Mask "lukungu" · D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3033396
not available anymore
Provenance
Old Colonial Collection PortugalSize
H: 20,5 cm
H: 8.1 inch
Description
ivory, natural grains visible, inset eyes and mouth, tribe-typical circle ornaments with central drilling, drilled holes around the rim (with remains of plant fibre cord), min. dam., fissures through age, on wooden base;
“lukungu” masks belong to members of “bwami”- society who already have reached the highest rank of kindi. “Lukungu” means “skull” and should be a hint that the mask is thought to remind of deceased “kindi” members. At initiation ceremonies they were oiled and then displayed on a kind of fence or attached to bigger “muminia” or “idimu” masks.
Comparing literature
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, p. 93 f. Cameron, Elisabeth L., Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 216 f.