Face mask. Kongo (Yombe). Lower Zaïre region. Wood,
pigments.
© Africa-Museum, Tervuren
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Contrary to other African peoples
the Kongo did not have a strong mask tradition. Face masks like the examples
here the female with the hair ribbon and the male with the beard
were worn by the nganga diphomba (ritual specialist or diviner).
There is some incongruity between the masks' serene expressions and the term
ngobudi that refers to them, which means something frightening, a spirit or
power that induces terror. White, the main colour in the masks, symbolizes
the spirits of the dead. The masks' faces have been rendered in a lifelike
way, similar to the manner in which the heads of Kongo maternity statues
are shaped.
Ndunga is the name given to the masked figure who wears a costume made of
dried banana leaves or touraco feathers, and to the male society that played
a ritual and political role in the coastal area of the ancient kingdom of
Ngoyo. The ndunga society acted as a kind of secret police, responsible for
keeping civil order. Its members had to maintain political stability,
enforce laws and track down criminals such as thieves, sorcerers and
murderers. Bandunga masks were worn to act out the will of ancestors and of
the supernatural, whose verdict was irrefutable. The masks were also worn
during dances held at the funerals of high-ranking people. The ndunga
society has changed over time but a playful version of it still exists among
the Kongo people.
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