Dan Krahn Guere Mask Liberia

The Wee has been variously known in the past as the Kran in Liberia and the Nguere or Guere in Ivory Coast. Though close in terms of geography and culture to the well-known Dan people in the region they are separated by language (Wee are Kru speakers and the Dan are Mande speakers).

Both the Dan and Wee have dynamic masking associations known as Poro that initiate the young and regulate society. Poro is an exclusively restricted men's society, however, masks between the Wee and their Dan neighbors are divided into male and female categories based on their form and details. Female masks are rounded or oval, with narrow eyes and finely delicate non-challenging features, whereas the male mask is larger in size, and grosser in proportions, with an open and challenging mouth with teeth, tube-like eyes, fur, and raffia. The exaggerated features of this mask, though vaguely human, refer to forces in the bush whose energy and powers add to the authority of the spirit represented. Whereas female masks appear to entertain, male masks exercise social control, punishing wrongdoers, settling disputes, declaring wars and proclaiming peace. In the past, they are also said to have been in the bush camps when the boys were being initiated. Wee masks like this were meant to instill fear through their appearance combining human and animal features and remembrance of the masks's aggressive behavior in the past.

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