African Arts Gallery

Kumu mask (N° 21454)

A shallow African mask, whose contrasting surfaces were finger-painted by the ritualist named ishumi. Although dotted masks often originated in northern D.R.C., clans in the Utuiri region also used similar masks featuring traditional designs applied to bodies and faces during ritual ceremonies. Height on base: 34 cm.
The Bira and the Komo, Kumu, of the Congo belong to the same ethnic entity and their last migration dates back to the 18th century. Their region of origin would be the Ubangi, even Chad, and even according to some, the Nile basin (Siffer).they speak an archaic Bantu language. They speak an archaic Bantu language. Settled in Ituri, there are the Bira who have acclimatized to the forest, neighbors of the Pymées, and those of the savannah, cattle breeders.