Sande Society Mask (Ndoli Jowi/Nòwo)

Female helmet masks are worn by leaders of the women’s association during the initiation of girls into adulthood. They appear at educational sessions during the initiation period and at ceremonies of the final “coming out.” The mask itself represents an ideal ancestral woman, at the height of youth and beauty. The exquisite braided hairstyle alludes to the cultivation of the female ancestor and of the young women now eligible for marriage. The rings around the neck suggest the ripples of the water through which the ancestor has been brought from the spiritual world into the physical.