Komo

Komo is one of the senior Bamana initiation societies (ton) — a men-only association under the authority of the blacksmith caste (numuw) that guards a body of esoteric knowledge about the natural world, mortality, and protective sorcery.

Komo objects include the encrusted boli altar-form (a quadruped-like mass of layered organic matter — blood, millet, plant matter — over a wood or armature core), and the long horizontal komo mask: an elongated animal-head, encrusted with sacrificial materials, with horns set far back and small mouth at the front.