Authentic SONGYE Bifwebe Female Mask price request

Description

Male Bukishi associations, clouded in secrecy, yielded political and mystical power revealed through their masks, known as Kifwebe (singular) and Bifwebe (plural). Female masks, primarily white, are restrained and elegant with striated surfaces. Their function was to awaken and honor benevolent spirits.

Audaciously shaped and highly symbolic, Songye Kifebwe masks are part of the regalia of the powerful Bukishi society. The power of the masks is directed towards issues of social control, justice and the continuity of the established political hierarchy and the dances in which the masks appear are characterized by otherworldly sounds and lively movements.

Kifebwe initiates learn the various hidden names of each part of the mask such as the nose which may be referred to as “the doors to a furnace”. Male and female masks, all worn by men, are distinguished by form and coloration. The male version possesses highly exaggerated features and a prominent crest whereas the female masks are generally white with a low or almost nonexistent crest.

 Songye Bikashi kifwebe, Democratic Republic of Congo, female mask with woven fibre backing and horn with bird feathers, with protruding butterfly shaped mouths, painted in black & white pigments, 47 cm

Excellent This mask has been vetted as being authentic with some signs of tribal use..

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