African Arts Gallery

African zoomorphic masks.
Polychrome animal mask of the kifwebe depicting a sacrificial animal, the rooster. Erosions.
In the south-eastern region of Katanga, from the 1960s, the Zela, long subject to the Lubas whose customs and rites they borrowed, carved animal masks , like the Lubas and the Kundas. In 1970, in fact, the kifwebe company underwent a transformation which was accompanied by new masks. In the Zela and Kundas groups, however, this type of mask was manifested during secular theatrical ceremonies involving tales. Established between the Luvua River and Lake Kisalé, they are today organized into four chiefdoms under the supervision of leaders of Luba origin. They venerate a primordial couple frequently represented in statuary, mythical ancestors, and make offerings to the spirits of nature. ( Luba, Roberts, 5 Continents; “Treasures of Africa” ed. from the Tervuren Museum; “Kifwebe” F. Neyt, ed .5Continents).