Art of Burkina Faso
These interpreters considered the two peoples to be the same and so referred to the Bobo as "Bobo-Fing" and to the Bwa as "Bobo-Oule."
In terms of artistic styles the confusion stems from the fact that the Bwa, "gurunsi'" and Mossi make masks that are covered with red white and black geometric graphic patterns.
Masks occupy an important position in the religious life of the Nyonyose, the ancient farmers and spiritual segment of society among the Mossi people.
The use of masks in initiations and funerals is quite typical of all the Voltaic or Gur-speaking peoples, including the Nyonyose, Lela, Winiama, Nouna, Bwaba, and Dogon.
In the southwest masks represent animals such as antelope, bush buffalo, and various strange creatures, are painted red, white and black.
All Nyonyose masks are worn with thick costumes made of the fiber of the wild hemp, Hibiscus cannabinus.
In the old days, only the northern Nyonyose in Yatenga and Kaya, and the eastern people around Boulsa allowed their masks to be photographed.
They are covered with red white and black graphic patterns that represent the religious laws that people in the villages must obey if they are to receive God's blessings.
They appear at initiation's when young men and women are taught the meanings of the masks and the importance of the spirits and enter adult village society.
Most peoples in the area consider gurunsi a pejorative form of address, and much prefer to be called by their ethnic name.
The Léla, Nunuma, Winiama and Nuna have influenced the styles, use and meaning of masks among their Bwa and Mossi neighbors.
The animals that occur most frequently are the antelope, buffalo, bush pig, hornbill, hyena, and the serpent.
They are covered with geometric patterns painted red, white, and black, repainted every year, except among the Winiama.
These spirits watch over a family, clan or community, and, if the rules for their propitiation are followed correctly, provide for the fertility, health, and prosperity of the owners.
Almost any unusual event can justify consultations with a diviner and the carving of a mask to represent the spirit that is responsible.
The Lobi people live in southwestern Burkina Faso and northern Ivory Coast and Ghana.
This diviner is responsible for communication with the spirits that govern the community and protect members of each family from accidents, disease, violence, and all of the multiple threats people encounter in the harsh environment of West Africa.
The Lobi represent the nature spirits whom they called Thil with figures that can be carved of wood, modeled from clay, or cast in brass.
These figures are called Boteba, and are usually housed in a dark shrine in the most remote space in the back of the family home.
They are an ancient amalgamation of several peoples who have assembled around a number of core clans that do not preserve any oral traditions of immigration into the area.
Leaf masks representing the initial and universal form of Dwo serve to integrate the individual into human society and to link the community of man with the natural world; fiber masks fix the individual in a social grouping, dedicated to one of the later forms of Dwo.
[2] The different levels of knowledge are explained to Bobo boys in several steps spread out over a period of fifteen years.
Masks play an essential role in initiation because they reestablish and reinforce the cosmic order created by Wuro, and restore the balance and the rhythms of the natural world and of the community.
The Gurensi people and their wall decorations directly relate to a woman’s ability and her investment in her community.
This society is polyamorous, and this tradition gives women a chance to showcase their individuality while serving as social interaction and a way to please their husbands.
