Salampaso mask, Tanzania, c. 1980

Salampaso masks were very important parts of the warrior society whose main task was to protect their small region against invasions from outside kingdoms. Boys were initiated into the warrior society through a circumcision ceremony, then rose in rank to adult warrior and gained access to the use of masks. Earning the right to wear a mask involved performing specific actions with cattle, drink and other material goods. Once a man owns his mask, adults who own their own masks teach him the esoteric knowledge of their society. Height: 25.5 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p.- 186 right
 
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall