The initiation cycles of the Bidjogo people of the Bissagos Islands of Guinea-Bissau make use of a variety of powerful creatures from the land and sea, including sharks, hippopotami, swordfish, and bovines. Each set of islands utilizes different creatures and has somewhat different initiation procedures

Four different types of cattle masks are known, ranging from a bush cow to a zebu ox to a wild bull to this one, which seems to be a dugn’be or ox raised in the village. The horns of the mask are real cattle horns, and the eyes are frequently of glass disks, giving a very lifelike appearance. The initiate wears a fiber skirt, belts, and bells, fits the mask over his or her head, and crawls around imitating the motions of an ox. Attendants hold the nose rope, attempting to keep the beast under control.

Manratche, or initiation of Bidjogo youth within a hierarchical age-grade system, is one of the key illustrations of cattle’s vital role in the Bissagos Islands historically and today. In cabaro, a midlevel-age group that lasts ten years, male initiates celebrate the wild nature of post-adolescent life by donning a bull mask and imitating the animal’s aggressive behavior. The dance associated with the bull masquerade (masked ritual performance) is violent and unpredictable, equating the initiate’s unpredictable transitional state to that of a wild creature, before the initiates are pacified, domesticated, and fully admitted into adult society.

Written and researched by Dr. William Dewey, Emeritus Associate Professor of Art History and African Studies, adapted from an entry in the digital catalogue for African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting (Palmer Museum of Art, 2020).

To see the pictured mask or many other fine pieces of art, visit the Palmer Museum of Art on the Capus of Penn State University.