Helmet mask "sowei" of the "bundu" society ·  Sierra Leone, Mende · ID: 3036505

Description

wood, matt blackish brown patina, metal applications, characteristic form: cylindrical, with a compressed diamond-shaped face and voluminous neck rolls, five-parted coiffure with elaborate decor, slightly dam., minor missing parts (chin, coiffure), drilled holes around the rim partly broken out, abrasion of paint, fine cracks;
“sowei” masks are commissioned and worn by women, although carved by men. They are associated with the education and socialization of young females, and their excision ceremonies are supervised by the “bundu” or “sande” societies. Senior women wear these masks at the termination of initiation ceremonies in order to embody their patron spirit a persona of fecundity and grace, known as “sowei”.