Sumbo yoro sé !

In Burkina Faso, the character of the Bwaba griots’ mask dance, the sumbopwa, shows the influence of bush spirits—invisible entities—over humans. Sumbo yoro se! “The mask dance is good!” This exclamation announces what the Bwaba designate as the “strength” that the dancer’s movements show. This “str...

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Main Author: Camille Devineau
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative 2021-07-01
Series:Ateliers d'Anthropologie
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/14799
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author Camille Devineau
author_facet Camille Devineau
author_sort Camille Devineau
collection DOAJ
description In Burkina Faso, the character of the Bwaba griots’ mask dance, the sumbopwa, shows the influence of bush spirits—invisible entities—over humans. Sumbo yoro se! “The mask dance is good!” This exclamation announces what the Bwaba designate as the “strength” that the dancer’s movements show. This “strength” incudes two complementary aspects: physical strength and the strength given by “the invisible”, namely the bush spirits’ ability to act upon mask wearers, and therefore upon the human world. It is an inspiration received from the bush spirits that enables mask wearers to perform feats all night long. They are then “no longer quite themselves” and display abilities reaching the limit of the human in order to approach that of the bush spirit. For the Bwaba, the bush spirits’ involvement in danced performance primarily signifies that they appreciate the ritual. The character of the mask dance therefore reveals the link that unites humans and bush spirits, the bush spirits’ favourable disposition towards humans, as well as the power that humans draw from them.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative
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series Ateliers d'Anthropologie
spelling doaj-art-67eb1452e3f74329bd9642db2b31b3652025-01-30T13:42:41ZfraLaboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie ComparativeAteliers d'Anthropologie2117-38692021-07-015010.4000/ateliers.14799Sumbo yoro sé !Camille DevineauIn Burkina Faso, the character of the Bwaba griots’ mask dance, the sumbopwa, shows the influence of bush spirits—invisible entities—over humans. Sumbo yoro se! “The mask dance is good!” This exclamation announces what the Bwaba designate as the “strength” that the dancer’s movements show. This “strength” incudes two complementary aspects: physical strength and the strength given by “the invisible”, namely the bush spirits’ ability to act upon mask wearers, and therefore upon the human world. It is an inspiration received from the bush spirits that enables mask wearers to perform feats all night long. They are then “no longer quite themselves” and display abilities reaching the limit of the human in order to approach that of the bush spirit. For the Bwaba, the bush spirits’ involvement in danced performance primarily signifies that they appreciate the ritual. The character of the mask dance therefore reveals the link that unites humans and bush spirits, the bush spirits’ favourable disposition towards humans, as well as the power that humans draw from them.https://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/14799ritualBurkina FasomasksdanceBwabagriots
spellingShingle Camille Devineau
Sumbo yoro sé !
Ateliers d'Anthropologie
ritual
Burkina Faso
masks
dance
Bwaba
griots
title Sumbo yoro sé !
title_full Sumbo yoro sé !
title_fullStr Sumbo yoro sé !
title_full_unstemmed Sumbo yoro sé !
title_short Sumbo yoro sé !
title_sort sumbo yoro se
topic ritual
Burkina Faso
masks
dance
Bwaba
griots
url https://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/14799
work_keys_str_mv AT camilledevineau sumboyorose