Dugn'be (bull/ox initiation mask)
Bidjogo zoomorphic cap-mask incorporating real cattle horns, worn by young men during age-grade initiation on the Bissagos archipelago.
The dugn'be is the most widely recognised object category in Bidjogo material culture: a carved wooden cap-mask set with a pair of real cattle horns and worn by initiates during the fanado age-grade progression. The mask is understood to embody bovine power in a ritually controlled form, enabling the initiate to absorb qualities associated with the bull — strength, endurance, and social maturity — through the performance of specific dances under elder supervision. Danielle Gallois Duquette documented the mask's central role in a multi-stage male initiation sequence, emphasising that ownership and activation of the dugn'be are inseparable from the social obligations of the grade.
The art-market significance of the dugn'be is complicated by high reproduction rates since the 1970s. Reproductions typically simulate horn in carved or cast materials, apply pigment in a single layer, and lack the interior wear evidence of a danced piece. Collectors should treat any dugn'be presented without clear pre-1975 provenance documentation as a presumed reproduction pending material examination.