Very rare leather mask
Description
hide, pigment, base
Lega masks made of animal skin are extremely rare. A comparable object formerly Jef Vanderstraete, published in Biebuyck, 2002, p. 115, cat. 60.
According to Biebuyck, a connection with the secret face masks of the “elanda” association is conceivable, an institution of the neighbouring Bembe shared by only a few eastern Lega groups (cf. Felix, 2016, cat. 292).
These leather masks were originally decorated with feathers, and sometimes a set of porcupine quills. They were “highly secret” and used by high-ranking initiates of the “elanda” association, worn over their faces and only seen through a wall of the initiation house.
Their roles were different from that of Bwami masks: they “transformed the wearer into a spiritual being to amplify the social control functions vested in him.