Doing fine on Nimba's Cloud Nine. Luminato performance
old time Baga Nimba Baga is not a shopping bag worn over a dancer's head. Nimba on stage At Friday night's sold-out Toronto premiere of NIMBA , presented as part of the Luminato Festival , the towering Baga Nimba figure emerged on stage like a giant spirit from another world. Costumed as an enormous Mother Nature figure, it even managed to frighten a few children seated near the front of the packed Meridian Arts Centre in North York. The truth is that the Nimba, also known as D'mba, is one of the most important cultural symbols of Guinea. Created by the Baga people, it is a massive shoulder-carried headdress representing fertility, abundance, motherhood, wisdom, and a successful harvest. The dancer carrying the heavy wooden structure is hidden beneath raffia or cloth, with only the carved female figure visible above the crowd. Traditionally, performers look through small openings carved into the mask while balancing the structure on their shoul...
