African Arts Gallery

Deformity in tribal art The Pende Mbangu "sickness" masks illustrate, by their deformed features, the patient in epileptic seizure or the result of facial paralysis caused by witchcraft rituals. In many tribal cultures, however, epilepsy is seen as a divine seal on an individual who is able to communicate with the spiritual world in this way. The dancer who wears this comedy mask wears a hat made of feathers gifuatu of guinea fowl, coucal or touraco, or the lumbandu , a crown of leaves. It is also often equipped with a hump on the back, exaggerating then the handicapped appearance of the character. A hat composed of a basketry frame trimmed with raffia caps the face, itself lined with canvas. Matt patina. Height on base: 31 cm. br> The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern Pende have 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 extensive tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity the Mbuya masks , realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chief fumu or ufumu, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the jester, tundu , the possessed, etc...