Sierra Leonean brass masks

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Book chapter

Title:	Sierra Leonean brass masks
Author:	Hart, W.A.
Book title:	Sierra Leone studies at Birmingham, 1985
Year:	1987
Pages:	66-71
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Sierra Leone
Subjects:	Temne masks
Abstract:	Associated with paramount chiefs of the Temne of Sierra Leone is a particular masked 'devil' who appears in public wearing 'aron arabai', the mask of chieftaincy. Among the most interesting features of this mask is the use of brass in its construction, brass being in Sierra Leone what gold is in other cultures, the 'royal' material. Such brass masks are to be found throughout the Temne heartland. Each mask has its individual name which relates it to a particular chiefly family. In some cases, where the chieftaincy alternated between different families, this was also reflected in different titles for the chiefdom masker. The one time when the masker must appear is at the installation of a new paramount chief. Evidence suggests that the masks are indigenous to Sierra Leone. They bear witness to a relatively sophisticated brass-working tradition in an area where little of the kind has been suspected. Notes, ref., sum. (p. 217).