IMAGE DETAILS

Claes Gallery

Songye Mask
Democratic Republic of Congo, Katanga
Presumed period: end of the 19th century - early 20th century
Wood, pigments
H 31.8 cm
Provenance: acquired in situ by John Henry (aka Jack) Sandground in Ebombo, 1934; passed on to descendants; American private collection, Washington

Among Songye masks, a general distinction was made in reference to the function of male and female masks. Male masks (bifwebebalume) took part in rites of passage. On the other hand, female masks (bifwebe bakashi), which appeared on the occasion of the death or investiture of a chief and during lunar rites, were an integral part of the symbolic composition of these rituals, animating benevolent spiritual forces through dance.

This mask is a female ‘kikashi’ mask, as indicated by the two-tone white and black, the absence of a sagittal crest and the flat nose. According to Plasmans, ‘the female kifwebe animates the vital forces through dance, calling upon the benevolent spirits of the forest. The woman, as the bearer of children and thus of good fortune, perpetuates the lineage and simultaneously also the magical essence of buci. In this way, female masks represent the continuity of life and cultural tradition. The presence of the passive female mask in the composition of bwadi society accentuates and completes the dialectical opposition of the active force of the male masks'.