African Mask African figure Carved Wooden Songye Kikashi mask with ornam Tribe-G1378

54.5/18-CM
African mask art collection, acquired from Zemanek. African mask of the Songye kikashi equipped with its ample fiber suit. It offers a flat nasofrontal crest. Parallel striations carved into the surface of the wood symbolize feathering and the connection to death. Three variants of this Kifwebe mask (pl. Bifwebe) or "chasing death" (Roberts) can be distinguished: the masculine (kilume) generally with a high crest, the feminine (kikashi) with a very low crest or even absent, and finally the largest embodying power (kia ndoshi). This type of mask, which is still used today, seems to come from the area bordering the northern Luba and the Songye of the southeast.