Face Mask (Mwisi gwa so'o)
Wood, dark polish
Size in cm: 28 x 20 x 11
Weight: 600g.
The Hemba people inhibit the region of the Democratic Republic of Congo and are well known for their figurative sculptures of ancestors. Less interest has been devoted to their often extremely stylized chimpanzee masks, which according to modern research are called mwisi gwa so'o (spirit-invested object of the chimpanzee-human). The strange and bizarre appearance of these masks is noted with the broad, narrow and grinning mouth opening, arched brows and sometimes pointy nose which is strongly set off from facial surface. The masqueraders wearing these masks wear a costume made of animal skin and bark cloth in addition with white and black colobus monkey hair. Hemba memorial ceremonies reflect ideas about death and social chaos and stand in diametrical opposition towards an orderly world of living.
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