carved wood mask african The Nafana people of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana did not form a Bedouin secret society until the last century. It is likely a successor to the Sakrobundi secret society, which was banned by the British because of its job of violently punishing dubious magicians. Bedu society has been blamed for the less sinister function of village cleanup during the annual month-long New Year's celebrations, as well as Thanksgiving and funerals. Bedu itself represents a mythical cow-like animal that, in the Nafana myth, healed a sick child before disappearing into the bushes. Although these carved wood mask african were worn on the face, their extraordinary size required them to be made of relatively light wood.