Mask-70cm - Songye - DR Congo (No Reserve Price)

The political organization of the Songye is based on the authority of a chief, considered to hold sacred powers. His religious and magical power is associated with two secret societies. The first practices magic and witchcraft, bash masende. The second, which depends directly on it, is based on the powers of the bwadi bwa kifwebe and on its use of ritual masks, recognizable by their parallel, curvilinear or straight striations, highlighted with alternating colors. The term songye kifwebe generically means "mask" and it applies to several different types, the constant of which is the treatment of the eyes with half-closed eyelids as well as the facial striations. These could evoke an animal, perhaps the striped bongo antelope or represent, in a more symbolic way, the meanders of the tests of male initiation. Bifwebe (plural of kifwebe) are usually worn in pairs during dances featuring the spirits of the dead, men and women, supernatural forces and mysterious beings. These masks, with polychrome stripes and featuring eyes, a nose and a mouth in high relief, are certainly male masks. Due to the cubist stylization of the faces, as well as the graphic aspect of the motifs, these masks, which have become one of the most famous typologies of African art, remain mysterious.