This mask was made in the Yatenga area of northern Burkino Faso, in the region of the city of Ouahigouya. It was used at funerals, where it honored the deceased. These tall, vertically oriented masks have been used by the Mossi for decades, and have become iconic in Mossi sculpture.

The tall thin plank represents the yaaba soore, or "the path of the ancestors" - a downward path from heaven that all ancestors decended at the time of creation. The plank is maked with red, white, and black graphic patterns, representing the rules the living must obey if they are to recieve the blessing of the dead. Checkerboard patterns represent the importance of learning and understanding and the people's relationship to the spirit worls, while zigzag patterns represent the difficulty in sticking to the yaaba soore.