Headdress in the form of a wooden helmet carved with a female figure seated on an arc on the front of a saggital crest with another in the rear, two semi-circular horns meeting at their tips above two short pointed ears (all the foregoing carved out of a single piece of wood); the entire outside of the helmet covered with cowrie shells; with a woven mat train covered with cloth and cowrie shell borders fringed at the bottom with cotton tassels; a fringe of glass beaded strands decorated with cowrie shells around front; two long strands of cowrie shells on each side. Wurtzburger permanent gallery label text (03.29.13): In the initiation of boys into the association called Poro, the lead singers in one special ceremony wear these headdresses along with long pants, several cloaks, and brass bells on their chests. They carry horsehair fans and leather purses, feathers are attached to the headdress. The horns may refer to the young initiates as "fearful oxen," whom the initiation turns into "panthers." Field photo: T. Foerster, Die Kunst der Senufo, 1988