Yoruba
Headdress:
Efe/Gelede
Anago,
Republic of
Benin
19th century
Wood, H. 13”
On Display at the Museum
Anago,
Republic of Benin
An example of a Gelede costume
and mask.
A masked dancer in a Gelede masquerade.
Ibooro, 1982.
More examples of various Gelede costumes
Analysis claims that these masks are made by the same master carver of the
Anago.
Headdress: Gelede
Republic of Benin, Anago
Wood, H. 12”
Pace Gallery, New York
Headdress: Efe/Gelede
Republic of Benin, Anago.
Wood, H. 15 1/2”
Private Collection
Sylistic Attributes of this Artist:
• Idealized, naturalistic facial features
• Contrasting geometric shapes of
coiffure/superstructure
• Symbolic use of dyes, imagery
Headdress: Gelede
Republic of Benin, Anago
Wood, H. 10 1/2”
Private Collection
Efe/Gelede Festival:
• Held annually during the beginning of a
new agricultural cycle
• Composed of Efe (opening night)
celebration and Gelede (daytime)
celebration, both with costume, song,
dance, and performance.
•Festival honors “our mothers, our
witches,” the female powers of creation
and destruction.
• Only males perform as a way of
appeasing females in a patrilineal
community.
• Encompasses all realms of life –
physical, spiritual, supernatural. Praises
deities, comments on current social
events in the community.
Resources for Works Cited
Images of Gelede costumes (In Order of Appearance):
1. Pally, Barbara. “ART IN CONTEXT: How is the Gelede Headdress Used?”
African Masks and Headdresses at the Bayly Art Museum.Bayly Art Museum of the
University of Virginia. 20 October 2008.
http://www.virginia.edu/artmuseum/VirtualExhibitions/african/images/gelede_d
ancer.jpg
2. Pally, Barbara. “ART IN CONTEXT: How is the Gelede Headdress Used?
African Masks and Headdresses at the Bayly Art Museum. Bayly Art Museum of
the University of Virginia. 20 October 2008.
http://www.virginia.edu/artmuseum/VirtualExhibitions/african/images/gelede_d
ancer2.jpg
3. Bedard, Arianne. “Women in Ritual: Gelede.” The Power Of Women in West
Africa. 20 October 2008.
http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/Arianne%20Pictures/gelede%20dancer.j
pg
4. Lawal, Babatunde. Plate 8. The Gelede Spectacle: Art, Gender, and Social
Harmony in African Culture. Seattle and London: University of Washington
Press, 1996.
Similar Masks:
5. Fagg& Pemberton. Plates 2, 5, 29. 49 (Descriptive Catalog). Yoruba: Sculpture
of West Africa. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1982.