Mask "mwana phwevo" · Sambia, Luena · ID: 3035397
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Provenance
Jaap Bongers, San Jose, USA (collected in situ)Description
wood, light brown patina, incised tattoos, rattan frame for a plant fibre bonnet/coiffure, paint rubbed off, missing part at the chin, crack (on the upper rim), metal socle;
various ethnical groups in the area of the upper Sambesi and the southern Kasai area use the “mwana phwevo” mask type. It’s name, “young woman” refers to a mythological female person, who died young, and whose painful loss should be recalled by the masquerade. The masks were danced by men and appear on various festive occasions in order to amuse the village people, especially women, with their charming dances.