After Carnival season and the Black Masking Indians’ Super Sunday display of their new suits, there’s another wave of elaborately constructed ensembles and vibrant cultural traditions on view in New Orleans. The New Orleans Museum of Art just opened “New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations,” presenting the work of four artists who create ensembles for masquerading societies in West Africa.
If one were looking for similarities to local Black Masking Indian suits, Sierra Leonean artist Sheku “Goldenfinger” Fofanah’s Woman Tote Man is a good place to start.
The towering tan, red and gold ensemble’s front has many panels sewn with cowry shells, sequins, fabric patches and rings of woven twine. Like some Indian suits’ aprons, there are geometric panels in front, and it has long red flame-like extensions on the sides and a wide flaring collar.
The colors of the American and Siera Leonean flag are worked into the front of the suit and on the pants below the apron panels. It’s topped by the intricately carved wooden figure of a man sitting on the shoulders of a bare-breasted woman, which illustrates the suit’s theme of men depending on the strength of women, and them needing to work together.
There are masquerade societies across Africa, and the organizations and their purposes and traditions vary greatly. Some follow religious and cultural practices, and the masks and ensembles often are meant to represent spirits. The person wearing it is usually not the artist, and instead the wearer’s identity is concealed.
Other societies provide entertainment, which spurs the need to innovate and create new looks. Many ensembles are used in public processions and performances, and some societies are secretive, so only members see the ensembles. The suits also vary greatly depending on the artist, who may work for several different societies.
In the case of Fofanah’s Women Tote Man, there are several contributors. Fofanah is an artist by profession, called a “kotu” in his community. But he is not a wood carver and hired someone else to make the headpiece. A couple other craftsmen also worked on the ensemble.
His, like many of the masquerade ensembles, are called “devils.” The expo has versions of his work showing the “fancy and fierce aesthetics” of ensembles preferred by the societies he works for. Next to Woman Tote Man, another ensemble has the fang-baring head of an animal in the wooden carving serving as its mask.
Dancers perform in ensembles made by David Sanou.
Sierra Leone adapted many masquerading traditions from Ghana in the 1960s and ’70s, and Fofanah is often commissioned by groups outside the country. He primarily works with the Gladiators Power Ordehlay society, as well as the Tourist Ojeh and Omo Jessah Hunting societies.
Woman Tote Man was created for a social event for an Ordehlay society in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. The Gladiators usually host events on Christmas, Boxing Day and the country’s Independence Day, April 27. Sometimes the events also have a fundraising purpose, like for a funeral.
The expo has 13 ensembles, including four from Fofanah. There’s also work by Herve Youmbi from Douala, Cameroon, and Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa from Calabar, Nigeria. David Sanou is from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and he co-credits his work to his father, Andre Sanou, who taught him the wood carving skills at the center of their ensembles.
Sanou’s carved masks can feature realistic human faces or more figurative designs, like Kimi masks with hornbill bird beaks on the face of the piece and tall fin-like carvings on top. At NOMA, some of the top extensions are inset with carved elephants, hippos and other animals. The bodies of the ensemble feature long hanging strands of fabric, so when the wearer spins and dances, they whip about and accentuate the size of the figure and fast dancing.
Sanou’s practice is essentially commercial, and patrons commission masks for a masquerade society’s public celebrations for harvest season festivals, national holidays and elaborate funerals. Developing new styles is part of the expectations of his audience.
Visitors can see the ensembles and societies in action in an immersive room, where nearly 360-degree videos are projected on three walls. Men wearing Sanou’s masks spin and dance furiously in a circle of spectators.
There’s also video of a parade-like walk of figures in outfits by Bassey Nsa in a neighborhood in Calabar. The brightly colored ensembles have bulging rings covering the chest and neck, and similar bracelets and anklets. He also followed his father’s footsteps into the craft, but he’s modernized the styles used by the longstanding and prestigious Ekpe secret society. Bassey Nsa uses the society's preferred materials and specific symbols and references its traditions in ensembles for the group.
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Youmbi’s work also offers commentary on contemporary issues. He’s bridged the worlds of traditional and contemporary art, and one of his ensembles has a mask designed to look like the horrific figure in the horror comedy “Scream.” In his work, Youmbi also questions the way African traditions are portrayed, as well as the legacy of colonialism. He is both a contributing artist and a member of the curatorial team.
Almost all of the ensembles were commissioned for the show. While creating the expo, an emphasis was made in gaining consent of all parties, including the artists and their associated masquerade societies.
The expo features recently made ensembles and details their creation and use. More information is available at masquerades.noma.org, and the expo catalogue has much more detail on the artists and the masquerade societies.
The expo is debuting at NOMA and will tour several U.S. museums. There also will be a tour in Africa, starting in Dakar, Senegal.
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