Tribal Art

Spectacular by the deformation of its features, this mask of the Pende established in upper Kwango is part of the African masks "of illness" Pende Mbangu or Bwala-Bwala . It is associated with epileptic seizures or the result of facial paralysis caused by witchcraft rituals. This comedy mask is completed with a feather hat gifuatu of guinea fowl, coucal or turaco, or the lumbandu, a crown of leaves. It is also often equipped with a hump on the back, thus exaggerating the disabled appearance.
Satin patina.
The western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the eastern people have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters that are difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the chief fumu or ufumu, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the jester, tundu, the possessed, etc... (Art and Life in Africa, C.D. Roy; " Hang" Strother)