African Arts Gallery

Pende Mbangu Mask (N° 19387)

The African masks of "illness", Pende Mbangu (deformed mouth) or Bwala-Bwala, illustrate, by their outraged features, the patient in epilepsy crisis or the result of facial paralysis caused by witchcraft rituals. The dancer who wears this comedy mask is wearing a feathered hat made of gifuatu of guinea fowl, coucal or touraco, or of lumbandu, a crown of leaves. It is also often equipped with a bump on the back, exaggerating the handicapped aspect of the character. This mask of the Pende established in the Upper Kwango is distinguished by its bent nose and a deformed mouth. It is divided into areas of contrasting colors. Semi-matt patina.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Easterners settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of the neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu have been imprinted on their large sculpture of tribal art. Within this diversity, the realistic Mbuya masks, produced every ten years, have a festive function, and embody different characters that are difficult to differentiate without their costume, including the chief, the soothsayer and his wife, the prostitute, the jester, the tundu, the possessed, etc... ( Art and Life in Africa, C.D. Roy; "Pende" Strother)