Beautiful female face mask "okuyi" or "mukuyi" · Gabon, Punu · ID: 3052075
Werner & Lotte Krause, Hamburg, Germany (1983)
Description
wood, white clay (“pemba”), rest., collection no. “249”
The white masks of the Punu from Southern Gabon have become one of the emblematic images of African arts since the end of the 19th century.
The “okuyi” dance, which gave its name to these masks, brought the community together for major events: during the funerals of its most important members, at the birth of twins, at the initiation of young men, and to restore social order after a crisis in the community. The “okuyi” dancer, accompanied with his acolytes, danced through the village on high stilts provoking people with acrobatic stunts.
“Okuyi” invoked spirits from the underworld that were incarnated as a “beautiful young girl”. Her appearance was idealised in an exquisitely carved mask.