The choice was determined by the hair. It is the distinguishing feature of Gela masks. According to the canon, it should be elaborate and impressive. I must admit, however, that after looking through several hundred photos of such geometric and asymmetrical hairstyles, I did not find any.

Passport masks are usually representations of the human face, whereby the individual facial features of the owner are irrelevant. Sometimes these masks only reflect gender. In short, a mask is the spirit of an ancestor or, more often, ancestors.

The cult of Jieri obliges members of the Fang tribe to consult the oracle before every major event in the life of the community, such as sowing, hunting, changing residence, battle, war, etc. During this ceremony, preceded by prayer and feasting, the skull of an ancestor is rubbed with a special powdered substance, sometimes paint is used.

 Black masks appear when people are threatened by evil. They are supposed to ward off illness, misfortune, epidemics, crime, and witchcraft.

Dogon sculptures, and the sculpture I am offering is a beautiful example of this, depict the human body in a simplified way. They are elongated with an emphasis on geometric forms. The figures are almost cubist. They have oval heads, square shoulders, and straight, long limbs that taper downwards. However, the stylization and simplification do not deprive the sculptures of their individual character.

The headboard is also associated with the beliefs of many tribes that sleep and dream projections are the interference of ancestral spirits in life on earth. An appropriate headboard, in accordance with tribal canon, enables communication with ancestors. Headboards often take the form of totemic tribal sculptures to ensure the safety of such contact.

The sculpture has changed significantly over the years. Initially, it was almost a stick with a large head, but now it is an almost fully three-dimensional sculpture of a woman surrounded by her offspring. The only thing that remains unchanged in the sculpture is the large, round head symbolizing the moon, which is the embodiment of the goddess responsible for fertility.