African tribal art - Punu mask
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French private collection.
The white masks of Gabon, called itengi (plural bitengi), were linked to various secret Gabonese societies, such as the Bwiti, the Bwete and the Mwiri, the latter meaning 'to lead'. All Punu men belonged to the Mwiri, a society with several levels of initiation, whose emblem was the caiman, explaining for some the saurian scales motif. These powerful secret societies, which also had a judicial role, included several dances, such as the leopard dance, Esomba, Mukuyi and Okuyi. The latter, an acrobatic dance on stilts, was the most widespread. In some villages, the Okuyi was accompanied at dawn or dusk by songs in an esoteric language accessible only to the initiated. (Sources: "Punu", L. Perrois and C. Grand-Dufay; "Masques du Gabon", published by Sillages).
Data sheet
- Period
- 20th century
- Dimensions (H - W - D)
- 27 x 20 x 0
- Weight
- 2.0
- Condition
- Good
- Styles
- First Cultures Art
Primitive Art
Tribal Art - Colours
- Beige
- Materials
- Wood
- Ethnicity or Continent of origin
- Africa & Oceania
Country of destination : France
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