Sognye Mask, Male, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. African Mask.

This is a phenomenal male mask come from the Songye people of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.

This one measures 20 x 7 inches.

The following information comes from the Hamill Gallery website:

Male Bukishi associations, clouded in secrecy, yielded political and mystical power revealed through their masks, known as Kifwebe (singular) and Bifwebe (plural). Female masks, primarily white, are restrained and elegant with striated surfaces. Their function was to awaken and honor benevolent spirits.

According to the specialists, Anthropologists and Art Historians, Kifwebe masks (sing.) or Bifwebe (plur.) are differentiated by gender and by their shape and size but also by the basic surface coloration and the decorative design and patterns on the surface. The masks said to represent a female are rarer than masks supposed to depict a male. All of the wearers, of course, are male. Most Songye female masks have a grooved surface that is painted over with white kaolin (pembe or ntoshi), and when the mask is worn repeatedly, this white partially wears off, exposing the natural wood. This exposure heightens the white/brown contrast and reveals the engraved striations. But when a mask is stored in a smoky environment the white surface darkens considerably. A black (tar, or composite resinous material) vertical stripe running from the top of the head, over the nose, and widening at the chin, divides the face in two. The eyes are lidded in black, and dark-red resin or red natural pigment (nkula) (sometimes European paint nowadays) will usually highlight the mouth and sometimes the eyes. When the surface paint has worn of or is soiled the masks are repainted.

Female masks will have no sagittal crest or perhaps a slightly raised flat one.

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