Liberian Helmet Masks of the Sande and Poro Societies from the Collections of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology Now on View at SFO

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Liberian Helmet Masks of the Sande and Poro Societies from the Collections of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
Now on View at SFO

 

SAN FRANCISCO —  Liberian Helmet Masks of the Sande and Poro Societies from the Collections of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, a new exhibition on view at San Francisco International Airport, contains more than 20 helmet masks that highlight the long-standing traditions of wood carving craftsmanship and masked performance among the Sande and Poro associations of Liberia, West Africa.

 

Sande and Poro societies are found throughout Sierra Leone and Liberia, in parts of Guinea, and as far east as the borders of the Ivory Coast in West Africa. Many different cultural groups, such as the Gola, Temne, Mende, Vai, Kpelle, De, and Bassa, belong to these associations.  Poro is the society for men, responsible for initiating boys into manhood, while its counterpart, Sande, initiates girls into womanhood.  Masquerades are an essential component of these widespread associations. Masked performers not only appear during initiation ceremonies, but many other important social occasions.

 

Most African masks, whether they represent males or females, are carved and worn by men. The Sande society is the only known female group in Africa where the women wear masks. Masked performers, commonly referred to as sowei, play a central role in Sande ritual activities. With finely carved, delicate features and elaborate hairstyles, sowei masks represent the epitome of female beauty. Among the Poro society, there is a wooden mask known as gbetu. The mask closely resembles those of the sowei masks of the Sande society, except that it has a long-ringed neck with a small head at the top.

 

Images from the exhibition are available online at: http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/about/news/pressres/exh-helmetmasks.html.

 

Liberian Helmet Masks of the Sande and Poro Societies from the Collections of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology is located pre-security in the International Terminal Main Hall. The exhibition is on view free of charge through November 2010.

 

All objects on view are from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.

 

San Francisco Airport Museums

The San Francisco Airport Museums program was established by the Airport Commission in 1980 for the purposes of humanizing the Airport environment, providing visibility for the unique cultural life of San Francisco, and providing educational services for the traveling public. The Museum was granted initial accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1999, reaccredited in 2005, and has the distinction of being the only accredited museum in an airport. Today, the San Francisco Airport Museums features approximately twenty galleries throughout the Airport terminals displaying a rotating schedule of art, history, science, and cultural exhibitions, as well as the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, a permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial aviation.

 

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