana tribe of the Ivory Coast. A large round disc, cut through with a cross and crescent shapes, rises on a long neck above a small face. The mask is vividly painted in traditional white, black and red.
The mask exemplifies the vitality and grandeur of Nafana artistry. The colorful history is reflected in the annual performance of the Bedu masquerade, for which the mask was created.
The Bedu masquerade is an artistic phenomenon of the 20th century. It was introduced in the 1920’s by Nafana artists to replace a more ancient masking cult called Sakarabounhou. The positive nature of the Bedu and the ease with which it can be understood have allowed it to transcend both ethnic and religious barriers. Since its introduction, the Bedu Masquerade has been adopted by multiple ethnic groups in the east central Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana, among them the Kulango and Degha.
Furthermore, while Bedu is controlled by persons of traditional African religious belief, it is accepted and even practiced by some Muslims, demonstrating that Islam and traditional Africa are not always incompatible.
Bedu masqueraders perform for annual month-long ceremonies called Zaurau as well as at funerals for important elders. During these festivals, which usually occur in late November and December, Bedu masks are used to address issues of human survival, including fertility, healing, and protection of the village from both natural and social crisis. Each night of the festival, the masks emerge from the forest and enter the dance arena in male/female pairs clad in long raffia gowns. While male Bedu masks have been described as having horns, female masks have a round, disc-like superstructure.
The male/female dualism is nevertheless important, both in the mask’s symbolism and in the performance. The Bedu performance helps to stress the importance of community and praise the traditional roles of men and women and the virtue of strong families, while serving to reassert time-honored Nafana values in a new and embattled political and social climate.
