Standing female figure, before 1920
· Mozambique, Makonde
·
ID: 3045603
Description
wood, rest.
The face shows strong Negroid features, as they are characteristic for the well-known “lipiko” helmet masks of the Makonde. For example, the profile with receding cranium or the extremely full lips, which show an exaggerated naturalism.
According to legend, shortly after the Creation, the first man sculpted a female figure out of wood, and the statue became a real woman who gave him many children and, after her death, became the venerated ancestress of the Makonde.
The female ancestors, who were revered as life-giving and protective spirits, were represented by carvings of light wood and kept in the huts of the family associations. Sometimes the figures were used for educational purposes during the initiation of girls and boys where they functioned as teaching tools.