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Kifwebe bakashi (female mask)

19th–early 20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 344
Certain masking traditions of the Congo River basin personify local control of mystical power. Striated face masks known as kifwebe probably originated in North Shaba, an area inhabited by both Songye and Luba groups. Significant departures in the role and formal interpretation of this art form subsequently developed in each culture. Among the small Songye chiefdoms along the Lomami River, maskers were emissaries of the ruling elite, who relied on the ideology of witchcraft and sorcery to sustain their rule. These kifwebe members commanded a body of esoteric secret knowledge visually encoded mnemonically in the mask's features. Hierarchical distinctions between a single female mask and an unlimited number of male masks are reflected in color and in sculptural features.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kifwebe bakashi (female mask)
  • Artist: Songye artist
  • Date: 19th–early 20th century
  • Geography: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lomami River region (?)
  • Culture: Songye peoples
  • Medium: Wood, pigment
  • Dimensions: H. 17 1/2 x W. 11 1/8 x D. 7 3/8 in. (44.5 x 28.2 x 18.7 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.83
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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