The Bidjogo live on the Bissagos Islands in the state of Guinea-Bissau, off the west coast of Africa. They have a large reservoir of masks boasting many animal masks. The most famous among them are the helmet masks, depicting the head of a bull. However, there are also mask types representing hippopotami, birds, rays and sharks, such as the present shark mask: This old piece, which was visibly often used for dancing, is actually not a proper ‘mask’, but rather a dance crest that dancers tie…
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