Basketry Yam Mask
Use your Museum Journal to enter answers for the following questions. You may work in groups of three or four.

What can we guess?

— Did a man or woman build the mask?

— What was it used for?

— What do the colors symbolize?

— What does the object on top of the mask represent?

Here are some cultural clues that can help us make better guesses:

— Basket yam masks are an essential part of these people's yam harvest.

— They cultivate yams as their main staple crop.

— Rituals associated with yams are a major part of their spiritual life.

— Digging sticks and special yam shovels with clan figures on top are used to prepare the deep, soft soil to grow the yams.

— A man's status is judged by his ability to grow ceremonial long yams which can reach 9-12 feet.

— At the harvest festival, the best yams are displayed. If they are straight, they are considered to be male. If they have protuberances, they are considered female.

— The best yams are dressed with masks and named as ancestral figures. Feathers, bright flowers, fruits, and colorful leaves are added to the display. A man does not keep his own long yams, but exchanges them with his traditional partner from another village.

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