Big mask "sachihongo" · Zambia, Mbunda · ID: 3043050
not available anymore
Size
H: 48 cm
H: 18.9 inch
Description
light brown wood, polychrome paint, characteristic features: eyebrows in concentrical grooves, accentuated cheeks, open mouth with visible teeth, min. dam., missing parts, cracks, paint rubbed off in parts, base.
“Sachihongo” has been described as the incarnation of a hunter and/or diviner, but probably represents a chiefly ancestral character. The masks appear after the circumcision of young boys, during times of convalescence in the bush camps. The mask is completed by a crown of feathers, fiber beard and a net suit, made of the fibers of the “mushamba” tree.
Comparing literature
Felix, Marc L. & Manuel Jordan, Makishi Lya Zambia, München 1998, p. 223 ff.