Wooden helmet mask, associated with the Sande (Mende) or Bondo (Temne) female initiation society. It has three central ridges adoring horizontal cornrows. The front of the mask has an unusually elogated face, with three rings of segmentation around the neck.
Such masks are worn by a high ranking member of the society during performances as the 'dancing sowei', known as the ndoli jowei among the Mende and the a-Nowo among the Temne. Usually a thin ring of black dyed raffia is attached to the bottom of the mask through a series of holes, or a protruding ridge. In this case the mask may not have been used as no such holes exist.
