Nafali

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A masker described by Alldridge as the herald of Gbini (q.v.), but which seems in more recent times to be viewed simply as a source of entertainment. The headpiece is a cloth-covered wicker frame rounded at the top and trimmed with white fur. Typically front and rear surfaces are decorated with a mirror, cowrie shells and coloured strips of cloth. The costume is a loose cloth suit with a raffia cape about the shoulders, a raffia skirt around the waist, and raffia fringes covering the feet.

  • W.Siegmann & J.Perani, '' masquerades of Sierra Leone and Liberia', Ethnologische Zeitschrift Zürich, 1980, 1, 25-40.
  • R.B.Phillips, Representing Woman (Los Angeles 1995), Ch.3.