Mourning face mask "okuyi" · Gabon, Punu · ID: 3038934
Bernard Dulon, Paris, France
French Private Collection
Description
wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, corresponding with the Punu ideals of beauty: half-closed eyes, arching eyelids, fine nose, mouth with red lips and indicated teeth, hairdo with central crest and flat lobes aside, facial plane whitened with “pemba” (sightly rubbed off), forehead tattoo, min. dam., missing parts (back, earlobes), cracks, traces of abrasion, base;
“okuyi” masks represent female entities from the spirit world, fantastical beings who intervene in the villages on important collective occasions. Masked dancers standing on stilts would confront each other in “jousts”. Each dancer would be assisted by a team, whose purpose is to help him perform his competition with an acrobatic feat. The best dancer in the eyes of public would win the match.