Janusfaced helmet mask "ibulu lya alunga" or "echwaboga" ("echawokaba")
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94th Tribal Art AuctionJanusfaced helmet mask "ibulu lya alunga" or "echwaboga" ("echawokaba")
D. R. Congo, Eastern Bembe
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Alex Arthur, Brussels, Belgium | H: 15.7 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, colour pigments (white and red), missing parts/ insect caused damage
This mask represents a bush spirit "m' ma mwitu" and belongs to the equipment of the "alunga" secret society. It appears at the initiation of new society members and at hunting rites.
For performance in the public it is decorated with a sumptuous headdress of feathers and plant fibre cuff. The masked dancer is covered by a multi-layered costume made of fibres or fabric.
With the eyes of an owl on all sides, this mask has "panoramic vision and keeps the opposing powers of nature (male/female, night/day) in balance and thus preserves harmony".
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 96
Bouttiaux, Anne-Marie, Persona, Masks of Africa, Tervuren 2009, p. 214