Gelede Mask
The Gelede mask is a carved wooden headdress of the Yoruba, worn tilted on the top of the head by a dancer who gazes out through the costume's veil while the crest rises above him, bearing figures of animals, people, market scenes or the faces of those being honored. The performance honors the great mothers, awon iya wa, 'our mothers,' the powerful women, both living and of the night, whose spiritual force underlies the community, and the dance at once celebrates them and gently mocks the follies of the town, using laughter to restore harmony. Gelede belongs especially to the Yoruba of southwe