Bugle
Dan · numen · Dan traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Bugle is the war mask-spirit of the Dan, the fierce masculine counterpart to gentle ge such as deangle. Dark-faced, with an open mouth, bared animal fangs and a heavy beard, it is meant to rouse martial fervour in the village and, in earlier times, to march at the head of the warriors and accompany them into battle. Its aggression also served internal order, agitating and disciplining the community. Sources are not consistent in nomenclature: the fierce war mask bugle is sometimes conflated with, or distinguished from, the lively entertaining dance mask bagle.
Domains
- war
- mobilization
Powers
- stirs warlike fervour
- leads men into battle
Relations
- companion: KagleGrouped with the fierce, provocative ge that agitate and discipline the community.Fischer and Himmelheber, The Arts of the Dan in West Africa (1984), on the aggressive masculine masks. (secondary)
Sources
- Bugle is the war mask-spirit that stirs warlike fervour and historically led men into battle.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, collection record for Dan masks. (secondary); Fischer and Himmelheber, The Arts of the Dan in West Africa (1984). (secondary)