Baga - Nimba, Baga Dance Headdress
Height: 43 1/2 inches
Wooden headdress with black patina. A massive head, with large flat nose and large eyes, small
cylindrical mouth and a raised ridge to the forehead. There is a hatched band bordering the face.
The coiffure has grooved chevrons and inset bands of upholstery nails, with a grooved median crest
at the center. The semi-circular ears with grooved arcs, two eyeholes are pierced between the
pendulous breasts, inset upholstery nails on a cross hatched band to the upper chest. The massive
mask is worn on the shoulders and can weigh as much as 140 lbs. The four supports are covered
during the dance by a garment made of fiber. The immense head, with its hawk-like nose, projects
far forward and is supported by arms with no hands. It is decorated with geometrical patterns.
Literature: Wassing, R.S.: Its Background and Traditions, African Art, Friboug 1968, p. 184
(similar Nimba illustrated). Nimba is the goddess of fertility. The headdresses are used to bring
fertility, either of a woman, a rice field or a palm grove. Nimba gives particular protection to
the pregnant Baga mother.
AA990
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