Ciwara crest mask

These masks are associated with the Ciwara initiation society. They preside over rituals associated with agriculture, encouraging farmers in their work and fueling competition between them, and they dance in male-female couples to celebrate the power of the sun and its beneficial effects on the earth. Though Chiwara is a male society, it allows women to participate in certain rituals and share in the consumption of sacrificial meat. The mask dance in pairs of a male and female antelope.