Masque anthropomorphe de la société secrète du "nyau"
Peter Willborg, Stockholm, Sweden
Description
wood, paint (in several layers), silver coloured pigment, nails, abrasion of paint (repainted), insect caused damage, base
Animal-like and expressive, fearsome human masks like the present one appear in dances (e.g. “gule wamkulu”) of the “nyau” secret society.
These dances primarily took place during initiation rites and funeral ceremonies, in times of transition and transformation. The masks should accompany and ensure the transition of boys and girls into adulthood and the transition from the living to the world of the dead.
The mask dances also served educational purposes. They presented human vices and passions with the aim of making virtues recognizable to the viewer through vices. Dedicated to the logic of such a pedagogical ethos, the design of the masks was designed to appear ghastly and terrifying (“oiepa”).
The photo shows the mask characters “tsekula zipi” and “tseka pa lisani”. In this particular incarnation, “tseka” is created using the large puppet head of “Alf”, a character from a popular American children’s television show. Both mask characters are related to the educational aspect of the mask performances of the “nyau society”. “Tsekula zipi” portrays a foolish philander, constantly pursuing the women of the village - “tseka pa lisani” demonstrates that one should be modest and not parade ones sexual desires in public.
Littérature comparée
Wendl, Tobias (Hg.), Africa screams, Bayreuth 2004, p. 115 ff. Peter Probst, Picture Dance, Reflections of Nyau Image and Experience, in: T. Förster & G. Spittler (Hg.), Iwalewa Forum, I/2000, p. 17-33Publications
AHDRC: 0170802