Large headdress from Sierra Leone

MasksoftheWorld.com is mostly about masks. The masks we show and write about have been made to wear over a person’s face for a particular purpose, and in a particular culture.

This piece is a little different. It’s a headdress worn on top of the head in Sierra Leone, West Africa. That person would be either Temme or Mende, and a member of the Ode-Lay Society. It would take him some effort– the headdress is 30 inches high and weighs about 8 lbs.

There are also real masks that are too small to be worn over the face. Some as small as 2 inches are worn hanging from a necklace or bracelet. The one below is 5 inches and would hang from a belt. It is a miniature chimpanzee mask from the Grebo culture in Ivory Coast, West Africa.