Babanki Tribe Elephant mask. Also known as a Bali Elephant mask. This colossal elephant mask has a tall, elongated shape, large rounded ears, almond-shaped eyes, and a long curved trunk that segments into two nostril cavities near the bottom. The trunk covers a gaping mouth bearing distinctive teeth, and two tusks border the teeth, curving to overlap the trunk. The mask is dark brown in color and measures approximately 5.67 feet tall. This is a traditional mask of the Babanki people in the western grasslands of Cameroon, Africa. Most of the wooden masks from the Cameroon Grasslands of this type belong to an ensemble of some twenty masks owned by royal lineages and chiefs that are performed during funerals and annual festivals. These lineage masks include both anthropomorphic and zoomorphic types, the latter representing such animals as buffaloes, apes, sheep and various species of birds. Elephant masks are only occasionally included in this group, since the elephant, like the leopard, is considered a royal animal and the use of an elephant mask is therefore the special privilege of certain lineages. Whenever an elephant masquerader is present, he assumes the second most important position after the human kam masquerader. The elephant figure is the first to appear on the dance ground and the last to leave it, and in accordance with his status, his movements are stately and slow. The elephant mask is worn horizontally on the head and can be classified in the well-known Babanki style of the northwestern Grasslands.

Size: 68 x 25 in. 

#8107