What country is the Chokwe mask from?
What country is the Chokwe mask from?
The Chokwe of Angola use a beautiful mask called Mwana pwo in their initiation ceremonies known as mukanda. Although they are exclusively worn by men, Mwana pwo masks represent female ancestors and emphasize the features that are most admired in young women.
What does the ceremonial mask represent?
They were created to portray ancestors, animals, and mythical heroes in the hopes that the spirit would be pleased and would bless the tribe with protection or good tidings. They were also worn in celebratory circumstances.
Why does the PWO mask have closed eyes?
Her eyes are closed to a narrow opening. The tears that fall from the eyes of the mask symbolize the pain of death that occurs throughout a human’s life.
What is a Chokwe mask?
Mwana pwo (young woman) masks, danced by Chokwe men at festivals primarily for entertainment, are said to bestow increased fertility on the spectators. The masks represent female ancestors depicted as beautiful young women, with high foreheads, balanced features, filed teeth, and scarification.
What was the female PWO mask used for?
Female (pwo) mask, Chokwe peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, early 20th century, wood, plant fiber, pigment, copper alloy, 39.1 cm high (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C.) This mask was made and worn by men, but its purpose is to honor women who have bravely survived childbirth.
What is the significance of masks in African Native American and Pacific Islanders cultures What purpose did these masks have?
Masks serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies with varied purposes like ensuring a good harvest, addressing tribal needs in time of peace or war, or conveying spiritual presences in initiation rituals or burial ceremonies. Some masks represent the spirits of deceased ancestors.
What cultures use ceremonial masks?
In Africa, ritual masks are used in many different ways. In West Africa, they are used in ceremonies which purpose is to communicate with ancestral spirits. They are made out of wood, with great skill and such masks are used in ritual masquerades of Edo, Yoruba and Igbo cultures.
What are Chokwe masks made of?
Highly charged with power and considered sacred, chikunga is used during investiture ceremonies of a chief and sacrifices to the ancestors. These masks are made of barkcloth stretched over an armature of wickerwork, covered over with black resin and painted with red and white designs.
Who wears the elephant mask?
The right to own and wear elephant masks is carefully controlled; only members of royal families, court officials, wealthy title holders, and important warriors are admitted to the Kuosi masking society that wears them.
What is the Chokwe mask made of?
What do African mask represent?
In rituals, African masks represent deities, mythological beasts and gods; metaphors for good and evil, the dead, animals, nature and any other force that is considered more powerful than man himself.
Why are African masks so important?
African masks are used in rituals and ceremonies. They might serve an important role in rituals or ceremonies to ensure a good harvest, address tribal needs in time of peace or war, or convey spiritual presences in initiation rituals or burial ceremonies. Some masks represent the spirits of deceased ancestors.
What is the significance of Chokwe masks?
Chokwe masks are often performed at the celebrations that mark the completion of initiation into adulthood. That occasion also marks the dissolution of the bonds of intimacy between mothers and their sons. The pride and sorrow that event represents for Chokwe women is alluded to by the tear motif.
What is Chokwe art?
Chokwe art. Her postulated styles of Chokwe sculpture (Bastin 1976,1982) and the sculpture of the Lwena, provide a core theoretical (art historical) model that invites further analysis. These arts are so diverse and familiar face in most museum and private collections (Fig. 1). Figure 1. Pwo mask. Chokwe, early 20th century.
What is the significance of Chokwe culture?
According to Chokwe belief, ancestral spirits play the crucial role of providing for living descendants. The ancestral characters also protect the peoples from intruders or evil (wanga) supernatural elements. The Chokwe people influenced the art of many neighboring tribes, including the Lunda, Mbunda, Lovale and Mbangani.
What is a pwo mask?
Mask: Female (Pwo),19th–early 20th century. This work is an outstanding example of Pwo, a classic Chokwe mask genre that honors founding female ancestors. Such representations are especially significant given that the Chokwe trace descent through their mothers’ lines.
