This singular Dan mask with a bird's beak recalls, in the Western imagination, the masks of the plague doctors.
 
The Dan people, who live in Liberia and Ivory Coast, are largely governed by secret societies.
The "Leopard Society" acts as an important regulator of Dan's life and initiates young men to their social roles.
Famous for their masks, the Dan believe that spirits, known as "Du", live in the forests and manifest themselves to men through masks, educating and supporting every stage of Dan community life.
 
It is said that these particular masks with rapacious features represent the spirits of the forest, called to establish order, destined to exercise a certain social control and to fight the forces of evil.