Tribal Art

Neighbours of the Yaka, Nkanu and Kongo in the west of the former Zaire, on the border of Angola, the Zombo fear, like the Kongo clans, the god named Nzambi. Their soothsayers use fetishes similar to those of the Kongo, but the ceremonies associated with the initiation rites stem from Yaka traditions. Fetish sculptures are used by ngangas to protect against evil, heal or cause luck, wealth and fertility. Men's circumcision ceremonies nzo longo are accompanied by masked dances. These rituals take place around the retreat of young people, during several months, during which the necessities of social, village and religious life will be taught to them. This mask, topped with a curved tubular growth evoking a horn, is divided into contrasting colour zones. A small rounded mouth also protrudes. ...

Very diverse depending on the region, Luba art has been expressed through a sculpture often imbued with serenity. Essentially from the banks of the Lualaba River, areas around Lake Upemba, and eastern Rep. Democratic of Congo, this tribal art aimed to strengthen the political power of the leaders, to enhance the royalty and to remember the Luba epic. Throughout their migration, the Luba were in contact with various groups that influenced their style, including the Songye. We can indeed recognize certain songye characters, including the morphology of the eyes, on this large bleached mask whose origin remains unclear. Among the Luba, it is the initiation ceremonies that essentially allow masked demonstrations. The kaolin whose female-type mask is coated is associated with the divine, the ...

The copper mask ngongo munene , which could not be seen by women and children, participates in ancestor cults, rites of passage, and major funeral ceremonies. Originally tukongo rosette motifs, depicting the scarifications found on the lwalwa masks also used by the group, adorn this mask embodying the leader. The mask is then protected in a carpet and kept by dignitaries in a particular hut.

Highte: 50 cm.
Originally established on the east bank of the Lulua River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they were driven out by the lulua expansion to Kasai, around Tsishenge, among the Tschokwe. These descendants of the Tukongo are also very close to the Lwalwa with whom they would have common ancestors. Mainly farmers, they grow cassava, peas, maize and yam. They also live ...

A variant of the African mask Newenka of the Bobo Fing, also borrowing features from the mask kellé , it is characterized by a hyena head topped by a stylized ridge patterned by birds. This type of mask was worn exclusively by members of the blacksmith caste, during mourning ceremonies, to accompany the deceased to his ultimate residence, the volta. By the time the mask's eyes were hollowed out, always starting with the left eye, the spiritual incarnation came to life in the room. The upper part of the mask would represent the flight of a bird. Locally flaked matte patina, desiccation cracks. Ancient alternating polychrome diamond motifs, as in the Mossi, are faintly visible on the crest.
Mandingos, most of which live in eastern Burkina Faso, but also in southern Mali, the Bobo ...

Rare cephalomorphic mask of the Mangbetu, topped with the traditional hairstyle, and endowed with ears pierced with wide rings. The contours of the base are wrapped with basket rods. The bulge of the nose and upper lip demonstrate the sculptor's mastery. Veined oiled wood with mahogany reflections. Erosions.
The geometric patterns inscribed on this naturalistic male figure evoke the body paintings and tribal scarifications of the Mangbetu, similar to those of the Asua pygmies with whom the tribe had relations. The latter varied depending on the circumstances. The fan hairstyle was sported by the Mangbetu: from an early age, children were compressed from the cranial box by means of raffia ties. Later, the Mangbetu their hair on wicker strands and applied a headband to the forehead to ...

Coll. Belgian tribal art.

The primitive sculptures Lega in African art. This ancient mask with concave eye sockets, painted with circular patterns, has a thick locally chipped crusty patina. The hollowed-out eyes are surrounded by pink ochre. Interesting abrasions of use.
This African Lega mask indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different ranks, and which was joined by the wives whose spouse had reached the third level, that of the ngandu . Within the Lea, the society of the Bwami open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following their exodus from Uganda in the 17th century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the ...

Clean geometry of primitive Lega masks.
This unusual, hypnotic mask juxtaposes three nasal edges separating the eyelids, giving the illusion of three faces. Three mouths indicated by hollowed-out rectangles asymmetrically fill the lower area. This sculpted work indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different grades, and which was joined by the wives whose spouse had reached the third level, that of the ngandu. Beautiful patina of abraded use, mate.
At the Lea, the Bwami society open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following their exodus from Uganda in the 17th century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the Lualaba River ...

