Mask ensemble of face and body mask · Mozambique, Makonde · ID: 3048665
sold
EUR 2,000
Provenance
Hilde & Lavuun Quackelbeen, Sint-Martens-Latem, BelgiumSize
H: 21 cm & 53 cm
H: 8.3 inch & 20.9 inch
Description
wood, paint, beeswax, human hair, mounted on base
The initiation celebrations of the Makonde, which accompanied the entry into adult life, included feasts, dances and the performances of the “midimu” ghost dancers (sing. “ndimu”).
Female body masks were part of the clothing of a special “ndimu” mask dancer called “amwalindembo”, who was supposed to be a young pregnant woman.
The body masks were always worn by a male dancer masked with a matching female face mask. The “amwalindembo” performed a quiet dignified dance to demonstrate the pain of giving birth.
Comparing literature
Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 175