Mask "kifwebe"
Swiss Private Collection
Description
wood, brown patina, black and white pigment, typical box form and characteristic band decor, cantilevered crest, protruding rectangular mouth, drilled holes around the rim for attachment of a net-like costume, in the chin area in two rows for fixing an abundant grass fibre beard, slightly dam., minor missing parts, crack (right eye), rep. (mouth, right eye);
the “kifwebe” represents a spirit being and it belongs to the association which bears the same name, “bwadi ka bifwebe”. There are many kinds of “kifwebe” as well as differing appearances depending upon the function and the region in each case. According to J. W. Mestach one must distinguish three “kifwebe” of the “classical style”: the male “kifwebe” “kilume”, the female type “kikashi” and the most powerful of all, the “kifwebe kia ndoshi”, which is charged with magic. The latter emerged alone, often during the evening and for special reasons (e. g. healing), whereas the other two, “kilume” and “kikashi”, appeared in pairs or in a group, frequently on the occasion of general merrymaking. This is why the local people answered the questions of explorers and ethnographers with the reply that “kifwebe” was a game. The linear patterns of the mask are said to allude to history, power, and a constellation of other esoteric meanings.