Senufo Proposal

A comb centers the headdress of this beautiful African mask, and the personage wears large earrings. Hand carved and painted, the sese wood image is crafted by Ghana's Salihu Ibrahim. It represents the Fulani people who have settled in Mali. Although thought to have West African origins, the Fula are also present throughout Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa. 'We Africans tend to adopt certain cultural practices that we believe are good ones, and customs are also shared through inter-cultural marriage,' Ibrahim explains. 'Among Mali-dwelling Fulani, such masks are given to a woman as a marriage proposal. She responds by giving a Senufo monkey mask to her suitor as a sign of acceptance.'