The Insane Mask Festival of Burkina Faso
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During the dry season of every year,
villages in Burkina Faso in West Africa hold mask festivals, with every
year new masks and costumes are added to the 3 day event. The masks
represent the spirits of the village, those that guide and guard the
lives of the humans and that of mother nature.
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They come in colored pairs and dance
around the villagers as visiting ghosts before retreating back into the
forest. The Spirits are made in the shape of wooden owls, butterflies,
antelopes, buffaloes, and hyenas.
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Then the second phase begins, with
men covered in straw costumes perform amazing and athletic flips and
twisting jump turns, representing the evil spirits. With each stunt, the
crowds are driven further into a wild frenzy, but are whipped back into
place by volunteer guardians.
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In the end, the good and evil spirit dancers mix and dance together in pairs. The masks are then displayed to the villagers.
This festival is the social highlight of the year, but the ritual is also intense and even scary to those travellers not accustomed to the energy of this festival.
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