Giphogo - Pende - R.D. Congo

For the eastern Pende, a mask dance without the Giphogo is inconceivable. All
young people learn the steps and rhythm of this mask dance during their initiation into adulthood,
but only the best dancer will have the right to wear it during
the dances that honour the dead and imitate the agricultural work of women. They dance
with the mask, pretending to chop cassava and offering handfuls of millet and maize to the dead to
thank them for protecting the village.

Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection
Argiles Collection, Barcelona