Goli Spirit – Ivory Coast – Baule
Baule Spirit Dance
Seemingly surprised, a watchful personage bares its teeth. Horns crown the circular mask, and intricate geometric patterns surround it. Depicted in hand-carved sese wood, a minor spirit masks young men dancers from the Baule tribe of Cote d’Ivoire. Victor Yao Delanyo recreates a design used in the Goli spirit dance, as men of junior rank dance before their seniors.
Goli Spirit
Goli is the day-long spectacle that normally involves the whole village and includes the appearance of four pairs of masks, music played on special instruments, and, ideally, the jojoyous consumption of a great deal of palm wine. Goli can be performed both as an entertainment and for the funeral of important men. The very characteristic, round-shaped “lunar” goli is surmounted by two horns
Goli Spirit
Victor Yao Delanyo, Carver
Goli Spirit – carved sese wood
23-1/2” x 11-1/2” (59.6 cm x 29.1 cm)
Item #10040-M
Goli Spirit- back
