Dance Mask - Gitenga - Pende - DR Congo

This flat, circular mask has a face depicted at its center, surrounded by a wicker border and feathers. Named GITENGA, it was held to the face by the braided raphia mesh fixed to the rear edge. It is a ceremonial mask from the circumcision camp, representing the sun at its rising and setting.
Léon Sousberghe identified two masks: the Minganji, made of plant fibers and associated with male society, and the Mbuya mask, carved in wood and generally linked to the village.
The Pende live on the banks of Kwilu, the influence of neighboring ethnic groups: Mba, Kusu, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salampasu has been imprinted on their tribal art sculpture.
Within this diversity, the realistic Mbuya masks produced every ten years serve a festive function and embody different characters including the chief, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc....
The initiation masks and those of power, the Minganji, for their part represent the ancestors and appear in succession during the same ceremonies: agricultural festivals, initiation and Mukanda circumcision rites, and the enthronement of a chief.
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