Bifwebe masks (sing. KIfwebe) belong to the accouterments of a society of the same name where the mask, supplemented by a woven costume and a long beard or raffia, appears at various ceremonies. They are made from wood and come in many shapes and sizes, depending on their function and the area in which they were produced. Today, masks are still found dancing in Songye territory, especially in the eastern and central parts and to this day, they enjoy extreme respect. These masks can be used in altered forms or context, playing a truly crucial role in Songye society. Their masks bind men together in strong and powerful brotherhoods and associations, the roles of which are to initiate, to control social order, and to serve as a counter force to the chieftains and noble castes. All Songye masks are worn only and exclusively by initiated men, who are members of the Kifwebe society. There are a variety of functions which are associated with the masks, they assure social order as well as social reproduction through their use in rites of passage such as initiations. We can divide the masks into three main categories: male, female, and youngster versions. It can be said that female masks exude beauty, tranquillity, and inner peace. Female masks do not have sagittal crest, they are not aggressive, neither in their appearance nor in their behaviour. The problem in dealing with the stylistics of female masks is that significantly fewer examples were seen in the field and in museum collections in comparison to the male masks. The female Kifwebe embodied continuity and consistency, expressed not only through its morphology, but also its whiteness, a color sign associated with the positive attributes of nourishment and procreation. By contrast, it can be suggested, that the male masks are aggressive both in their general appearance as well as in their conduct during their performances and village visits. There are at least two kinds of masks representing males: the senior and the junior. The senior is usually larger in size, with a big sagittal crest, which can be a separate formal entity or a continuation of the forehead protruding above.
On customised stand
Exhibited:
- Tribal Art Show London, Mall Galleries
- African Development Forum: Creative Africa, Brunei Gallery
Published:
- Antiques Trade Gazette, issue 2155, page 24
- HALI Magazine, August 2014
Provenance:
Ex-private collection, United Kingdom
For a comparative objects and further information on the subject see:
- Felix, M. L., 2003, Beauty and the Beasts, Kifwebe and Animal Masks of the Songye, Luba and Related Peoples, New Jersey: SMA African Art Museum
- Hersak, D., 1986, Songye: Masks and Figure Sculpture, London: Ethnographica
-Hersak, D., 1993, “The Kifwebe Masking Phenomenon” in Fr. Herreman and C. Petridis (eds.), Face of the Spirits; Masks from the Zaire Basin, Antwerp: Etnografisch Museum
- Roberts, M. N. and Roberts A. F., (eds.) 1996, Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History, New York: Museum for African Arts
David Malík PhD
Founder/Director
