Title: Okuyi Punu dance mask - Gabon- African Art Tribal ArtDate Period: ContemporaryOrigin: GabonDimension: 13,78 InchWeight: 2,43 PoundsMaterials: Wood, cowrie, pearls, plant fibersItem Type: Mask, helmet, danceAdditional Information: Refining African masks of Okuyi dances. The white masks of Gabon, itengi, (pl. bitengi) were associated with the various secret societies of Gabon, including the Bwiti, Bwete , and the Mwiri ("le"), the latter spanning several levels of initiation, to which belonged to all the Punu men, and whose emblem was the caiman. The Punu did not involve any masks in the rituals of the Bwiti, unlike the Tsogo. These powerful secret societies, which also had a judicial function, included several dances, including the leopard dance, the Esomba , the Mukuyi, and the acrobatic dance of the okuyi , on stilts, remainthe most widespread. This face mask, evoking a deceased woman, the white evoking purity, the world of the afterlife, was exhibited during the dance named Okuyi. In addition to the double shells with a headdress, surmounting a basket helmet covered with fabric, a double ornamentation composed of rows of beads and cauris underlines the delicate oval of the face. Checkered scarifications, mabinda, would symbolize, according to some authors, the nine clans that founded the Kongo kingdom or the various migratory routes.
Reserve: $186.00
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