Songye Panel Mask

This fine old panel mask , from the Songye culture located in the Congo, has roots in many ancient secret societies.  Old dry wood.

Wood: 70 cm (27.56 inches)  high Large: 18.5 cm (7.28 inches)

Price  not available anymore                Information: 

Add Songye Panel to Cart - availability request

It was used to decorate the  initiations room.The Songye, traditionally from the South-Eastern part of Congo, inhabit an area shared with the Luba, another ethnic group that shares a common ancestry. Through these two ethnic groups, a secret society emerged; the Bwadi Bwa, a secret society entrusted with upholding societal norms and behaviors for the whole of society.

The line patterns are to remember the labyrinth path during the Bukishi intiation.

The Kifwebe ("Mask", plural Bifwebe), in crucial in the Bwadi Bwa ceremony. This mask is female, as evident of the flat crest from the nose to the back of the head. The female mask is always more seldom than the male ones. The full size masks are worn by a male that would dance around, threatening other members of the tribe into behaving according to Songye principles.

Bibliography used for this description

Phillips, Tom. Africa: The Art of a Continent (African Art) (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1995), 281-284  ~ Tom Phillips

History of Art in Africa, A (2nd Edition)Visona, Monica.  (Upper Saddle Creek, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 367-371, 411-413

Visual Arts of Africa: Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals ~ Judith Perani: Gender, Power and Life Cycle Rituals. (Upper Saddle Creek, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998), 253-254, 245-248

Hersak, Dunya. "Songye: Mask and Masquerade." Grove Art Online (2008) Songye Masks and Figure Sculpture  

Spirits Speak: A Celebration of African Masks ~ Peter Stepan. (New York: Prestel Publishing, 2005), 176,178

Neighboring Peoples: Luba, Luba Kasai, Sungu, Tetela, Mputu, Luntu, Binji, Kaniok, Kusu

The mask itself has large striations around the whole of the mask- representing the stripes on an antelope. The mouth represents the beak of a bird, and the eyes represent crocodiles. The striations above the eyes are symbolic of the Songye's belief in the "fundamental pair", the first two humans that God placed on the Earth. The horizontal-like striations below the eyes are also symbolic of the cave where these two humans were first created.

Price  not available anymore      click on thumbs to enlarge       
H: 70cm  Quite old and beautiful Songye panel mask with a dry patina. These panels usually fetch high prices.   Information:  Add Songye Panel to Cart - availability request