Mask, Dance, Hemba : 2015.2.2

Title:

Hemba Chimpanzee Dance Mask, (Mwisi Gwa So'o)

Object Name:

Mask, Dance, Hemba

Other Name:

Mask, Face, Mwisi Gwa So'o

Place of Origin:

Hemba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa

Provenance:

Aboriginal Indigenous Art.
H = 14"
W = 9"
D = 8"

The Hemba, who live in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are known for their often extremely stylized chimpanzee masks, which are known in the literature by various designations. Often referred to as Mwisi Gwa So'o, a term that alludes to the "spirit—invested object of the chimpanzee—human" that inhabits such masks.

Mwisi Gwa So'o masqueraders wear a costume of animal skins and bark cloth, supplemented by the black and white hair of the Colobus monkey. To the Hemba they are frightening apparitions whose grin means rage and impending disaster.

Herzog, African Masks, P. 92

Description:

Wooden oval—shaped dance mask. Convex eyelids with narrow slits emerging from shallow sockets beneath arched brows. Long thin pointed nose, strongly set off from the face area. Broad narrow mouth opening, which gives the appearance of grinning. Protruding snoutlike mouth, flat upper lip, with two rows of half circle arches, above and below eyes. Black paint covering entire surface.

Collection:

Guy Mace Collection, (Turblex Company)

Material:

Wood W/Paint

Used:

Ritually Used

Technique:

Carving / Painting

Owned:

Art Department, MSSU

Accession#:

2015.2.2