Gbendekolo
A funeral masker among the Limba people of northern Sierra Leone. The mask is made of brass (an-kem in Limba) and typically consists of a square or oblong central panel on which the features of a face have been roughly beaten out; two roughly hemispherical brass flaps at each side for ears; and a triangular brass flap above and below the central panel. Attached to the upper flap is a sheaf of porcupine quills. Animal skins of different kinds hang from the mask, which is worn at the side of the head, on the shoulder, rather than over the face. A number of such maskers may appear at the funeral of a paramount chief and take it in turn to dance. They are said to dance around and through the hot embers of a fire without suffering injury.
- W.A.Hart, 'Limba funeral masks', African Arts, 1988, XXII, 1, 60-67.
