African Tribal Art - Songye Mask

Belgian private collection.

This Kifwebe mask, also known as "chasing death" according to Roberts, has three distinct variations within the society of the same name: the masculine (kilume) with a generally high crest, the feminine (kikashi) with a crest very low or absent, and the largest, symbolizing power (kia ndoshi). These masks, still in use today, probably come from the region between the Luba of the north and the Songye of the southeast. During important ceremonies, a Kifwebe dancer in trance ("bwadi") wears them, accompanied by a long braided costume and a natural fiber adornment attached around the mask. The Songye, originally from the Shaba region in the DRC, settled along the Lualaba River, between savannah and forests. They are led by the yakitengé and local chiefs, although their power is counterbalanced by the Bwami secret society. Male masks, endowed with occult powers, were used during punitive and disciplinary expeditions.

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