loose mask - Warega - DR Congo

The art of the Lega people essentially revolves around learning principles, initiation rites, and symbols that help people communicate with their ancestors in different ways. This specific aspect of life, like many others, takes the shape of a heart and is the blind mask. It represents an elder who may never have been able to see or was blind, but who, according to Bwami's teaching, could see the spirit of the inner person in others. "I cannot see you, but I know you through and through." A high-ranking member of the Bwami community holds a beautiful Lega blind mask.