neck support - Shona - Zimbabwe (No reserve price)

APPUIE NUQUE MUTSAGO - SHONA - ZIMBABWE
These objects are often described as supports meant to protect elaborate hairstyles, the hairstyles often taking many hours or even many days to be made.
But hairstyles are not only adornment: they dignify and signal age, gender, and social status to those who can read them.
Very often, they also serve as a support for magico-religious signs and symbols. Adapted from page 21 of the book "Sleeping Beauties"
The neck rest is also and above all a "dream support". It fosters dreams loaded with symbols that will influence the daytime life of its owner or of the clan. They can also, as with the Chokwé, serve as an instrument of divination. It can also sometimes serve as a small seat.
Other uses may complete this list, varying by tribe. In caricature, one could compare the neck rest to a Swiss Army knife! A few examples at random:
Among the Somalis, male neck rests are relatively unstable. This instability prevents shepherds from falling into too deep a sleep.
The neck rest can also play a role in wedding ceremonies. The virgin woman, defibulated, will exchange the neck rest received on that occasion for a sum that will allow her to buy an amber necklace, symbol of her status as a married woman
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