Baga. Marie Yvonne Curtis.

To jedna z serii książek wydanych pod kierownictwem Instytutu Sztuki z Chicago. Ta akurat przedstawia i opisuje sztukę gwinejskiego plemienia Baga. Maski i rzeźby Baga zyskały sobie światową sławę za sprawą ogromnej maski nimba ważącej 50-60 kilogramów, blisko dwumetrowego węża bansonyi czy maski banda. Książka w pierwszych rozdziałach wydaje się nieco chaotycznie skomponowana, ale nie umniejsza to jej wartości, gdyż w treści odnajdziemy wiele ciekawych informacji na temat obrzędów, w których konkretne maski były i są wykorzytywane. Dowiemy się także jaka przyszłość może czekać młody artystów z gwinejskiego plemienia. Druga połowa książki to piękne zdjęcia poszczególnych artefaktów wraz z ich dokładnymi opisami i informacjami, gdzie możemy je zobaczyć. Cytaty:

“The Baga have created a real masterpiece of sculpture in this tall, vertical headdress worn as a part of a mask. It is made of multi-colored wood and represents a snake rising sinuously up on its tail to a height of over two metres and ending with an uncompromisingly triangular head at the top. This mask is decorated with brightly colored geometric motifs and is known mostly by its Susu name bansonyi. All the sculptors’ extraordinary skill has been deployed in combining three types of snake: the wedge-shaped head of the python, the raised body of the cobra and the livery of the Gaboon viper, with its beige, black, and brown geometric markings (Curtis 2013)”.

“A-tshol, elek, nach. This monochrome wooden sculpture, known in the literature as a ‘bird figure’, ‘shrine figure’ or ‘altar figure,’ is another example of fine artistic sensibility. This hybrid object is made up of two separate parts: the cylindrical base, with a slim, straight neck, and a head with an elongated, pointed, inclined beak. This is one of the most heavily stylized figures in the art of the Baga and neighboing peoples, each sub-group introducing notable variation in form and usage. All agree that the mask represents a combination of seabirds and riverbirds, such as the pelican, the heron, and the ibis. The Baga Sitem called it A-tshol, but it is also known as elek (Baga Balunits), nach (Baga Pokur), ninte kamatshol (Baga Nalu), and is known to the Susu as matsholikuye. These artifatcs still retain their air of mystery and in the past they were placed on the ground or on stools and, containing the skulls of ancestors and consigned to the care of the head of the lineage, they would act as altars. However we actually know very little about this particular aspect. The specimens seen in the field suggested they were used both by individuals and by a group of initiates as aids in divination and continue to serve this function to this very day”.