What is a Bundu mask?
What is a Bundu mask?
Bundu masks, created in the 19th and 20th centuries in Sierra Leone, were crafted by men but worn by women during initiation masquerades. These masks represent the importance of women in Mende society, as well as the emphasis on adhering to the ideal of a young Mende woman.
What was the helmet mask purpose?
Worn at performances to celebrate the completion of the young initiates’ training period, these masks are finely carved to convey admired feminine features: an elaborate coiffure, a smooth broad forehead, narrowly slit eyes, a small composed mouth, and a sensuously ringed neck.
What do the neck rings on the Bundu mask symbolize?
The concentric rings around the neck of the mask, for instance, represent ripples of water, alluding to the rise of the female spirit out of the watery realm that is its dwelling place. At the same time, these can be interpreted as rings of fat, signs of fertility and maturity.
What is the size of Bundu mask?
8.5 x 9.5 x 13.5 in
8.5 x 9.5 x 13.5 in.
What is Bundu mask made out of?
Content: The full costume, made of a gown of raffia fibers (completely covering her body) and the 2-4 pound mask, represents Sowo. The mask’s deep black sheen and smoothness shows ideal image in contrast to the white clay. The sheen is created by a coat of palm oil → helps to represent healthy and beautiful skin.
What is the ceremonial significance of the malagan display and mask?
The purpose of the Malagan ceremonies was to help send the soul of the deceased to the realm of the departed, and venerated ancestral spirits. While Malagan sculptures are not portraits of the deceased, they represented the soul, and are thought to have contained the deceased’s soul during the ceremony.
Where did the helmet mask originate from?
It originated among Senufo peoples living in close proximity to the Bamana, who use helmet masks with horrific animal imagery.
How was the helmet mask Tatanua used?
The tatanua mask is worn by men in ceremonies to honour the dead. In 1907 Richard Parkinson published a description of a ceremony that he witnessed on a visit to New Ireland. The masked dancers performed, accompanied by drumming, wearing garlands of leaves and a leaf garment covering the lower body.
What were Bundu masks made of?
What is distinctive about the Mende mask tradition?
What is distinctive about the Mende mask tradition? Some masks and performances are controlled by women.
Who wears Bundu masks?
A: Bundu masks, created in the 19th and 20th centuries in Sierra Leone, were crafted by men, but worn by women during Sande Society initiation masquerades. These masks represent the importance of women in Mende society, as well as the emphasis on adhering to the ideal of a young woman.
