DAN STYLE SPOONS, Liberia

The spoons above show little or no evidence of age or use and were probably made to be sold.

Large ceremonial ladles are carved to honor a particular Dan woman from each village quarter who has distinguished herself among her fellow women by generosity and hospitality. At special feasts, she dances with the ladle and directs the distribution of rice to those assembled. An elderly honoree passes the ladle and the honor on to the one she sees fit as a successor.