Beautiful helmet mask "bundu" or "sowei" ·  Sierra Leone, Mende · ID: 3044094

Description

wood, base

In subsaharian Africa only men are normally permitted on ritual occasions to wear wooden masks. These black helmet masks, however, are worn exclusively by women belonging to the “sande” women’s society.

The mask presents an ideal of feminine beauty admired by the Mende: elaborate hairstyle, full forehead and small facial features. The gleaming surface signifies healthy glowy skin. The swelling fleshy rolls at the neck or back of the head are considered marks of beauty and a promise of fecundity.

Sande officials commission male carvers to produce the mask in secret. The surface is smoothed with the rough leaves of the ficus tree, then dyed black with a concoction made of leaves.

Publications

AHDRC: 0153628