mask (dance & live theatre)

Goboi headdress from south-eastern Sierra Leone. Central column, characteristically decorated by a patchwork of felt, coloured leather and wickerwork. It is surrounded by several flaps of raw hide, some decorated with embroidery and cowrie shells, and a layer of raffia.

This is the headdress worn by the Goboi masquerader who is associated with the men's Poro society in south-eastern Sierra Leone. Originally it would have been accompanied by a thick raffia skirt, covering the whole body of the dancer wearing it. The role of the Goboi is largely for entertainment, though like many masqueraders of West Africa it is also considered to be very powerful.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
nn3508
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 485 x 640 mm
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
In storage
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk