Okuyi Anthropomorphic Mask - Punu/lumbo Culture, Southern Gabon - First Half Of The 20th Century

OKUYI ANTHROPOMORPHIC MASK
Punu/Lumbo culture, southern Gabon
First half of the 20th century
Wood and pigments
H: 30; W: 16 cm
(restored)

It has an apparently serene appearance: its incised eyes are crescent-shaped, and its oval face, pigmented in white, has brow ridges enhanced with brown pigments. Its slender nose has two small nostrils, its lips are finely outlined and coloured red, and its ears are sculpted in relief in a C shape.
The shell-shaped headdress is pigmented black and incised with fine striations, reminiscent of the braided hair of the Punus.
A large ruff adorns the edge of the mask. It was used to hold fabric or plant fibres in place to conceal the wearer's body.

This type of mask is called Okuyi – also known as Mukuyi or Mukudji in some regions. It refers to ancestral figures. Symbolically, the white kaolin refers to the ancestral link and the world of the dead.
It appears to commemorate the deceased during funeral ceremonies and on full moon nights.
Elevated on stilts, the dancer, the mask itself and its clothing become one. And the three entities form ‘the mask’.

Ref.: 780

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON