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| Gola Helmet Mask(Gbetu) likely from the Bomi Hills, Liberia |
The Gola Helmet Mask(Gbetu) like that currently on display at the QCC Art Gallery is a Poro men’s society mask, and is quite rare and valuable. Such masks are used to demonstrate the sexual power of men.
Dancers perform with huge raffia costumes that start at a normal height, but then, miraculously, grow to great proportions. This is a purposeful enactment of the male erection process, and its secret lies in telescoping bamboo poles that the dancer conceals. This helmet mask is actually a stylized image of the dance itself, with a head on a long neck over a wide body evoking a towering male phallic spirit.
Although similar head wear is used in rituals among several cultures, the Gola claim that the Gbetu mask originated with them and was copied by others.
