Gurunsi Masks: Seven Peoples United Under a Name Their Rivals Gave Them
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Most tribal names documented in this book come from within: a people’s own word for itself. Gurunsi is different. It is a collective term covering the Gurensi, Kasena, Lyele, Nuna, Nunuma, Sisala, and Winiama, roughly 200,000 people in Burkina Faso and Ghana who speak dialects of the Gur language. It was the Mossi, their more powerful neighbors, who gave the Gurunsi name to the tribes living west and south of the Mossi plateau. That naming, an entire regional identity defined from outside by the people who once dominated the area, is the throughline worth carrying through this piece. It also means this article sits alongside a closer look already published on this site at the Nuna, the largest of the seven Gurunsi peoples, whose own masking tradition is one thread inside this wider, externally-named whole.
A Name Given by Outsiders
Gurunsi is a collective term that includes the Gurensi, Kasena, Lyele, Nuna, Nunuma, Sisala, and Winiama, ethnicities that speak dialects of the Gur language. It was the Mossi who gave the Gurunsi name to the tribes living in the west and south of the Mossi plateau. Together these groups number about 200,000 people, the most numerous of which are the Nuna, estimated at 100,000.
Life on the Mossi Plateau’s Edge
The Gurunsi live in a region where the tsetse fly, carrier of sleeping sickness fatal to domestic animals, is rampant. As farmers, they adopted the slash-and-burn system of cultivation, and during the dry season they also organize large collective fishing expeditions and hunts. The Gurunsi believe in a creator god, Yi, who withdrew from humankind after Creation; a shrine at the center of the village is dedicated to him, and each clan shelters magic objects in a hut that allow it to communicate with the vital forces of nature.
Masks of the Bush Spirits
Gurunsi masks represent the spirits of the bush. They are made in the shape of poles or in the form of animals, and colored red, black, and white. The eyes protrude, surrounded by concentric circles, with a rather short snout on the animal masks and a large, protruding mouth on the more abstract ones. The masks are decorated with geometric motifs and are often repainted. The wearer may be invisible beneath a fiber skirt and must behave as the animal does, imitating its gait. The mask’s role is important during ceremonies at the end of initiation, at the funerals of notables, and as entertainment on certain market days. Gurunsi statues, by contrast, are kept inside huts or on family shrines and are reserved for divination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “Gurunsi” mean?
Gurunsi is a collective term given by the neighboring Mossi to a group of ethnicities, including the Gurensi, Kasena, Lyele, Nuna, Nunuma, Sisala, and Winiama, living west and south of the Mossi plateau.
Which is the largest Gurunsi ethnic group?
The Nuna are the largest, estimated at 100,000 people out of roughly 200,000 Gurunsi overall.
What do Gurunsi masks represent?
Gurunsi masks represent the spirits of the bush, made in the shape of poles or animals and colored red, black, and white.
When are Gurunsi masks used?
They appear at ceremonies marking the end of initiation, at the funerals of notables, and as entertainment on certain market days.
See also: Nuna Masks: Animal Spirits Repainted Every Year to Keep the Wilderness Close · Mossi Masks: What the Conquered People Kept When the Rulers Took the Statues · African Masks by Region and Tribe
