Mask "mbuya"

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Description

wood, coated with a thick layer of camwood powder, dark brown patina, elaborate raffia bast bonnet, characteristic: horizontal brows and eyes with nearly closed lids, incised tattoos on the cheeks, slightly dam., minor missing parts;
circumcision and initiation are mandatory for young men and culminate with some maskers representing village character types, in more than 15 different forms, all called “mbuya”: including the mad man “tundu”, the prostitute “ngobo”, the young flirt “gabuku”, the diviner “nganga”, the long-bearded man “kiwoyo-muyombo” and the chief’s mask “phumbu”.

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Comparing literature

Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 499

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