REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
YEAR PRINTED: 1977
VALUE: 0.07 zaire
This stamp was issued by the government of Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1977 as one of a set of six celebrating the dance masks of the region. This stamp depicts a mwana pwo mask of the Chokwe people.
REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
YEAR PRINTED: 1977
VALUE: 0.05 zaire
This stamp was issued by the government of Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1977 as one of a set of six celebrating the dance masks of the region. This stamp depicts a mwana pwo mask of the Chokwe people.
REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo)
YEAR PRINTED: 1948
VALUE: 100 francs
This stamp was issued by the Belgian colonial government in Congo in 1948. It depicts the bwoom mask of the Kuba people, used during funeral ceremonies.
REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo)
YEAR PRINTED: 1948
VALUE: 50 francs
This stamp was issued by the Belgian colonial government in Congo in 1948. It depicts the pwoom itok mask of the Kuba people, used during adult initiation rituals for boys.
REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo)
YEAR PRINTED: 1948
VALUE: 20 francs
This stamp was issued by the Belgian colonial government in Congo in 1948. It depicts the bwoom mask of the Kuba people, used during funeral ceremonies.
REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo)
YEAR PRINTED: 1948
VALUE: 10 francs
This stamp was issued by the Belgian colonial government in Congo in 1948. It depicts the pwoom itok mask of the Kuba people, used during adult initiation rituals for boys.
TITLE: Chokwe Mwana Pwo
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Congo, Dem. Rep. of
ETHNICITY: Chokwe
DESCRIPTION: Mwana Pwo (Young Woman) Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCD010
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Entertainment; Spirit Invocation
AGE: ca. late 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton netting
The populous Chokwe people of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia are known as some of the most skilled wood carvers in Africa. They resisted colonization far longer than most peoples of the region, despite repeated incursions by the Portuguese and other Europeans.
The Chokwe use masks in many contexts. The mwana pwo (young woman) mask invokes the spirit of a female ancestor in her most beautiful youth. The dark skin, decorative forehead and cheek scars, high forehead, narrow nose, and filed teeth represent the idealized Chokwe female. The mwana pwo is mostly danced for purposes for entertainment at festivals, but it is thought to increase the fertility of the women who attend.
TITLE: Kuba Pwoom Itok
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Democratic Republic of Congo
ETHNICITY: Kuba
DESCRIPTION: Pwoom Itok Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCD004
MAKER: Unknown maker in the Kasai River region
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Status
AGE: 1950s-1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: natural pigments
The Kuba people inhabit the area south of the Kasai River. Although the Kuba have some two dozen mask types, those still in use today are mostly the three royal masks, whose use is reserved to those given permission by the quasi-divine king (nyimi). These are danced mainly as a form of entertainment reinforcing the status of the royalty and at chiefly funerals. The adult initiation (mukanda) masks are now rarely used in Kuba society.
What the pwoom itok mask represents remains a matter of some speculation, but it may have originally meant to depict a wise elder. The mask is used at the adult initiation rituals of boys. It would be worn with a cane, cloth, and feather headdress, and a cloth suit covered in cowrie shells to indicate high rank.
TITLE: Lega Muminia Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Congo, Democratic Republic of
ETHNICITY: Lega
DESCRIPTION: Muminia Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCD014
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Bwami Society
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation; Secret Society; Status
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay
The Lega people of the Democratic Republic of Congo use masks in a very wide variety of ways, but primarily for initiation into adulthood and to confirm status. The Bwami Society exercises authority over many aspects of social and religious life, including initiation. All Lega masks are therefore Bwami Society masks. Small masks (lukwakongo) are used for identification and worn on the body or are hung on a fence to represent children of the ancestors. Larger masks, such as this muminia mask, are worn on the face or top of the head. The word muminia means “necessary for initiation” and is worn by both the lowest grade members of the Bwami Society and the two highest ranks (Yananio and Kindi).
For more on Lega masking traditions, see Daniel Biebuyck, Lega Culture: Art, Initiation, and Moral Philosophy among a Central African People (University of California Press, 1973).
TITLE: Yombe Nganga Diphomba Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Congo, Dem. Rep. of
ETHNICITY: Kongo (Yombe)
DESCRIPTION: Female Nganga Diphomba (Diviner) mask
CATALOG ID: AFCD020
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Divination; Secret Society; Social Control
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay; pigment; glass
The Kongo (or Bakongo) is a populous nation historically inhabiting the west coast of central Africa, now confined to the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola. The Kongo maintain an animistic religion based on ancestor cults and worship of the supreme god Nzambi. The Kongo people are divided into several subethnicities, including Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, and the makers of this mask, the Yombe.
The nganga diphomba, or diviner, plays an important role in Yombe society, detecting and punishing sorcery. Most major social ills are attributed to sorcery in Kongo cultures, including drought, crime, and accidents. The society of diviners wears two kinds of masks to identify and punish sorcerers, male (with a beard) and female (with a topknot). Both masks evoke ancestor spirits for the protection fo the diviner. With the mask, they paint their bodies and wear a skirt of turaco feathers and a belt of brass bells. They use their own sorcery (kundu) to detect the culprit and counteract their curses.
Such masks may also be also used by the Khimba Society in adult initiation rituals, probably by the nganga diphomba himself.
For more on Kongo and Yombe masking traditions, see Marc Leo Felix ed., Congo Masks: Masterpieces from Central Africa, Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2018.
