THEODORE MONOD MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART OF IFAN
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Built in 1931, it is THE museum of primitive arts of Senegal and even of all West Africa! It is also known as the IFAN (Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire) museum, which is located within the Cheikh Anta Diop University. The permanent collection presents, on the ground floor, pieces from all over the continent: masks of the Diola from Casamance or the Senoufo from Ivory Coast, statuettes of the Bambara from Mali, musical instruments. Dance helmets, clothing, wood, fibre, cowries, raffia, feathers, etc., are also on display. The West may have plundered Africa of its artistic riches to put them in its own museums, but there are still some beautiful pieces to be admired. The originality here: small staging of traditional life, which, far from being kitschy, seem very much alive - the celebration of harvests among the Gourounsi of Burkina Faso, entertainment and social control among the Géré of Côte d'Ivoire, the appeasement of mothers among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the initiation of women among the Mende of Sierra Leone, etc. - are all original. It is a pity that all this is sorely lacking in explanations. On the walls, a few signs give indications on the history and social organization of these different tribes, but in such an austere way that one quickly stalls. Upstairs, more modern temporary exhibitions are organized, often in collaboration with western museums.
