Face mask "eluba" or "emangungu" · D. R. Congo, Bembe · ID: 3052607
Not available anymore
Provenance
Belgian Private CollectionSize
H: 67,5 cm
H: 26.6 inch
Description
wood, pigments, rest.
Present mask type is used at circumcision rites by the “butende bwa eluba” society. The eyes should remind on an owl, which is said to have close connections to the spirits of nature.
“Eluba" is worn by initiated boys when, during the period of seclusion, they roam through the village to beg for food.
The object Face mask “eluba” or “emangungu” with the object ID 3052607 was last part of the auction Auction 105 at November 15, 2025 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 341.
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Comparing literature
Herreman, Frank & Constantijn Petridis (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p. 184 f.