Gägon
Dan · numen · Dan traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Gägon, recorded also as Ge Gon, is the beaked mask-spirit of the Dan, blending a human face with the long projecting bill of a hornbill. Prevalent among the northern Dan and the Maou sub-group, it was formerly a teaching spirit, singing songs and proverbs to instruct the community, particularly in the lore of the hornbill it represents. In its later, entertaining role it dances before the village accompanied by drummers and singers. The bird form marks it as a spirit mediating between the human settlement and the wisdom of the forest.
Domains
- wisdom
- teaching proverbs
Powers
- sings songs and proverbs
- takes the form of the hornbill
Relations
- companion: TankaglePaired among the entertaining ge that sing and recite proverbs before the village.Fischer and Himmelheber, The Arts of the Dan in West Africa (1984), on the entertaining, proverb-telling masks. (secondary)
Sources
- Gägon (Ge Gon) is a beaked, hornbill mask-spirit that sang songs and proverbs to teach the village, later performing to entertain with drummers and singers.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, collection record for the Bird Mask (Ge Gon), Dan peoples. (secondary); Fischer and Himmelheber, The Arts of the Dan in West Africa (1984). (secondary)