Bird Mask, Mossi people, Burkina Faso, Mali, n.d.

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Throughout Burkina Faso, in the Mali region of Africa,  masks such as seen here represent protective spirits from the bush, always closely associated with the spirits of ancestors, and which can take human, animal or even monstrous characteristics. Such masks can perform on several occasions throughout the dry season from October to May, but they chiefly appear at the funerals of elders and at annual village cleansing ceremonies, when malevolent supernatural spirits are chased from the village.

 

Source: Professor Christopher D. Roy, 1991. website: Art and Life in Africa.