What does the Songye mask represent?
What does the Songye mask represent?
In the Songye language, a mask is a kifwebe: this term has been given to masks representing spirits and characterized by striations. The kifwebe masks embodied supernatural forces. The kifwebe society used them to ward off disaster or any threat.
Where is the Songye tribe located?
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Songye people, sometimes written Songe, are a Bantu ethnic group from the central Democratic Republic of the Congo. They inhabit a vast territory between the Sankuru and Lubilash rivers in the west and the Lualaba River in the east.
What is a Luba mask?
The kifwebe mask (plural bifwebe) is made by both the Luba and the Songye cultures of Central Africa. Among the Luba, the hemispherical masks represent the female spirits, while the elongated masks represent the male spirits.
Where do the Luba live?
the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Luba people or Baluba are an ethno-linguistic group indigenous to the south-central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of them live in this country, residing mainly in its Katanga, Kasai and Maniema.
How was the Luba mask used?
Their masks share a similar characteristic as that of the Songye tribe and are also known as the Kifwebe. They used the masks for dances, lunar ceremonies or plays as artists hold a special place in the Luba tribe.
What does Luba mean in English?
Luba means “love” (from Old Slavic “ljuba”).
How many people speak Luba?
An eastern dialect is spoken by the Luba people of the East Kasai Region and a western dialect by the Lulua people of the West Kasai Region. The total number of speakers was estimated at 6.3 million in 1991….Luba-Kasai language.
| Luba-Kasai | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Baluba-Kasai (Bena-kasai) |
| Native speakers | (6.3 million Cilubaphones cited 1991) |
How are Mossi masks like Dogon masks?
In the Yatenga style area, Mossi masks are vertically oriented, with concave, oval facial areas bisected by a vertical ridge. The most striking style difference between the Mossi and the Dogon is the rectangular face of Dogon masks and the oval or round face of Mossi masks.
What is the religion of the Luba?
Luba traditional religion is based on veneration of ancestors and paying tributes to sprits. Traditional Luba political structure heavily incorporates these religious notions as the mulopwe (King) was believed to be an important medium of communication between ancestors and mankind.