Neighbours of the Yaka, Nkanu and Kongo in western Zaire, on the border with Angola, the Zombo fear, like the Kongo clans, the god named Nzambi. Their soothsayers use fetishes similar to those of the Kongo, but the ceremonies associated with the initiation rites stem from Yaka traditions. Fetish sculptures are used by ngangas to protect against evil, heal or cause luck, wealth and fertility. Men's circumcision ceremonies nzo longo are accompanied by masked dances. These rituals take place around the retreat of young people, during several months, during which the necessities of social, village and religious life will be taught to them. This mask, crowned with a frontal crest with feathers, is reminiscent of yaka productions. Facial features, uniformly coated with red ochre pigments, ...

African art among the Songye.


Named Kifwebe or "Boismasque", (plural Bifwebe), the same type of which was produced by both the Luba and Songye, this tribal mask imposes by its masterful dimensions. The term Kifwebe refers to the mask, the mask society, and the mask wearer belonging to the secret male society bwadi bwa kifwebe .
There are three variants: the masculine (kilume) usually with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) with a very low or absent crest, and finally the largest embodying power (kia ndoshi).
Indigenous crack restorations. Patien burn clear abraded.
These African masks have holes on their outline set set shall be used for the most important ceremonies to attach a costume, including a voluminous beard made of natural fibres. The raffia ...

The Bwa would have borrowed from the Gurunsi (Nunuma, Nuni, etc.) this type of mask topped with a plank, embodying the spirits of the bush associated with the founding myths of the different clans. Decorated with a network of geometric patterns, the X of which takes up the scarification inscribed on the insiders' forehead, we can distinguish on this mask ancient traces of polychromy. Always carved in a particularly dense wood, this mask required athletic qualities on the part of the dancer in order to manage to carry it in balance while performing acrobatic feats during funerals or agrarian parties. Abrasions, very slight cracks, kaolin residue.
The African art sculptures of Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements ...

Severy versions of these African masks in the Region of the Banks of the Benoué exist. The groups living there, probably having as common ancestors the Akopo, resorted to frequent exchanges and borrowings. This copy of African art is similar to the models used in the great royal masquerades igala. Established near the Estuary of Niger, speaking a language kwa, the Igala formed a powerful kingdom until colonization that marked its decline by the ban on the holidays and the suicide of the king or ata. Human sacrifices once accompanied these ritual feasts, giving this people a reputation as headhunters. The Igalas have large helmet masks named during ceremonies honoring their king. Other types of helmet masks are released during the festivals of worship egu celerate the spirit of the dead ...

Coll. Belgian African art.
Visage in the heart, bulbous eyeballs housed in concave arches, horizontally incised pupils, this African mask adopts the most common aesthetic criteria in the Lega. Residual, crusty, white clay inlays. This African Lega mask indicated the stage that its holder had reached within the Bwami, a learning society composed of different ranks, and which was joined by the wives whose spouse had reached the third level, that of the ngandu . Satin patien, locally abraded.
At the Lea, the society of the Bwami open to men and women, organized social and political life. There were up to seven levels of initiation, each associated with emblems. Following their exodus from Uganda in the 17th century, the Lega settled on the west bank of the Lualaba River in the ...

This African zoomorphic mask with real horns comes from the Bis sagos Archipelago, which is made up of about 30 islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau. On this massive piece representing a bovine head a nylon string attached to the hollowed-out nostrils goes around the head. A double cord also cents the ringed massive neck, the cords of which meet under the mask. The eyes with glass pupils and the horns are highlighted with animal fur. The mask is painted bright red, the features highlighted in white. This mask participated in traditional ceremonies, usual abrasions, cracks. The mask is worn before or at the end of the initiation ceremonies, by a young initiate. cabaro, which will bend and bend, conveying the idea of a vigorous but still untamed young animal, and the need to go ...

This Songye, kikashi, African mask embodies a positive force. The palpebral, half-closed slits are stretched towards the temples, nose and mouth in rectangular protruding. The reduced naso-frontal crest indicates that it is a female mask. Parallel lines are dug on the pigmented surface of white. Abrasions and cracks are worth noting.
This variants of this mask Kifwebe (pl. Bifwebe) or 'chasing death' (Roberts), from the society of the same name, stand out: the masculine (kilume) usually with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) with a very low crest or absent, and finally the greatest embodying power (kia ndoshi). This type of mask, still used today, appears to come from the border area between the northern Luba and the Southeastern Songye. They are worn by a dancer Kifwebe in a ...

The Yaouré are a subgroup of the Akan people present in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Geographically close to the Baoulé and Gouros, Yaouré art has been subject to the influence of these ethnic groups, which appears through attention to detail and aesthetics. The african art masks Yaouré, or Yauré , whose Baoulé have similar models, are divided into two groups that are difficult to differentiate, the I , sometimes with the addition of coloured pigments, and the lo , usually with dark patina, which intervene during funeral ceremonies or other rite in order to reconcile the favors of the spirits "Yu". The masked dancers Yoouré, Yahouré, were not to be seen by women, it was also forbidden to photograph them.
Mr. Guy Mercier, consultant for the Solvay Group, began collecting a vast ...

This African Fang mask illustrates one of the many stylistic variations of the Fang of the Ngil's Fang justice masks, from a stretched volume in which assertive features confer an austere appearance.
The appearance of these masks, usually coated with kaolin (the white color evokes the power of ancestors), in the middle of the night, could cause dread. This type of mask was used by the male society ngil which no longer exists today. This secret society was in charge of initiations and fought against witchcraft. The ngil was a purifying fire rite symbolized by the gorilla. The wearers of these masks, always in large numbers, appeared at night, lit by torches. Their intervention was also linked to the judicial function by identifying the culprits of the bad deeds within the village. ...

This Yoruba Gelede hem mask combines zoomorphic and human figures in an atypical stage, supported by the cylindrical body of a snake, where the central character adopts a perilous position, relying on the characters that surround it. Abraded multicolored polychrome skate.
The cult Gelede auqel this mask is associated has become a contemporary heritage, based on ancestral traditions: the 'href'"https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/the-heritage-oral-gelede-00002"-Unesco enrolled it in the PCI (Immaterial Cultural Heritage of Humanity) in 2008 .

Regarding the ceremonies of the 'U's 'a'0022nofollowU'0022 href-"https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/the-heritage-oral-gelede-00002"- Gelede , practiced mainly in the Western Yoruba kingdoms, masks are built on the same principle: a face ...

This realistic African mask, made of light light wood, was the preserve of nganga, priest-soothsayer who sought to promote his psychic abilities by taking hallucinogenic substances. The dotted surface refers to ritual paintings. These types of masks were called ngobudi in reference to something appalling, terrifying. The headdress could be the chef's badge of the mpu cap in woven pineapple fibers.
restal satinpatine. Shard on the posterior outline.
These masks, also present in initiation processes, were used by fetishists during healing rituals. At the same time, they were also used to identify individuals who, through their actions, could disturb the harmony of the community. In the 13th century, the Kongo people, led by their king Ne Kongo , settled in a region at the ...

A headdress-free version of the African Igbo Agbogo Mmwo mask borrowing traditional conventions glorifying youth and beauty, this mask features long horizontal incisions featuring eyes, a narrow face and an imposing buzzed nose. Polychrome scarifications and checkered tattoos contrast with the crusty kaolin patina. The white color of the mask refers to ancestral spirits, these masks frequently accompanying the deceased during funeral rites.  Indeed, mmwo means 'spirit of the dead'.
The Igbo live in the forest in southeastern Nigeria. They managed to associate a deep sense of individuality with an equally strong sense of belonging to the group. Their political system is complex and little known. The village is the most important social unit, the smallest being the extended family. ...

Ex-collection French tribal art.
African art of blacksmith craftsmen "numu".
This sculpture with straight lines, clean, has holes at the base of the neck, which allowed it to be fixed by means of raffia ties on the basket hat placed on the head. Mate oiled patina. It would be an animal -genius called Ciwara who would have taught the Bambara to cultivate the land. They recall the myth through the stylized representation of a hippotrague antelope, whose name ci wara means "fauve of the earth".Carried at the top of the skull and held in place by a kind of small basket, these cimiers accompanied the dancers during the rituals of the tun , association dedicated to agricultural work. The masks roamed the field, leaping away from the nyama, evil scents, and detecting any danger, or ...

Three types of African art mask "Kifwebe" (or songye mask) are listed: the masculine (kilume) usually with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) would have a more modest or absent crest, and finally the largest embodying the (kia ndoshi).
The Songye sculptor had a high status within the society bwadi and also produced various objects of pageantry, but also of daily use, cuts, mortars, canes, etc. Also practiced by the Luba, the cult bwadi bwa kifwebe ("masque" in songye) acted as a secret police in favor of power, so as to control individuals through magic. Worn with a long suit and a long beard made of natural fibres, Kifwebe masks also appeared during crucial stages of initiation ceremonies at the new moon. The novice had to pass between the legs of the masked initiator of the ...