Imposant masque "sachihongo"
Description
wood, brown patina, red pigment, extremely broad in shape, characteristic features: eyebrows in concentrical grooves, vertical forehead/nose ridge, bulging cheeks, slightly dam. (nose), missing parts along the rim and backside, cracks (right eye), abrasion of paint;
“sachihongo” has been described as the incarnation of a hunter and/or diviner, but probably represents a chiefly ancestral character. The masks appear after the circumcision of young boys, during times of convalescence in the bush camps. The mask is completed by a crown of feathers, fiber beard and a net suit, made of the fibers of the “mushamba” tree.