Face masks made and used by the Wee peoples of Cte dIvoire and their neighbors perform in a variety of contexts including the settlement of disputes communication of moral messages and warfare While the precise use of this midthcentury mask is unknown its distorted and somewhat aggressive features and beard of spent shotgun shells conform to Wee aesthetic conventions The shotgun being the closest to the powerful and more lethal cannon is used here for its symbolic effect and its metaphoric implications
