Kponyugo or Wanyugo masks, also commonly known as Firespitter, were used by the male secret initiatory society Poro during the funerals of chiefs and notables to accompany the souls of the deceased into the underworld and ward off evil spirits. Because it was believed to be invested with supernatural and destructive power, it was also used by members of society to counter witchcraft.
Carved in a single piece of wood, the Kponyugo mask had a heterogeneous appearance characterized by various parts of different animals: antelope horns, hyena ears, mouth and teeth of crocodile and/ or warthog that gave this mask a monstrous and terrifying.
In this example there is also a small chameleon on the forehead that, in all probability, was used as a handle to carry the mask when it did not dance and was at rest.
Repeatedly painted and refreshed, the last of which with industrial paints that will surely have given the mask a more modern and chromatically more incisive in the eyes of the audience who watched her, intimidated, dance.
The many defects, the shortcomings and the restoration remind us that these masks were made to be used several times and on various occasions, during frantic dances that could even last whole days and therefore often suffered damage.