King of the Bobo

The god of the Bobo people, named Vuro, was not familiar with Hegellian dialectics, but during the “creation of the world”, the law of unity and the struggle of opposites guided him. For balance, he created both a human and his spirit (always represented by a mask), a man and a woman, domestic and wild animals, cold and warmth, etc. This painting by artist Samoa Abdoulaye depicts a ritual with masks, which is a manifestation of cultural traditions.

Samoa clearly made an attempt to gather all of his people’s symbols into one work of art. On the left side of the canvas is a king, already deceased, and on the right side there is a plethora of masks. The multi-colored figures have animal masks: an antelope, a crocodile and a panther. The white masked figures are spirits, while the people without masks are musicians (griots). The figure in yellow is Molo––the spirit of the Bobo people––and to the side we see the master of this ceremony leaning on a cane.

In the background we see an old mosque from the city of Bobo-Dioulasso; in the front there is a catfish (a sacred fish which is not eaten here) and on the fish we see cowrie shells (which used to be money) symbolizing good fortune. Behind the shells lies the white mound of Landaku Siakuru, a fetish site where roosters (left-hand side) are being sacrificed.

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