Rare horned mask "zuom" of the "beete" cult, early 20th century

wood, red and black paint, kaolin, rest., water stains

The Kwele are an ethnic group residing along the borderlands of Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon. This was a region famed for its harsh climate and had been notoriously difficult to access. The first ethnographic fieldwork carried out here did not take place until the early 1960s. Around the same time, the first masks of the Kwele appeared on the African art market. They are amongst the rarest and most sought after masks in the spectrum of classic African Art.

This mask captivates with its elegant design, reduced to the essential. The curved horns repeat the heart shape of the face - the facial features are reduced to narrow slit eyes and a triangular flattened nose.

It is a forest buffalo - mask "zuom", which belongs to the mask genre of "ekuk" masks. "Ekuk" or "things of the forest" embody benevolent forest spirits and act as intermediaries between the forest and the village. "Ekuk" masks also take the form of rams "bata" or antelopes.

The masks show human faces in combination with horns. The faces are usually painted in white kaolin earth, a pigment associated by the Kwele with light and clarity, the two essential factors in the fight against evil.

The Kwele believe in witchcraft and blame all their personal and social ills on its influence. They protect themselves against the power of witchcraft with the "beete" ritual.

The "beete" ritual, which lasted for a week, would open with the departure of men into the forest to hunt antelope, whose flesh, seasoned with medicines, had to be eaten at a meal at the closing ceremony. During the hunt, women and children stayed in the village; after one or two days, "ekuk" masks would leave the forest, enter the village, and invite the people to come dance and sing.

The function of the "ekuk" masks was to "warm up" the village atmosphere in order to activate the beneficial forces (of the ancestors). The masks were kept near relics (skulls of important deceased family members) to absorb their positive powers.

Another "zuom" mask collected in situ (probably) by Philippe Guimiot in 1965, published in AHDRC 0048509.