Initiation mask - Kifwebe. - Songye - DR Congo

Members of the Kikwebe mask society are the Basha Masende, holders of the knowledge necessary to communicate with spirits and deities. These masks are worn with a long robe and a long beard made of plant fiber; the female mask, which, unlike the male mask, the kilume (plural bilume) is devoid of a crest on the top of the head.
The dark and light bands are a writing with a double meaning: a path or road of the dead awaiting rebirth, while the nose or the vertical axis of it is the Tree of Life. The mouth would be the beak of the bird or the sorcerer's fire.
According to 'African Art' at Mazenod.
Dry usage patina.
Note a vertical desiccation crack at the bottom of the mask.
Height 31 cm x width 19 cm x depth 8 cm. Weight 460 g.
Registered Colissimo shipment.