Helmet mask "sowei" ·  Sierra Leone, Mendé · ID: 3032659

Description

light brown wood, matt black patina, elaborate coiffure with five vertically protruding screw-shaped plaits held together by a ribbon decorated with badges, min. dam., minor missing parts, traces of insect caused damage;
“sowei” masks are commissioned and worn by women, although carved by men. They are associated with the education and socialization of young females, and their excision ceremonies are supervised by the “bundu” or “sande” societies. Senior woman wear these masks at the termination of initiation ceremonies in order to embody their patron spirit a persona of fecundity and grace, known as “sowei”.