Male Face Mask (N'tomo)

This mask depicts a young man with an elongated face in a style that originated in the Segou region. Adolescent males danced with masks like this during their initiation into Ntomo, the first in a series of power associations that Bamana boys joined when they transitioned from youth to adulthood. The images on this mask of an antelope and two female figures encouraged young men’s prowess in farming and courting, respectively.