Mask "midimu" ·  Mozambique, Makonde · ID: 3036939

Description

wood, brown patina, asymmetrical facial features with incised eye brows and -lashes, framed by loop-shaped ears, coiffure and beard made from real hair (partly missing), remains of fabric at the back, pierced around the rim, min. dam., traces of abrasion, base;
the “midimu” (“spirit”) masks appeared at the end of circumcision rites, when the young boys and girls returned from the bush camps. The masquerades fulfilled ritual as well as educational functions.