English: Wooden buffalo helmet mask in two pieces: head and neck attached by series of raffia ties which span holes around perimeter of each piece. Head: bone animal horns extend and curve out from sides of head; in back of head, below level of horns, a band projects out at sides with triangular tips painted white and red representing ears; large projecting glass eyes circumscribed by raised bands of fur nailed to surface; muzzle area and recessed triangle at center of forehead accentuated with white paint; string inserted through holes in nostrils wraps around to back of head. Neck: spiralling ridged surfaces. CONDITION: Generally good. Fur attachments around eyes worn. Deep cracks extending from perimeter at either side of head.

English: Masks representing dugn'be, meaning “the ox raised in the village,” are used in young men's initiation ceremonies in the Bijagós Islands, on the Atlantic coast of Guinea-Bissau. The cord that runs through the nostrils of this mask shows that the initiate is like a tethered ox. His strengths, like those of the ox, must be both encouraged and controlled.