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Gelede headdress
Yoruba
20th century
Object Place: Nigeria
Medium/Technique
wood and paint
Dimensions
Overall: 14.5 x 20 x 29 cm (5 11/16 x 7 7/8 x 11 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2618
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsMasks
Gelede masquerades celebrate the special powers of female spirits known as, "the mothers". The mothers possess a powerful life force (ase), which can be used for benevolent of malevolent purposes. The destructive capacity of "the mothers" is called "aje" and is associated with infertility, impotency, and infant mortality. However, "the mothers" also have a benevolent influence that can cure illness and equitably disperse wealth, power, and prestige amongst the Yoruba. The ultimate goal of gelede performances is the maintenance of harmony in the community. The festival consists of a nighttime performance (efe), and an afternoon spectacle, when maskers usually appear in pairs and allude to social roles-the merchant, the market woman, the blacksmith, a man on a bicycle, and the hunter.
Provenance1972, sold by the Galerie Burgui, Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)