The Art of the Baga Nimba culture: Mask and dance of D'mba

Art is not just paintings and sculptures but a way of thinking and a way of life.
The most important of the Baga art forms is the great mask, D'mba or Nimba.
It represents the mother of fertility, protector of pregnant women, and presides over all
agricultural ceremonies. The dancer, wearing a full raffia costume, carries the mask on his
shoulders, looking out through holes between the breasts. In use, such masks rise more
than eight feet above the ground; they often weigh more than eighty pounds. Most show a
standardized pattern of facial scarification.

" Nimba is the joy of living; it is the promise of abundant harvest"

The Baga Nimba, or D'mba, represents the abstraction of an ideal of the female role in
society. The Nimba is essentailly viewed as the vision of woman at her zenith of power,
beauty, and affective presence; rather than a goddess or spirit. The typical Nimba form
illustrates a woman that has been fertile, given birth to several children, and nurtured
them to adulthood.

Typically, the Baga Nimba's hair is braided into parallel rows (represented by the
scarification on the head) which are similar to the patterns of agriculture grown in West
African fields. The face, and breasts of the Baga Nimba are decorated with scarification,
which embody the ability of the Baga Nimba to alter its condition to the natural
environment. Nimba's presence is exemplified in all aspects if baga life for she is present
publicly at weddings to give direction to the new union; at funerals to initiate the ded;
harvest to celebrate productivity; and planting to inspire her people to continue to
complete difficult tasks. Ultimately, Nimba is a reminder of the reverred qualities which
make up the Baga social system in Baga society.

Although D'mba is not a spiritual being in the Baga sense of the term, nor a deity, she is a being of undeniable spiritual power.
Baga conceive of D'mba as a servant of sorts—inspiring young women with the strength to bear children and raise them
to adulthood, inspiring young men to cooperative excellence in agriculture, and inspiring the ancestors to contribute toward the
continuance of community well-being.. D'mba's flat, pendant breasts are a symbol of motherhood and reveal the selfless dedication with which she has nursed
numerous children to adulthood. Her coiffure consists of intricately braided rows of hair and a high crest down the center. This
hairstyle is not a characteristic of the Baga, but rather one of the Fulbe people, who inhabit the Futa Jallon mountains, where the
Baga ancestors once lived. The coiffure serves as a reminder to the Baga of their origins in the Futa Jallon. The face, neck, and
breasts of the bust are decorated with linear patterns: a horizontal line from the cheek to the ear, a curved line from the ear along
the jawline, a line connecting these two lines, all ending at a circular line that surrounds the entire face. Often on each cheek, just
below the eyes, there are two short carved lines—the mark of Baga ethnicity. Embellishments are sometimes added as well,
including painted wooden ornaments attached to the ear or pendants attached to the nasal septum.