Bwa

The BWA (about 300 000 people) occupy large areas of Mali and Burkina Faso.
The BWA surrounded by the Bobo to the west (Bobo are far more conservative then BWA) and the Gurunsi and Lobi to the south.
BWA life is segmented into three endogamous casts: farmers, smiths, and musicians.

BWA wooden masks represent a number of characters in the myths of their families and clans. Masks represent numerous animals including the antelope, bush bufalo, monkey, bush pig, butterfly or hawks (plank masks). Some of them represent bush spirits that take supernatural forms.
BWA masks - especially the plank masks, tend to be two-dimensional, and do not extend to the back of the head.

The BWA carve abstract masks. The most impressive BWA masks are the great plank masks, named Nwantantay and represent flying spirits from the bush.
The patterns on the mask have meanings known only to initiates: the large X refer to the sacrification marks on the foreheads of initiated men; the checkerboard pattern represents the separation between good and evil, wise from stupid, male from female; the large white crescent on top of the plank denotes the "moon of the masks" that shines during the seasons when the masks perform.