Body mask "ndimu"

Description

light wood, reddish brown patina, showing the body of a pregnant woman in a nearly naturalistic way, incised scarification marks, rep., dam., traces of abrasion;
the female body mask was used at initiation rites. It was part of the costume of a “ndimu” mask dancer, called “amwalin-dembo”, depicting a pregnant woman. It was always worn by a male dancer and was supplemented by a face mask. The dance demonstrated the pain of giving birth.

Comparing literature