Painting Bedu

The painting of the Bedu mask is the pivotal moment in its transfer from the bush to the village. Every New Year Bedu is brought back from its camp in the bush and given a 'home' in the village. On its arrival women paint the mask.

Bedu mask is being renewed and 'civilised' with paint

The form given to the Bedu mask can be seen as the scars of its 'domestication' - the wounds inflicted by the male sculptor. The paint applied by the women is the dressing that covers these scars and transforms the appearance of the mask. The colours and designs are not only the marks of its 'civilisation' but also the insignia of its powers.

The three basic colours used are white, red and black, representing God, the earth and the shrines or spirits. Both the colouring agent and the medium determine the meaning of the paint.

Black, white and red pigments are ready to be used, All © Karel Arnaut 1993

Black, white and red pigments are

White is kaolin mixed with water and is said to refer to the rain, the past, the ancestors, God and the sky.

Red is clay or stone dust mixed with egg white. Eggs refer to the sacrifices made for the earth (clay) or for the shrines (red stone dust).

Black made with the ashes of the pods of the nadedigo tree (the preferred habitat of the spirits) refers to the shrines or the spirits. Black made with soot of carbon from old batteries refers to the earth.

Shea butter, the medium of black pigment, also has double meanings: the shea tree is either associated with the earth, or with the dangerous spirits said to inhabit it.

God, the earth and the shrines or spirits are the main forces that determine the lives of people and the well-being of society. By incorporating these three forces, Bedu acts as a mediator between them.