page_title: Krahn people
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Krahn people / Culture / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Mask, Krahn peoples, Liberia, Late 19th century, Wood National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC Español: Máscara del puebl Krahn, Liberia, finales del siglo XIX; madera. (Museo Nacional de Arte Africano) Français&#160;: Masque en bois du peuple Krahn (Libéria, fin du 19ème siècle) - National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC
context_page_description: The Krahn are an ethnic group of Liberia and Ivory Coast. This group belongs to the Kru language family and its people are sometimes referred to as the Wee, Guéré, Sapo, or Wobe. It is likely that Western contact with the Kru language is the primary reason for the development of these different names.
context_section_description: Many Krahn people believe that objects have spirits or souls (animism). The Wee of Ivory Coast also believe that the natural world is made up of "bush spirits." These spirits are part of the world untouched by man, and the Wee believe that keeping these spirits appeased is vital to the health of the tribe. Whenever new land requires cultivating for fields or expansion, or when tribesmen needed to venture outside the village, it becomes necessary to make offerings to the spirits. It is further believed that the bush spirits take corporeal form in order to interact with the villagers and participate in ceremonies.
  The Wee believe that the bush spirits can communicate with humans through dreams, often demanding ceremonial masks be created in their honor in either male or female form. These masks then serve a variety of functions, ranging from ritual ceremonies, entertainment, and focal points in moral stories to judicial and political controls. Typically, female masks are viewed as less imposing and more beautiful than male masks and are in turn used more for ritual and entertainment purposes, while the male masks are often more ferocious-looking and used in sociopolitical contexts. All Wee masks are believed to deflect sorcery, and many undergo shifts in their primary function during their lifetime.
caption: A Krahn mask on exhibit at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC[16]
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